Pearls of Krk – A successful fair of Croatian island products

This weekend, Krk town of the Krk island was the place of the premiere of the Croatian Island Product Fair called “Pearls of Krk” organized by the Association of Business Clusters Croatian Island Product with the aim of presenting and promoting quality, domestic and indigenous products on the Adriatic islands.

At a dozen stands along the edge of Veli Park, locals and many visitors were able to meet, taste, and finally buy many products of work, effort, knowledge and experience of island producers of food, cosmetics, decorative as well as souvenir products. Not even the current corona crisis diminished the success of the premiere of the fair and even less the interest of walkers and buyers who confirmed the market potential of small family business and production with positive criticism, but also with the purchase of offered products. 

Recognizable brand

Ivana Prah, Vice President of the CIP Business Cluster explains:

The purpose of this fair, which we believe will only grow with the participants and the offer and ultimately become traditional, is the promotion and presentation of original, indigenous island products and souvenirs that are holders of the protected label Croatian Island Product. We also want to arouse interest in large and small island producers to participate in this project, but also their connection and organization without which it is difficult to expect the well-being of those who with hard work, knowledge and effort try to ensure their own and their families’ better lives on the islands.

The modest opening ceremony of the fair was also attended by Tajana Huzak, Assistant Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds and also the head of the Directorate for Islands, who is behind the CIP project. Speaking about the importance and significance of that brand, but also encouraging the production of quality, authentic island products, Huzak pointed out that this is the first such manifestation in the area of Primorsko-Goranska County.

Promotional significance

Huzak concluded that the Ministry of Regional Development has been implementing this project for 14 years and that she is proud that in that period they managed to gather, connect and promote a large family of island producers, family farms and representatives of other similar small farms. As many as 324 such entities today carry this program, and under its “brand” is offered 1,121 products that reflect the island’s tradition.

Among the exhibitors of the Krk fair, most of them came from Dalmatian islands, and among them Katica Žampera from Dugi otok, a goat breeder and producer of exceptional quality goat cheese. This was her first time here as an exhibitor, but certainly not the last, she said, satisfied with the attendance and reactions of tourists who bought her cheese. She has been in this business for almost 30 years, they have about a hundred goats and they turn all the milk into cheese in their small cheese factory. They sell cheeses on the doorstep and a smaller part through local restaurants and taverns, while they participate in fairs like this whenever they catch the time. Unfortunately, small producers often have so much work to do about production that they don’t get to sell, laughed Žampera, admitting that events like this “force” her to take her family business more seriously.

Source: Novilist.hr