Milenko Djurdjevic, Industrija Mesa Djurdjevic – How we got the Cuvarkuca trademark in cooperation with Lidl

Slightly over ten days ago, the first modern discount store chain in the country, Lidl Srbija, became a proud owner of the Cuvarkuca trademark for over 150 products of domestic origin. Some of the favorite products in every Serbian household – from pork rinds and clotted cream, through peppers in cream to the inevitable item in every hearty lunch – quality meat, are now available in Lidl stores throughout Serbia with the Cuvarkuca trademark. Said meat is provided to Lidl Srbija, with pride, according to his own words, by Milenko Djurdjevic, the founder of Industrija Mesa Djurdjevic, one of the carriers of the Cuvarkuca trademark.

In order to maintain the expected quality and freshness of the products, Lidl Srbija carefully chooses all of its products. In its two years of operations in Serbia, it has established strong partnerships with numerous local suppliers, and, in the meat segment, it has been cooperating with Industrija Mesa Djurdjevic from Pecinci from day one.

In cooperation with Lidl, you recently became the carrier of the Cuvarkuca trademark. How would you comment on this confirmation of the quality of domestic products?

– That we operate under the slogan “from the farm to the table”, with the always fresh meat and meat products, is confirmed by this Cuvarkuca trademark. We are proud carriers of the trademark with over 30 products of our meat company that can be found in Lidl stores. Thanks to this cooperation with Lidl and the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia, word of our operations has spread, so we are now being praised by families, friends, business partners, fellow citizens and others.

As one of the suppliers of Lidl Srbija, can you tell us how much the cooperation with this company has contributed to the development of your business, which you have been developing for 25 years now?

– Through the cooperation with Lidl, I have been introduced to a whole new way of doing business and thinking toward a joint realization of the set goal and being consumer- and market-oriented, so as to achieve a high-quality offer at the most favorable prices. To be honest, in the beginning, I saw Lidl as a client, and now it is certainly my partner and a partner of my company, with which we grow and develop together. Lidl has helped us discover numerous possibilities and innovations, which have not been present in our market before, and, by gladly accepting them, we have managed to present ourselves in the right way quickly and to justify the trust of Lidl consumers in as many as 32 towns throughout Serbia. An example of the changes that have occurred thanks to our cooperation is, in addition to the expansion of the capacities, the construction of a whole new facility of as much as 10,000 square meters approximately.

Do you believe that the cooperation with Lidl would help your business and how?

– When it comes to the local market, the cooperation with Lidl has already contributed to our development. I would especially like to point out that, in this business, the technology advances fast, so, in order to be competitive, we need to keep up with others and follow the trends of development. Since the beginning of the operations, the technology has changed much, and in our cooperation with Lidl we are active and dedicated to following trends, especially those that pertain to meat and meat product packing, which requires adaptation to the market and the consumers, so we’ve implemented 5 new, modern meat packing lines. I am sure that there’s room for further development there, because I deeply believe in the expansion of Lidl’s position in the Serbian market, the certainty of the placement of the quantity of the products, the possibility of realizing, through Lidl, the export of certain products to other markets and the implementation of new technologies in the further development of new products, as well as the range of products available in stores.

Your company is known for Black Angus bulls. What makes them unique and how did you start breeding them?

– As our business was developing, it was natural for us to want to offer meat of optimal quality to our consumers. Black Angus bulls are known for the quality of the meat, the specific color, the flavor, but also the incredible demand in Europe, so it was logical to offer them in the local market as well. We got Black Angus bulls primarily by importing pedigree heifers from Germany, and then later, through local breeding, we managed to rear bulls ourselves. That way, we guarantee top-quality meat to our consumers throughout the process.

Lidl Srbija KD Nova Pazova

Industrija mesa Đurđević

Milenko Đurđević

Čuvarkuća

Black Angus bulls