OPG Namjesnik Mladen is family beekeeping with a tradition of more than a hundred years.
My grandfather started and then my father continued, who was among the first in our region to modernize beekeeping and had a number of innovations. By applying new technology and inventing a new hive back in 1974, which was then called “Governor’s Hive”, he made a great contribution to the development of beekeeping in the former Yugoslavia. He received a number of recognitions for his contribution to beekeeping, and his greatest recognition was the “Progressive Beekeeper of Yugoslavia”, which he received from the then President of the Republic.
Since 1987, he has been succeeded by his son Mladen Namjesnik, who with his family continues to expand and modernize the beekeeping business.
There are currently four employees in our Family Farm, and by expanding our activities to rural tourism, for which we also received EU investment support through measure 6.2.1, we plan to hire two more employees.
Today we are one of the largest producers of honey and honey products in Croatia. We are beekeeping with 480 hives that we move all over our beautiful country, so we have a larger range of products and more types of honey.
Since 1995, we have been filling all our products in highly hygienic conditions in a registered honey bottling plant that we sell on the doorstep, in smaller stores, and in our store in Varaždin. We have expanded our product range over time. So today, in addition to honey, we also produce pollen – pollen, propolis, mixtures of honey and bee products, beeswax candles, honey-based drinks – honey brandy, cherry with honey, and walnut with honey and fruit brandy.
Our products have been recognized and recognized by our customers for years, and the quality has been proven in the evaluations of the last twenty years, where we have received numerous recognitions and awards. We have received more than 50 awards, recognitions, and gold and silver medals at honey competitions and evaluations in Croatia and Slovenia. We have received numerous recognitions and awards, mostly for honey, but also for other products. Honey brandy has been a quality champion for two years in a row – declared the best honey brandy in Croatia.
We received the highest recognition for honey on May 12, 2019. When we won three gold medals for honey quality at the world’s largest honey evaluation, LIHA 2019 in London, the only one from Croatia in the competition of 142 samples from 30 countries around the world. Our acacia, linden, and Velebit heather honey were the best in the world in this evaluation.
These awards confirmed the quality of our honey in the world, but behind the entire Croatian beekeeping, it is a confirmation that we have the conditions for top quality and that we can compete with the best in the world.
