Croatian Bakery Giants Mlinar to Expand in Australia & Switzerland

Last week Croatia’s oldest and largest bakery chain Mlinar opened its first franchise outlet downunder in Australia, and expansion won’t stop there…

Mlinar, which has over 200 bakeries in Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary and Germany, opened its first store in the Australian city of Sydney at the Wetherill Park shopping centre last Thursday.

Australia is the second export market in the world where a Mlinar franchise model has been used. BPS Foodservices, operated by former footballing brothers Ivan and Eddy Bosnar, are the Mlinar franchise operators in Australia, and it is reported there are plans to also open outlets in Melbourne, and then around the rest of the country.

Mlinar’s expansion plans are not stopping there. Earlier next month the first outlet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will open, and the company says that by the end of the year Mlinar will open in Switzerland. That will bring the total to 7 international markets. The bakeries will be branded and set out exactly the same as they are in Croatia but will be run by franchise partners as is the case in Australia.

photo: Mlinar

Recently Mlinar opened in Munich, Germany and at the time said that they plan to open a further 150 bakeries in Germany in the next 5 years. Mlinar manage over 200 bakeries from their base in Zagreb. Last year Mlinar enjoyed profit growth of 9.4%.