Croatian spread Batela a hit abroad

by croatiaweek
June 4, 2019
in Business

Batela (Photo: OPG Prpić)

4 June 2019 – “Fake Nutella, homemade Lino Lada, homemade Eurocrem, call it how you like, but we call this healthy sweet little bomb Batela,” is how family farm Prpić (OPG Prpić) introduced their new product on their Facebook page.

Batela is a sweet spread made from sweet potato and chocolate with 74% cocoa beans, without sugar, with just a few drops of maple syrup that meets daily Vitamin E and A needs, and packed with beta carotene and flavonoids.

“All the ingredients are ecological and healthy, and the most important is love for the work and this product,” OPG Prpić said.

Batela (Photo: OPG Prpić)

29-year-old Diana Prpić, who runs the family’s 22-hectare farm in Brežani, Karlovac, is the one who came up with the idea of the spread which has been a huge hit since it was released a few months ago.

“How did I come up with the idea? Batela was literally a “big bang” in my head. It’s hard for me to describe but everyone is asking me. I always laugh when I remember how my whole family gathered in a circle around me the first time I was making it, everyone was silent and watched as if they wanted to steal the idea,” Diana, who says she got the taste just right on her first attempt, revealed to AgroKlub.

(Photo: OPG Prpić)

Diana says sweet potato is an extremely nutritiously rich food which helps fight against malignant diseases, and prevents and hinders the growth of cancer cells.

Batela has won awards in Croatia and also two international awards.

“There is interest in the product all the way to Singapore. In Luxembourg at a private hospital and in London at the healthy food fair Batela was the main star,” Diana told Nova TV.

Batela (Photo: OPG Prpić)

Apart from growing sweet potatoes and making the spread and jams from them, OPG Prpić also grow paprika, beans, squash, strawberries and watermelons, which they export to the Netherlands.

“Our watermelons, from Karlovac, have made their way to the Netherlands. We have a sort which is suitable for transporting. When they are picked, they can stay for a month and they will still be like you picked them that day,” she concludes.