“Tednik Mandrač interview”

In an exclusive interview for Tednik Mandrač, we proudly shared the history of our company and highlighted the quality of our natural products.

Describe to us briefly your story. From the beginning to the opening of the store on Gregorčičeva Street. What drove you on this path?

Like most things in our lives, Fina Isolana just happened to us. By that, I mean we didn’t make any classical business plans or market research but had a revelation, an idea so obvious and close to all members that the next moment we knew it was our new path. Our new project. We didn’t dream of how we would realize it, but we took it step by step, and each new step revealed itself to us. The same happened with the premises. It happened by accident. We didn’t even think about it. At the beginning, we thought of having only a warehouse in it. Later on, we also set up a store in one part of it. And now, here we are.

You are by no means just producers of spice blends. You are a kind of custodian of tradition with a touch of ethnical and modern culinary. You are a kind of spice world music, or are we mistaken?

Istrian cuisine is simple but incredibly flavorful and healthy. Today, people are once again seeking and desiring simplicity. Our grandmothers tirelessly cooked us exceptional meals. Every village, every cook had a slightly different version of the recipe and their secret combination of spices. We have exceptional culinary diversity and richness. How much effort, love, and time our mothers and grandmothers devoted to cooking! We wanted to preserve a part of this heritage. Grandma gave a significant seal to the project. As long as I can remember, tirelessly every day, without exception, for at least the last 40 years, she cooked for us. If not on other occasions, at least once a day, all family members gathered together and had a meal. Sometimes I took it for granted and nothing special. Today, with a few more years, I began to understand the meaning and content of all this. It seemed important to us to incorporate this idea, this desire, into the products. So, take the time and cook at least one simple meal at home and enjoy it together.

You give interesting, homey names to all your products. Which one of you has these creative abilities?

More than creative abilities, it’s about daring to infuse new, modern, “prestigious” products and names with old, interesting, simple, dialectal names that also reflect the content of the blends. While everyone wants to be something more than others and uses names like Gourmet, Prestige, and Premium, Fina Isolana wants to take a step back and be extremely simple, authentic, but with substance. Just like it was in the times of our grandmothers and grandfathers. We didn’t want to impress with complexity with our products, but to delight with simplicity. I am very bothered by the fact that people started to fuss and indulge in food. Here I mean all the “prestigious” restaurants and modern molecular cuisine where food is literally made fun of. Food is meant for simple enjoyment. It should be healthy, fresh, prepared with love, and consumed with respect and gratitude. Everything else is superfluous. Food is not a matter of prestige and luxury! It never should be. Food is part of cultural wealth, an expression of love and affection, and a basic commodity.

Which of your products opened the way for you and gave you the most encouragement and optimism?

We produced all 7 salt blends and two sugars at the same time. They were our first assortment. People have very different tastes. So we wanted to create a range that could satisfy all these differences. We added sugar for variety. It’s nothing special. In fact, our grandmothers did the same, just in steps – they added sugar first when baking sweets, then grated the lemon zest. We did the same, just combined the ingredients into one product. Of course, we made sure to use unrefined natural sugar and that all the spices were completely natural. And all the products were received with the same enthusiasm. We don’t have one product that we could say is much more popular than the others.

You are probably aware that with both spice blends and teas, you are entering the domain of large producers and sellers. Do they already know you?

The industry has already taken over all areas of food. However, in recent years, there has been a pronounced trend among people to abandon these products and return to products backed by a person, a small producer, or a farmer. The big players have already noticed this and started investing intensively in this segment – large retailers have shelves dedicated to such products; the food industry advertises through mass media where individual popular individuals on the internet use these products,… In short, both food and everything else have become very impersonal. People are again looking for a personal, human factor. It gives us a sense of security, trust, and warmth. That’s why I strongly advocate that food is a special category of goods that should remain simple, authentic, and healthy. Above all, accessible to everyone! Genetic modifications, various artificial additives, unnatural processes in production – for me, these are abuses in food that we should not allow and should not support. We have gone so far that, in many cases, food has become a fashion accessory or a matter of prestige. That is unacceptable. I hope that the industry will continue to follow and even emulate us in some good things.

On the shelves, you also have the picture book ‘Martinček pobalinček,’ the proceeds of which are entirely dedicated to charitable organizations. Can you tell us anything about it, considering that we in Mandrač are not familiar with it, even though the story is supposedly from Izola?

One day, Urša Fišter called me. She told me that she was writing a story for children, that the story takes place in Izola, and she asked if she could present it to me. And we met. Urša spent the most beautiful summers of her childhood in a house in Izola. he is still in love with Izola to this day. The story she wrote is based on an event that actually happened to her. At the end of the summer vacation, when they came home, she noticed a hidden passenger in one of the bags – a little martin. She felt sorry for him, knowing that the continental climate is not suitable for them, and she didn’t know how to return him to Izola. The book has beautiful illustrations. The story is simple and educational. nd the fact that it takes place in Izola was fantastic to me. We decided to financially support her project, as the proceeds from sales go entirely to the Pediatric Cardiology Department and the Occupational Work Center Sonček, which employs people with disabilities.

You bravely opened the store in the somewhat secluded Gregorčičeva Street. Did you not find anything more suitable closer to the sea and tourist routes?

As I said, we didn’t even dare to dream about our own store. It wasn’t in the plan. It just happened. I don’t see our location as uninteresting at all. Perhaps because I really like the whole of Izola… I am confident that Gregorčičeva Street has a very interesting future ahead. But not just yet. But we’re not in a hurry anywhere.

Where do you see yourselves at the end of 2019?

By the end of 2019, we see ourselves at the beginning of 2020. In the sense that we look at everything positively and with great optimism, ‘the end’ for us is a new beginning. In reality, we don’t make any big plans but try to make the most of each day as it comes. We are so small that we can barely keep up and fulfill all obligations on the go. So, we don’t have time to ‘fantasize’ too much, as Nona would say, but before we know it, the day is over and the next one begins. Nona always said: ‘Man plans, God laughs.’ And it increasingly seems to me that she was right. Realistically, all we can do is to do what we do as well as possible. Each day brings something new. Everything else is so complex that it is beyond our human reach, whether we admit it or not. Certainly, we plan to continue our journey, and we can’t wait to see where it will take us. Izola is indeed a gem of the Slovenian coast and has great potential for development in all aspects, especially in tourism. We want to witness and be part of that development.