Full case study report: Planika - Slovenia

Summary

The Planika dairy was established in 1957. The current Limited Liability Company (LLC) structure was defined in 1995 by the Agricultural Cooperative Tolmin. The company’s raw material (milk) comes from 120 to 130 (varying number from year to year) local mountain farms in northern and north-western Slovenia. Most of the farms are located in the Tolmin, Kobarid, and Idrija regions. Currently, the company is selling 19 different milk products under the ‘Planika’ brand. The high-quality products are characterised by freshness and taste, as well as the avoidance of gene technology and chemicals or synthetic pesticides in its production. The dairy started selling organic milk in April 2013. Since then, they have been subject to the organic quality-control system. The products connect the brand Planika with a ‘story’ about the traditional ways of processing milk and promoting the alpine pastures. The company developed the Planika Dairy Museum in the diary building. The case was considered for investigation under the HealthyGrowth project because of its specific structure as a food chain, combining the Agricultural Cooperative Tolmin and the Planika dairy, and because of how important preserving both the alpine pastures and traditional farming practices is to these entities.