The EBRD and EU support Albanian culinary traditions

Albania is most famous for its beautiful landscapes and pristine Riviera. But the country’s food and hospitality are another reason for the almost four million people visiting every year.

In the southeastern town of Korça, few tourists leave without being treated to delicious local kërnacka meatballs, one of the delicacies of Albanian cuisine.

“Fix Pro” is an Albanian meat processing company producing more than 70 types of processed meat. Its high-quality standards make it stand out amongst its competitors.

“We offer a wide variety of products and a great range of special and unique tastes of salami, sausages, ham and other products,” explained Suela Lulollari, Product Director at Fix Pro.

Despite being a meat-loving country, Albania has small livestock farms, forcing most of the meat processing companies to import meat products from abroad. This requires local meat processors to check and ensure both food safety and high quality for their products.

This is where Fix Pro’s main strength comes into play.

“We’re guided by our own mantra: ‘quality knows no compromise’,” said Ms. Lulollari.

“Quality and integrity are the most fundamental values of Fix. We use the best raw and auxiliary materials and we work with reliable suppliers. We ensure high level of hygiene and through inspections”.

Previously, one of the company’s main problems was the lack of processing and storage facilities for raw materials and ready-made products.

With the support of the EBRD through AATSF, the EU and the Albanian Government, the company has substantially expanded its premises and opened new storage and distribution centers in Tirana.

 

With the support from EU and AZHBR, Fix Pro has been awarded an IPARD grant. Complementary, AATSF enabled the company to obtain a loan from AATSF’s PFI ProCredit Bank, for which AATSF covers parts of the risk.

In addition, with the support of Western Balkans Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility (WB EDIF), EBRD Advice for Small Businesses (ASB) has equipped Fix Pro with technical expertise in relation to food safety standards to further increase product quality, improve managerial processes and prepare their growth strategy to succeed with investment plans.

This expansion, along with the establishment of a dedicated sales department, has allowed Fix Pro to expand nationwide and meet the needs of different segments of the population.

Only in the past three years, the company’s revenues have increased by 160%. Now, it is among the top five processing companies on the Albanian market.

Still, Fix Pro does not want to stop there. Becoming the market leader in Albania, as well as starting to export own products to neighboring countries are already on the cards for the future.

More than 6,000 farmers and agribusinesses in Albania so far have benefited from AATSF program, a financing framework developed by EBRD in cooperation with and support from the Government of Albania, which started its activity in 2016.