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Entering the European Union placed great demands for change on the Slovenian food processing industry. Its position in its traditional markets, i.e. the countries of the former Yugoslavia, worsened due to the reintroduction of customs duties and the unified market of the European Union 'greeted' the Slovenian food industry with 282,000 other food processors, all fighting for the same goal: to have a presence on store shelves and win over European customers. "New circumstances are demanding the establishment of new vertical links and the strengthening of existing ones within the Slovenian food processing industry. Producers, dependant on basic raw materials such as meat and milk, are being asked to produce more attractive products for the market while stabilising existing supply chains. Currently, the industry's greatest focus is on maintaining a dialogue with the biggest chain stores in order to convince them of the importance of having domestic products on the shelves of Slovenian stores," said Tatjana Zagorc, Ph.D., Secretary of the Slovenian Food Industries Association within the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia. The other influencing factor, currently felt very strongly by the food processing industry, is the very strict legislative environment. Before Slovenia joined the EU, legislation demanded that companies make a certain number of investments; nowadays, however, the list of investments seems almost endless. According to Ms Zagorc, the most topical investments relate to environmental protection. Slovenian food processors are still very concerned about the impending economic reforms, which they believe will harm the industry. The industry is already so dependent on so many outside factors going its way, such as flood, drought, BSE or avian flu, all of which have the potential to substantially impact its business results. Notwithstanding the great changes and a bit of pre-reform tension, a wave of confidence has been felt within the largest Slovenian processing plants lately. It seems that the industry is currently at a developmental crossroad, which is opening up an array of opportunities and augurs well for its future development. "Some vertical connections - e.g. in the poultry sector - have been in existence for a long time, but others, such as the Panvita Group and the MIP Group, have, in real terms, only just emerged and strengthened in the last few years. Secure access to raw materials is becoming another key success factor, and this is readily acknowledged by the Slovenian meat processing industry. Its goal is to produce high quality meat products of known origin, which will be given high priority in the European Union's next financial perspective. Nevertheless, I believe it is only just a question of time before the next big player from a neighbouring country finds itself in our production milieu," Ms Zagorc concluded. Innovative Beverage Industry Due to the rapid expansion in the range of drink products available in our stores, Tatjana Zagorc, Ph.D., lists the beverage industry among the most innovative industries in Slovenia. "Of course, there are many beverages that are a representation of current trends and are produced for a particular target group of customers. As a consequence, we can expect more intensive advertising campaigns and greater investment into research and development by the food and beverage industry. As the European Technology Platform Food for Life promises, we can expect products with new ingredients and characteristics. The platform will unite all partners willing to help the food processing industry create a suitable environment for invention, research and development." Made in Slovenia Regardless of the current ownership shifting, Slovenia has its own traditional food brands providing number of products, which consumers are accustomed to. 324 food processing companies are listed at the Chamber of commerce, Many of them offering at least one product, which is widely recognized by the consumers. To mention just a few other big ones: Fructal "in cooperation with nature" processes fruits into all sorts of drinks, ranging from natural juices and nectars, carbonated drinks, to various liquors, plus a fruit cereal bars "Frutabella". Mip, Primorska's meat processing industry offers tasty salamis like their "world-famous" mortadela and prsut. Another meat giant is Perutnina Ptuj, poultry industry providing chicken or turkey meat, salamis, frankfurters, pates, frozen poultry meals etc.