Uroš & Valentina, Slovenia

Uroš and Valentina Kavčič, from the sunny valley of Vipavska, make bio fruit spreads Mr. & Ms. Jam. They are featured in the 5th season of the TV show »Štartaj, Slovenija« and got an award HIT product 2020. Quality ingredients, innovation and sustainability are supported by customers, who with their purchases, support local businesses and Slovenian products – even in these exceptional circumstances.

The JPK farm has always represented family tradition and for their own needs they breed livestock, planted crops and had vineyards with different varieties of vine grapes. In 1980 they planted their first peach trees. Till 2010, they sold all of their crop to a big food processing company but because the selling price of fruit was uncertain, they made a hard decision to go their own way and start their own business venture.

It started with classical marmalades. They had a surplus of fruit and they wanted to use it appropriately. In the beginning they gifted their products to friends but then the venture grew bigger and soon it become their main source of income. Uroš and Valentina’s first big success came with an innovative product “Marmela” – a combination of fresh milk, fruit and various nuts. Later they started to make a bio-fruit spread “Mr. & Ms. Jam” with non or very low added sugar. They are still using their own homegrown fruit and they buy part of the fruit from local farmers, the main criteria being quality and richness in taste. From the very beginning their brand grew because they listened to their customers about their needs. Even in these uncertain times they continue to innovate and introduce new products to the market. They are gazing to the future with optimism. Uroš and Valentina use Plevnik Pasteurizer P 200 EL Professional. This allows them to process the fruit efficiently into the final product, while ensuring the appropriate quality and quantity, thus meeting the needs of the market. The majority of their product are being sold in big grocery stores. They also make products for other brands. They told about their work with the Plevnik pasteurizer: 

“The pasteurizer works perfectly. The temperature exchange between the heated part and the medium is very fast, the temperature control is excellent. The workflow is much faster than with the previous pasteurizer. We have increased our production capacities from the beginning when we processed an average of 200 kg of fruit per week to today’s level when we occasionally process more than 500 kg per day! From the purchase of the device until today, quite a few tons of jam and syrups have passed through it, and so far we have not had the slightest problem. The device is really great!”