Ilina Bakev is the manager of the representative office of the company "Mama" in Austria. Marketing expert, mother of two girls, wife and marathoner in hobbies, but also life assurance. He dreams of success and traces it in the long run.

You are breaking through a Macedonian brand on the European market where INTO the competition is fierce and relentless. Where have you been and where have you reached?

- "Mamas" is a Macedonian brand that has existed for 10 years and is established on the European, so I can say on the world market. We often get statements like "I know this product, I have seen it in this and that country / shop / free shop at the airport". Besides the top quality, the unique branding of our product, even the very name of the brand that is international and has the same meaning in every market makes it recognizable.

Specifically in Austria, our products were very few, not to mention not present at all less than 3 years ago. In this short period since the company was founded in Austria, we have managed to position Mamas in the most exclusive supermarkets "Bila Corso", "Mercury Hotel Mrkt" and "Spar" ("Billa Corso", "Merkur Hoher Markt" and "Spar" ), some of them are located in the center of Vienna on Stephansplatz, Kärntner, Michaelerplatz near the Habsburg Palace. In December 2019, we won an award from the Vegan Association of Austria for our unique product "Mamas" ajvar with vegan cheese. During the pandemic we saw the potential of online stores, so we managed to cooperate with several largest online stores in Austria, including Amazon.

How do you evaluate business-the climate here for products from Бthe alkane, what are the strengths, what are the weaknesses?

- The business climate for Balkan products in Austria is excellent because there are about half a million Balkans living in this country. Also, in the supermarkets there is a certain section intended only for products from these countries because the demand for them is high. The difficulties we faced in entering this market are that there is already a large, established competition, and the place of the shelves in these stores is limited. The process of convincing and explaining why "Mamas" should be available, and not another brand, is laborious and thorny. But with a long-term strategy, investing in marketing, organizing many tastings, step by step we are getting closer to our goal. Of course, a very mitigating circumstance is that our products are present in supermarkets in neighboring countries, so we have a reference to refer to.

Do you meet managers often and do you see differences in management here compared to Macedonia?

- There are differences primarily culturally, and then organizationally. The Austrians are very organized, concrete and clear in their directions, they have a system that applies to everyone - if you want to fit in, you have to accept it. The individuality and ideas of each individual are valued, regardless of the job position of the person. If you come to a meeting unprepared, you will hardly get a second chance. If they say you will get an answer within the given deadline, it really is so. They have a sense of responsibility towards their work, but also towards the time and effort of the other. What amazes me the most is that everyone is willing to stand behind what they do, because the system of rewards (bonuses) and penalties works great.