Mlinar

What Mlinar does

Mlinar is a Croatia-headquartered bakery company operating the largest bakery retail network in South East Europe. Founded in 1903 in Križevci and rebranded under its current name in 1958, Mlinar runs 330+ retail stores across Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia (via the Hleb i Kifle brand), and Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving individual consumers with fresh bread, pastries, cakes, sandwiches, salads, and beverages. The company also distributes wholesale to retail chains and the HORECA sector and exports to more than 20 international markets. Headcount stands at approximately 2,653 across the group, and 2023 total revenue exceeded EUR 163 million, supported by 220 million product units sold annually and more than 36 million kilograms of bakery output from its production base.

Production is anchored by five modern facilities in Croatia (Zagreb, Osijek, Poreč, Šibenik), including the largest bakery production facility and distribution centre in this part of Europe (built in Zagreb in 2011) and a dedicated burek and pizza plant in Osijek rated at 100 million burek and 40 million pizzas per year. Mlinar's digital surface is modest: the Mlinar Loyalty mobile application (digital loyalty card, points at 10 points per EUR 0.13 spent, prepaid functionality, coupons, referral codes), the Mlinar webshop for online cake and dessert ordering with store pickup and delivery, and a B2B ordering system at b2b.mlinar.hr for wholesale customers. Core baking processes are described as conventional; no proprietary AI/ML platforms are disclosed. Sourcing is 96% local, supporting both cost structure and supply resilience.

Mlinar generates revenue through three primary streams: direct retail sales across its owned store network, wholesale distribution (40+ wholesale customers in Slovenia alone), and exports. Pricing is unit-based, ranging from approximately EUR 0.20 for small items to EUR 47 for premium celebration cakes, with regular promotional campaigns and a loyalty-driven pricing layer. The company was acquired by MidEuropa Partners, a UK-based private equity firm, in 2019, and in December 2025 received an investment commitment of up to EUR 80 million from BOSQAR INVEST and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), structured as EUR 35 million initial plus a conditional EUR 45 million over 12–24 months, alongside a separate EUR 15 million loan under the EBRD–Zagrebačka banka Risk Sharing Framework.

Name

Mlinar

Legal name

MLINAR pekarska industrija d.o.o.

Website

https://www.mlinar.hr/hr/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1903

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Mlinar is a Croatia-founded bakery company operating the largest bakery retail network in South East Europe, with 330+ stores across Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. It produces 220 million bakery product units annually across five production facilities, serving consumers, wholesale customers, and 20+ export markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Bakery

NAICS

Food Manufacturing (311)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Bakery Foodservice Supply Wholesale (Bulk/Institutional) (AFAIAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Premium/Artisanal Bakery Wholesale (AFAIAFAG), Wholesale / Commercial Bakeries (B2B Supply) (THAFAFAF), Bakery & Desserts Distribution (CRAOABAE)

Keywords

• Retail bakery chain
• Fresh baked goods
• Bakery products manufacturing
• Wholesale bakery distribution
• Premium celebration cakes

Headquarters

HQ city

Zagreb

HQ country

Croatia

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales: Revenue generated from direct sales of bakery products through Mlinar's own retail store network across Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This includes sales of bread, pastries, cakes, sandwiches, salads, and beverages at physical store locations.
2. Wholesale Distribution: Revenue from supplying bakery products to wholesale customers, including retail chains and other businesses. Mlinar Slovenia has more than 40 wholesale customers.
3. Export Sales: Revenue from exporting products to more than 20 international markets outside the Adria region.
4. E-commerce/Webshop: Revenue from online orders through the Mlinar webshop, where customers can order cakes and desserts for pickup at selected stores.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Mlinar is a bakery manufacturer and retailer producing and selling fresh bread, pastries, burek, pizzas, sandwiches, salads, cakes, and beverages. The company operates the largest bakery retail network in Southeast Europe, with 330+ stores across Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, supplemented by wholesale distribution, a B2B ordering platform, an online webshop, and a mobile loyalty app.

Product overview

Mlinar is a bakery company operating as the largest bakery group in the Adria region with over 330 retail locations across Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company's product portfolio centers on fresh bread, pastries, croissants, sandwiches, and premium cakes (Sweets by Mlinar line), along with a loyalty mobile app (Mlinar Loyalty) that serves as the exclusive channel for the loyalty program with digital cards, prepaid functionality, and points collection. Additional offerings include a webshop for online cake ordering with store pickup/delivery, B2B wholesale ordering system, Barcaffè coffee partnership, and freshly prepared salads. The company operates five production facilities in Zagreb, Osijek, Poreč, and Šibenik, producing over 36 million kilograms of bakery products annually.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sweets by Mlinar: Premium line of handcrafted cakes including Choco Boom, Cherry Blossom, Nougat Delight, and Orange Choco varieties.
• Hleb i Kifle
• Mlinar Loyalty

Products and services

• Fresh Bread and Bakery Products Wide range of bread, pastries, croissants, sandwiches, and traditional Croatian bakery products sold across 330+ retail locations in Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Mlinar Loyalty Mobile App Mobile application serving as the exclusive platform for the Mlinar Loyalty program, featuring digital loyalty cards, prepaid functionality, points collection, referral codes, and coupon redemption for rewards and free products.
• Mlinar Webshop

Quantifiable outcome

• 220 million product units sold in 2024
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• CrumbsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026Mlinar serves as a key partner in Crumbs' food waste reduction platform, a Croatian food-tech startup connecting hospitality businesses and retailers with surplus food to consumers. The platform has grown to over 500 partner businesses with more than 90,000 users.
• Millenium PromocijaminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2026Listed as a proud Mlinar partner in promotional activities.
• BarcaffeminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Barcaffe is a coffee brand partner featured prominently in Mlinar's promotional campaigns. Joint marketing activities include coffee promotions, free coffee offers, and prize games. The partnership drives customer engagement through combo offers and loyalty program activations.

Scale indicators18 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• La Lorraine Bakery Group: Large Belgian-headquartered industrial bakery group supplying fresh and frozen bakery products across Europe, comparable to Mlinar in its integrated manufacturer-wholesaler-retailer model but at significantly larger geographic scale.
• Grupo Bimbo: World's largest bakery company with extensive European (including Central European) operations; comparable as a global incumbent competing in branded packaged bread and adjacent bakery categories.
• Europastry: Spain-headquartered frozen and fresh bakery manufacturer serving 80+ countries, comparable in industrial bakery scale, frozen-dough technology, and B2B distribution reach across European retail and foodservice.
• Harry-Brot: Germany's largest bakery group with vertically integrated production and retail/wholesale distribution, directly comparable to Mlinar's manufacturer-retailer model in a larger but adjacent European market.
• Aryzta: Swiss-listed global bakery company with deep European footprint in frozen and fresh bakery, foodservice, and retail; a broad incumbent comparable to Mlinar in wholesale bakery supply and product breadth.

Direct peers

• Don Don Group: Slovenia-based bakery group with operations across Central and Eastern Europe, competing head-to-head with Mlinar in wholesale bakery supply and own-brand retail across overlapping CEE/SEE geographies.
• Delifrance: European bakery-café chain operating across multiple countries with a manufacturer-retail hybrid model in breads, viennoiserie, and sandwiches, comparable to Mlinar's café-style retail format and B2B bakery supply.
• Žito (Perutnina Ptuj Group): Slovenia's leading bakery chain and one of Mlinar's closest regional competitors, operating a vertically integrated milling-to-retail bakery model in the same Adria region with overlapping wholesale and retail channels.

Emerging players

• Bakers Delight: Australian-founded bakery franchise chain expanding into international markets including parts of Europe, with a comparable focus on fresh daily-baked retail and franchise-driven growth model.
• Panera Bread: US bakery-café chain with strong loyalty and digital ordering platform, comparable to Mlinar in its fresh-bakery retail positioning and its growing investment in a mobile loyalty ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@mlinarpekarskaindustrija1903
• Facebookfacebook.com/MlinarHrvatska
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mlinar
• Instagraminstagram.com/mlinar_1903
• TikToktiktok.com/@mlinar_1903

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mlinar