A decade dedicated to the love of spices!

Because of them, wars were fought and heads fell, their price often exceeded that of gold or diamonds, they are as old as humanity itself, and they were the motivation for many sailors and explorers for long and distant journeys and discoveries.

Of course, we are talking about spices. The legendary Julia Child long ago asserted that 'variety is the spice of life', referring, of course, to diversity in the kitchen. We would add that it is difficult to imagine a better way to achieve this variety than using spices.

Ana-Marija Petrić and Matija Paskaš, life partners and owners of the first Croatian chain of spice stores, Harissa Spice Store, were thinking exactly this way when they opened their first store in the center of Zagreb.

"From each of our many trips, we always brought home various spices, teas, sauces, pastes, since 10-15 years ago there was simply no such things here" recalls Ana.

A business story in many layers

In addition, Matija's professional path, from the very beginning, was linked to flavors, the most creative combinations of ingredients and all possible splendor of aromas and colors. Namely, Matija is the proud holder of the title of Master Chef, and he studied at the prestigious Austrian Tourismusschule in Bad Gleichenberg.

"Already as a high school student, I had the opportunity to do an internship at the former Intercontinental Hotel, where I got to know many exotic spices, their aromas and colors for the first time. It completely captured me and my search for new and always different tastes and smells has actually never stopped since then", reveals Matija.

Then, during his studies, he worked on cruise ships, where he had the opportunity to get to know foods from all over the world, which included the most exotic spices imaginable.

Just before deciding to start their own business with spices, Ana-Marija and Matija visited Turkey, where they enjoyed the rich offer of spices, teas and all related products. They visited specialized stores, tried, tasted, bought and again significantly increased the weight of their luggage on the way home. Along the way, they thought that it would be good if they could bring all that luxury to Croatia and make it available to everyone who wants it, without having to travel thousands of kilometers.

Why Harissa?

From the birth of the idea to the opening of the now legendary store in Masarykova Street in Zagreb, a lot of time passed, because they wanted to do everything 'right'. From the brand name, and the logo design signed by the designer Ivana Glažar, to the product range, decoration and the very concept of the store.

Why Harissa? – is a question that always somehow arises.

"I have to admit that that name was neither our first choice nor our first idea. We had various combinations", reveals Ana-Marija. However, today they are satisfied with the chosen one.

"First of all, it sounds good", they will both say, adding that this spice accompanied them in all the destinations they visited, especially in Arabic countries.

"Harissa is there like salt and pepper here. It is on the tables in all restaurants and you can use it as you want and as much as you want. We met and consumed it so often, that it simply imposed itself as an option".

And harissa is actually a mixture of African spices. Originally, it is a paste, but it also exists in a dehydrated version. Both can, of course, be purchased in all Harissa stores in Croatia and on the Harissa webshop.

The awakening of the gastro trend

The old saying that luck follows the brave, it seems, proved to be true in this business case as well. Namely, the opening of the first store coincided with the beginning of a great gastronomic trend that swept Croatia. The first Masterchef took place, and culinary arts began to be affirmed and popularized in the wider public almost overnight. The interest in cooking, experimenting, and spices grew day by day.

The first reactions from customers were great. However, some told them how brave they were, because Croats use only salt, pepper and a well-known mixture of spices from Koprivnica. Others told them that it is not worth offering tea because most people only drink tea when they are sick. But, luckily, Ana and Matija did not let themselves be swayed.

"In the beginning, I worked in the store myself - I wanted to feel our customers, see how they breathe, how they think, what they like, what they are looking for," Ana recalls.

"I soon realized that many people were attracted to the name Harissa - it brought back memories of some trips, life events, professional and private experiences. And when they came, they would never buy just one spice, but would always 'sniff', they wanted to see what we had, they smelled, they asked. And that was exactly our goal - to create a place with a warm, homely atmosphere, something like grandma's pantry, where everything can be smelled, touched, tasted and where inspiration is 'lurking' at every step", says Ana. Teas came naturally – they are closely connected with cuisine, with the enjoyment of smells and tastes.

A continuous search for the best of the best

They pay a lot of attention to the quality of their spices, they strive for it to always be of premium quality, they visit fairs and continuously search for new top quality products.

"We are expanding the range slowly, very thoughtfully and with a lot of love," says Matija enthusiastically.

"When we find something new, we want to be 100% convinced that it is a product of the highest quality. We test a lot of samples to make sure we offer our customers the best. In addition, there are laboratory microbiological tests, tests for heavy metals and artificial colors. We do not want to offer anything that is not top quality and safe for consumption. In the end, we use everything we offer ourselves", concludes Matija.

About the future boldly, but also thoughtfully

Today, Harissa has seven stores in three cities - four in Zagreb, two in Split and one in Rijeka, and has about forty employees. They are carefully planning future steps, and in the coming period, they will start with a thorough restructuring of the company from the inside.

"I believe that next year we will exceed the figure of 50 employees and thus we will develop from a small company to a medium-sized one." Our wishes are in the direction of regional expansion, but before that, we want to prepare and arrange everything well because we need very good and solid foundations for that step. We invest in machines, we prepare our own blends, we work on new recipes", Ana and Matija reveal to us.

They are especially proud of their retail employees. Because they care about communication with customers, they pay a lot of attention to the education of the sales staff.

"We are very happy that we managed to assemble a really great team in retail. Since we are a specialized store, it is important for us that our people know the products they sell well, that they can present them to customers, inform them, point out their specific features, and the best ways to use them. This active exchange of experiences is important to us, we would like it to be even more lively, we love it when customers share a recipe they prepared with our spices", says Ana.

The best food is cooked - at home!

Matija is in charge of cooking at home. Ana will say that he spoiled the whole family with his creations and experiments and that he significantly raised their standards so that they rarely eat as well as at home. From spices and spice blends, Matija will highlight various types of curry, smoked paprika is also always at hand, while Ana loves cinnamon and vanilla.

And your favorite dish?

"We love everything, but we try to make it healthy and tasty. Fish is on our menu at least twice a week, we eat a lot of vegetables, and we also like ethnic cuisine. But, when I'm playing it safe, I'll prepare - chicken ajngemahtec!", says Matija. For a little twist, he will add a teaspoon or two of their new spice blend Harissa No. 1 that will turn this simple dish into a firework of taste!