Štark (pronounced: Shtark; full legal name: ''Soko Štark d.o.o.'' ) is a food manufacturing company based in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

, Serbia. The main products of the company include candies,

biscuits A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...

and

chocolates Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civi ...

. One of its hallmark products is ''Najlepše Želje'' a chocolate bar that means "Best Wishes" in

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...

History

The factory dates back to 1922 when a French soldier founded it under the name "Louit" after returning from the

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

front in World War I. He later changed it to ''La Cigogna''. The firm grew over time into a large factory. It witnessed many political upheavals, starting as a privately owned enterprise and finally being

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

by the state. It was joined with other smaller companies, creating one large food company in 1966 and changing the name to "Soko Štark". While it was in

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

, the company was managed by the worker's organization, with workers themselves having a say in the way the company was run. In 2001, the company changed its business type to joint-stock company and entered the public

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, ...

, under name "Soko-Nada Štark", or shortened "Štark". In 2005, Štark was sold to Serbian company "Grand Prom". In 2008, the Slovenian food company

Droga Kolinska Droga Kolinska is a food processing company from Slovenia, majority owned by Croatian Atlantic Grupa. History Droga Kolinska came into existence with the merger of the companies Droga d.d. from Portorož and Kolinska d.d. from Ljubljana. In Nove ...

became majority owner of "Grand Prom". In 2010, Croatian

consumer goods A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike a intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good, b ...

company

Atlantic Grupa Atlantic Grupa d.d. is a Croatian multinational company whose business operations include the production, development, sales and distribution of consumer goods with simultaneous market presence in over 40 countries around the world.Droga Kolinska Droga Kolinska is a food processing company from Slovenia, majority owned by Croatian Atlantic Grupa. History Droga Kolinska came into existence with the merger of the companies Droga d.d. from Portorož and Kolinska d.d. from Ljubljana. In Nove ...

, thus way gaining ownership over Štark. Štark products are imported into the United States by A.B Company, Inc.

Product lines

Štark's product line includes: *Assorted

, in bars and in boxes *''Najlepše želje'', the company's hallmark chocolate that comes in many flavors (plain

milk chocolate Milk chocolate is a solid chocolate confectionery containing cocoa, sugar and milk. Chocolate was originally sold and consumed as a beverage in pre-Columbian times, and upon its introduction to Western Europe. Major milk chocolate producers incl ...

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according ...

creme filled chocolate,

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the ...

filled chocolate,

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...

creme filled chocolate, dark chocolate with

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAE ...

cream), etc. and in various sizes (50 g, 100 g, 200 g, 300 g) * Lady fingers *Biscuit and Tea cookies * Turkish delights *Chocolate Cream Bananas (not actually bananas, but a foamy desert covered with chocolate creme in the shape of a banana) *

Jelly beans Jelly beans are small bean shaped sugar candies with soft candy shells and thick gel interiors (see gelatin and jelly). The confection is primarily made of sugar and sold in a wide variety of colors and flavors. History It has been claime ...

*Salty products (most notably '' Smoki'' and ''Prima'' salty bread sticks) *Chocolate and/or Hazelnut filled Wafers (most notably ''Napolitanke'')

Miscellaneous

* According to Štark, 23 million ''Prima'' salty sticks are produced annually, with 45 sticks on average per bag. Each stick is approximately 12 cm long. * According to Štark, Chocolate Cream Bananas are their best-selling product, and on average, 66 million are sold annually.

Sponsorships

In 2017, Štark signed a naming sponsorship contract with

Belgrade Arena Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 million ...

to bear its name for five years.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.stark.rs/
A.B. Company Inc, USA importer
1922 establishments in Serbia 2005 mergers and acquisitions D.o.o. companies in Serbia Food and drink companies established in 1922 Food and drink companies of Serbia Manufacturing companies based in Belgrade Serbian brands Serbian chocolate companies