The company ”Beemed” is located in the Tuzla business zone in Lipnica. It has been engaging for years in the magic of producing, packaging and sale of pure natural honey, homemade apple jam, and shiny apple vinegar.  The CEO of ”Beemed”, Amina Muharemagić, carried out market research and found out that there were not many companies engaging in this type of activity. She, therefore, decided to start the company in 2011 and engage in the development of agriculture and beekeeping.         

At the moment, the company has 6 employees and is planning to hire additional employees for product development. Amina has an ambitious plan – she is planning to expand her business in order for many more employees to find their place at ”Beemed”, where they will be able to engage in the development of new and unique products in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the spirit of love for honey and gifts of nature.

Amina explains that during the pandemic Covid-19, the demand for honey and bee products increased, which required higher production capacities. This was something that the company was not ready for. They, therefore, decided to apply for the call for the award of grants of the European Union in the framework of the project EU4AGRI-Recovery.

”The period of pandemic is behind us, but it was extremely challenging and we had to work overtime hours. Due to the high demand for our products, we had to make additional investments in the production process. Thanks to the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina, we obtained the support needed to purchase machinery for improved production and occupational safety for all our employees within and outside the company”, explains Amina.

Today, thanks to the project EU4AGRI-Recovery, the company has several production lines and produces pure honey, such as meadow honey, acacia honey, linden honey, mountain honey, chestnut honey, sage honey and forest honey, mixed honey with additional ingredients, as well as honey packaged in sachets for the gastronomy sector.

Thanks to the project EU4AGRI-Recovery, we purchased honey packaging machines for packing honey into 13 g and 20 g sachets for the gastronomy sector and expanded our range of products. These products are intended for the food service industry,” says Amina. Beemed is buying natural honey from more than 100 beekeepers throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. Throughout a year, they purchase up to 100 tons of honey and 10 tons of apple jam and sell finished products in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Australia.  

 

”The mission of ”Beemed” is to maintain the existing capacities and employees and invest in their training. Our vision is a higher number of employees and company growth. The goal is to achieve a 10% growth as compared to last year,” concludes Amina.

The company ”Beemed” was supported with a grant amounting to 55,378 KM provided by the European Union in the framework of the project  EU4AGRI-Recovery, whereas the overall value of the investment amounted to 81,900 KM. 

EU4AGRI & EU4AGRI-Recovery projects will invest more than 20 million EUR in the agri-food sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the end of 2024 and will thus strengthen companies and Bosnia and Herzegovina for the purpose of a strong national economy and institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the purpose of successful development policy management. So far, the European Union has funded 118 investment projects and more than 1350 beneficiaries with 13 million EUR.    

”European Union Support to Covid-19 Recovery and Resilience of Agriculture and Rural Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina” (EU4AGRI-Recovery) is a three-year initiative (2021-2024) that aims to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in mitigating the economic effects generated by the Covid-19 pandemic unto the agri-food businesses and rural tourism operators and ensuring their business continuity. The EU4AGRI-Recovery project, valued at 5 million EUR, is funded by the European Union and jointly implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Czech Development Agency (CzDA). The project is complementary to EU4AGRI project (2020-2024).