Albanian Processor Finds Recipe for Success
Eight years ago, the four Kimça brothers, operated a small meat grinding and sausage making business in the northern Albanian city of Shkodra. Today, their business, Meat Master, is one of Albania’s leading meat processing companies. With strong domestic and regional sales and several international certifications for quality and safety standards, the firm has developed into a model enterprise. The Kimça brothers credit USAID with helping to pave the road to their success.
In order to promote economic growth by increasing the competitiveness of small and medium productive enterprises in Albania, USAID’s Enterprise Development and Export Marketing services have guided companies, like Meat Master, to invest in new technologies, apply for internationally recognized certification for quality standards, and employ effective marketing techniques.
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| Mr. Ndreke Kimça, (left), owner of Meat Master in Shkodra, receives certification for quality management from a representative of “Certiquality,” an Italian certification body for EU standards. Meat Master transformed their business operations and management structures with the help of USAID’s EDEM project |
Recognizing early on that quality standards were the key to establishing brand image and gaining the confidence of consumers, Meat Master joined the Albanian Meat Processors Association in 1999. In 2004, three of the company’s products received the Seal of Quality—a domestic quality certification established through a USAID project which remains the only program of its kind for locally produced meat and dairy products in Albania.
With production levels rising, strong sales of over 70 products, and increasing interest in its comparative geographic position near the Kosovo and Montenegrin borders, Meat Master eagerly applied guidance gleaned from a USAID market study and began preparations to export regionally and internationally. In April, Meat Master will complete its eleventh, three-ton shipment of meat products to Kosovo.
“Our company drew up a very simple development plan with a clear vision and objectives and we are very pleased with our achievements,” said Ndreke Kimça, co-owner of Meat Master.
Meat Master has recently celebrated its receipt of the prestigious Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification, making it the first Albanian meat processing company to meet all the quality standard requirements for operating in EU markets.
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