The recipe to overcome the financial crisis - INNOVATION
11. 4. 2011
The recipe to overcome the financial crisis - INNOVATION
Practically all companies, not just the catering and Slovenian ones, have been looking for a medical herb which would cure the »plague« of the present enterprise – the financial crisis. For some the herb came in the shape of a financial support from a country or European Union, but unfortunately not enough for everyone. Others failed to find it and went bankrupt or are in a process of forced settlement. But some decided to plant the herb and cultivate it by themselves. So, which is that magical plant that heals the economy? INNOVATION (lat. Innovatio) must be the one. How to plant and how to cultivate it?
Apple, the American business giant, came in the middle of the financial crisis period out of nowhere, bloomed like no one before, and became an icon of innovations even beyond the IT industry; it became the icon of innovations in the industry of »experience«. When one is able to read his emails on the way to work, read news in three different sites in three different languages, comment statuses of one's »friends« in social media, check one's account, pay some bills and more, we speak of the »experience« industry. Moreover, we speak of a creation of WOW effects. And so I sit in a classroom of the oldest hospitality school in the world (Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne) and while looking around I notice that I am one of few who still use laptops like my HP, or my schoolmate’s Dell. The majority is already typing on a brand new shinny chick Apple, or even on a new iPad. How is this possible? They became the biggest in an instant! But how? And here it comes again – the innovations!
I start to project the situation on the situation in Slovenia, to the field of the so called »hospitality industry« which gathers us, the caterers, hoteliers, congress organisers, airlines and more. Who of us will become the Apple of hospitality?
The Jezeršek Catering has followed the innovation strategy from its beginning. We have not become as successful as Apple and we have not overcome the financial crisis yet. But our innovations are surely contributing to counter it. In the year 2009, we were awarded the “Zlati sejalec” award for the most innovative product in the Slovenian tourism industry. We accomplished this great recognition by setting up the “Taste Slovenia” Centre of Culinary Arts at Dvor Jezeršek.
In 2010, we started to collaborate with the Slovenian Tourist Board and specialised in catering at remote locations. We have succeeded in doing that by technological innovations which enable us to perform high quality catering practically everywhere. Hundreds or even thousands kilometre distances present no obstacle anymore even for top quality catering. We have in this respect presented the Slovenian cuisine in Vienna, Madrid, Prague, Brussels, Milan, Munich, Belgrade, Salzburg, Budapest, Berlin, Moscow etc.
Looking back… Can one imagine a picnic, somewhere in the 80s, a picnic of the Iskra Company (»Iskarjada«) to be more precise, when Franci Jezeršek served 15,000 people out of his garage? Today, in 2011, this presents a very demanding project. Back then it resembled a science fiction! Believe it or not, the »Iskarjada« in 1987 was successfully realized exclusively due to the innovative preparation of goulash!
The innovation analysis of the Jezeršek Catering would surely show that the company’s development and quality of its products were based on innovations. However, I still don't know how innovations (lat. Innovatio) are being fertilized and cultivated at Apple. Their innovations have namely spread like weeds!
News Archive
- The recipe to overcome the financial crisis - INNOVATION (11. 4. 2011)
- Happy Birthday Catering (21. 3. 2011)
- Taste Slovenia – even Dr. House would smile! (27. 5. 2010)
- Taste Slovenia - taste the event (4. 11. 2009)
