Badel is one of the largest companies in Croatia dealing with production of wines and alcoholic drinks. Three years ago it entered the Chinese market and opened an office in Hangzhou
Croatia has very good wines as it is located exactly on 45º of northern latitude called the “golden latitude.” Specific geography, good sun and traditional craftsmanship make quality Croatian wines. However, the Chinese market is mostly populated with French and Italian wines, while Croatian ones are not known regardless of their quality, reported the Croatian channel of China Radio International on October 19, 2016.
The CEO of Tadee Holding Group and the largest stockholder of Badel, Zhang Zhuben stated: “Croatian wines are not known around China. We sell wines in Jinhuau, Shaoxing, Xiamen, Henan, Shandong and Jiangsu. Chinese are loving wine more and more, but mostly buy what has a good price. Competition is growing, but we have full confidence in Croatian wine as they are of good quality. We need a frame to present consumers with Croatian wines and enable tastings.”
Hangzhou is the main office of Badel. A specialised space was opened here for the presentation of wine. Croatian wines, Croatian hostess and other Croatian elements enable guests to experience the Croatian wine culture.
Deputy President of the Badel & Tadee corporation, Ms. Chen Qi feels her company doesn’t work only with Croatian wines. She would like to use the frame to bring Croatian culture to China.
“This frame can be used to introduce the Chinese to Croatia, including her wine, culture, education etc. We have many subsidiaries, while this is our main office. We regularly organise activities here, we have obtained Croatian products and invited guests so all could see what Croatia is like and notice possibilities of deeper cooperation between Croatia and China. We will strive to bring Croatian wine and wine culture to China.”
Mr. Zhang Zhuben is also President of the Croatian Federation of Chinese. He travels often to Croatia, knows it well and likes it very much. According to his words, besides presenting Croatian wines and wine culture, Badel also has the role of a platform for cooperation in other areas between Croatia and China.
“Cooperation with the Croatian company Badel is a pilot project for locating good products for the Chinese market. Chinese are still not well acquainted with Croatia. Croatia has many resources, such as the land and ports and high quality of inhabitants, meaning Croatia is rich in natural and human resources and could have a large cooperation with China. I would like to push this cooperation to a higher and more substantial level.”
Badel has invested its efforts not only in the promotion of intercultural meetings, but also in the charity sector. Ms. Chen Qi is a member of Lions Club International, which aids blind and visually impaired people.
“We have initiated a Recovery Plan for one hundred patients with cataract, these are people who need help. Our members of Lions Club International spontaneously organised a donation and we were able to finance the patients completely. We worked on this plan with Lions Club Croatia. We shared experiences so the friendship between our nations would grow in the charity level. We deal with charity as we want both our nations to be better and communicate well. We want to transfer the friendship of Chinese people to Croatia. We strive with all things around us tied to the charity sector to transfer the positive energy between us.”
