The family and the company’s history

The beginnings of the family business go back to 1998 when, after ten years of cultivation and sale of fresh champignons, the father of the family, Marjan Orlič, registered the processing of these mushrooms in addition to cultivation.

At the beginning of these activities, Marjan bought second-hand machinery which he upgraded with his son Patric’s rich innovative technical knowledge, building a line for blanching, slicing, filling, sterilizing etc. The other son, Peter, contributed to the success of the company with his knowledge of technological processes and product promotion. An important role is also played by the mother, Jelka, who manages and coordinates the administration and accounting, and is the link holding together both her family and that of her son Peter. Peter is also supported by his partner Maja, who stays by his side with their children Lian and Erin and helps with the presentation of the products and with valuable advice.

In 2006, they changed the packaging with aluminium bags, which are better for recycling and environmental care. Entering the EU presented the chance to extend sales to the demanding Italian and French markets.
Later, they developed a choice of pickled vegetables such as red chicory, forest mushrooms, dried tomatoes and artichokes. These gourmet articles are still filled by hand and have high standard quality control. Konal is the only company in Slovenia producing gourmet products and products in aluminium bags.
In 2014, the management of the company was taken over by the son Peter. In 2018, other changes followed, such as a new design, catalogues in three languages …
In 2018, an important turning point was the acquisition of a new state-of-the-art automatic filling line with metal detection, which increased the production capacity from 120,000 to 250,000 pieces annually.