By Anna Ghazaryan

YEREVAN. – In 2003, brother and sister Gevorg and Hasmik Avetisyan established Czech company producing sweets named «MARLENKA». Cakes and sweets of this brand have gained immense popularity in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe. Even the packaging of sweets and cakes, which depicts a view of Mount Ararat and Khor Virap Monastery reminds of the Armenian roots. In an interview with Armenian News - NEWS.am, the founder of the company Mr. Gevorg Avetisyan told about his start and future plans of the company.

What were you doing in the Czech Republic before starting your business? How did the idea of ​​producing cakes come up?

I live in the Czech Republic, before starting a cake production I was engaged in the restaurant business. The idea to start baking «MARLENKA» cakes came up when my sister moved to the Czech Republic. She had no job and she was bored. One day I asked her to bake our favorite homemade honey cake and then I tried to sell it at a nearby bar.

Can you call your company a family business? Are now members of your family engaged in this business?

My company is a typical family business: I am responsible for the design and sale of products, my sister monitors the quality, my nephew is responsible for supply of raw material, my niece makes beautiful decorative cakes. My youngest son works in the department of food shipments, and the elder is graduating from Prague University of Economics (VŠE).

What difficulties, if any, have you experienced while running your business?

Starting a business is a tough thing, but it paves the way for the future.

Your products are marked with “Natural product” and at the same time are supplied to many European countries. Is it difficult to maintain the quality of cakes, while expanding exports? Can we find your products in Armenia?

All our products have a quality mark “Natural produkt” and “Klasa”. These are the only cakes in the Czech Republic that have such marks of quality. We are constantly working on it and keep a high standard of quality. Our products cannot be found in Armenia yet, but we hope it will happen soon.

What do you think is the key to your success? What advice can you give to businessmen who want to start their own business from scratch?

I believe that success is based on honest work that is coming from the heart, that is how we are treating our work. That’s what I advise new entrepreneurs who also still need to add skill and dash.

Now you are producing not only several kinds of sweets , including baklava, but coffee. What are your future plans?

In the future, we plan to open our own chain of cafés, but it needs time.