Organic · Fair · Handmade
We create delicious Macedonian dishes for you. All our products are organically produced — healthy, pesticide-free, and without additives. To ensure fairness, we know everyone personally: the farmers and the processors.
From small farmers by Lake Ohrid
Four convictions in every jar — from the fields of Macedonia to your table.
Bio Suisse and EU Organic. The value chains are monitored by certification bodies. Additionally, we test every batch for pesticide residues.
Every part of the value chain is paid fairly. Farmers and processors are part of product development and pricing.
We do not add any additives to our products. All products consist exclusively of natural ingredients.
You can taste the difference between handmade and industrially manufactured products. All pepper products are 100% handmade — from roasting to peeling, cooking, and filling.
All products are naturally free from:
On trips to the Balkans, I fell in love with ajvar and lutenica. But my increasing consumption gave me — figuratively speaking — a stomachache when I thought about the many pesticides used on conventional peppers and tomatoes. The search for organic products unfortunately came up empty.
The products sold here are industrially manufactured, even if they’re labeled «handmade.» The use of gas for roasting and water for peeling makes a noticeable quality difference compared to traditional recipes.
So I set out to find the «perfect» ajvar. Thanks to the help of a Serbian colleague, we can now — together with my Macedonian colleague Suzana and her team — produce high-quality ajvar and lutenica. With old pepper varieties and new recipes, we continue to refine the flavor.
An honest journey with stumbling blocks — all of it very exciting and educational.
2023 was a difficult year — massive quality differences and quantity losses when the weather doesn’t cooperate. We are now diversifying with our own cultivation combined with purchased peppers.
Finding enough workers in summer and early autumn — the peak agricultural season — is more complicated than expected.
It’s hard to find a carrier who delivers food to Switzerland. Packaging and labels often don’t arrive on time.
Organic certification is often delayed, which slows everything down. Every new producer must be certified individually.
Our values are good quality, sustainability, and fair production. That sounds great — but in practice, real conflicts of goals await.
Flying down every three months because the land route takes four days — that doesn’t exactly make me a pioneer in sustainability.
Reconciling good pay for all farmers and processors who produce by hand with a product that remains affordable.
Hazelnuts from beautiful Lake Ohrid
Grown by small farming families in a cooperative.
Three product families — all organic, all fair, all handmade. Directly from small-scale farmers and producers in Macedonia.
Sufinas would not be possible without these wonderful people. They often do backbreaking work and produce by hand — with dedication and tradition.
Handcrafting the ajvar, lutenica & malidzano products
Cultivation, cracking, and processing into fine almond butter
Ever-helpful support and coordination
Translation and wonderful support
Creation of the labels and the website
Wife, (in-law) parents, and aunt for childcare and support
“All of this is very exciting and educational. Have you had similar experiences or can you give us helpful tips? Then contact us — we’re very curious about your opinion.”
Stories, harvest reports, and news from Macedonia and Switzerland.
Want to be the first to know about new harvests? Write to us — we’ll gladly let you know when fresh ajvar or new products arrive.
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Please let us know your wishes and your opinion — it helps us a lot. Write to us whether you have questions about our products, need support, or are interested in a collaboration.
