The town of Krasno, located on the northern slopes of Velebit, between the sea and Lika, 22 kilometers from Otočac, is widely known as a Catholic Marian center, and the Mother of God of Krasno is visited by about 100,000 pilgrims from all over Croatia and beyond every year. However, this picturesque place also attracts a huge number of lovers of untouched nature and peace, and the great asset of the town, when it comes to the tourist offer, is certainly the Runolist cheese factory of the Tomaić family, which bases its production of cheeses and other dairy products on many years of experience, traditional recipes and local raw materials.

Organized cheese production in the Krasno region dates back to the second half of the last century. More precisely, the first quantities of milk began to be collected in an organized manner and sent for processing to Senj in the 1960s, and in the 1970s, Vladimir Tomaić's parents were employed at the Krasno dairy, which was owned by the trading company "Primorje" from Senj. At the beginning of the war in Croatia, the system that had existed until then disappeared and a large number of peasants were suddenly left without a secure purchase. All this led to the fact that in the period from 1989 to 1992, the livestock fund in the Krasno area and surrounding towns was halved, and a large number of people were left unemployed.

A humble beginning

Therefore, in 1992, Vladimir Tomaić, with the wholehearted support of his wife, decided to take his destiny into his own hands and try his hand at entrepreneurship. With a little of his own money, money borrowed from acquaintances and friends, and a loan from the City of Senj worth, the Tomaić family started producing cheese using the traditional method of cooking in a copper kettle. Like every beginning, this one was difficult and modest. On the first day, they processed only 73 liters of milk, but over the next eighteen months, the processing stabilized at 180 liters of milk per day, which is processed to produce semi-hard Krasnodar cheese.

Then, in 1994, with the entry into force of new regulations regulating this activity, the Tomaić family decided to make further investments and, with the help of loans, invested in new milk processing equipment. The volume of processing and production increased, up to 1,500 liters of milk were processed daily, but they still produced only Krasno cheese, while in 2000 they began to introduce new products; Škripavac and Velebit sheep cheese. They quickly became recognized on the market and at fairs and began to receive medals and awards for their quality, and in 2003 they opened a new production facility, the Runolist cheese factory, in Krasno. Daily milk processing increased to 2,000 liters, and the production range was expanded to six products.

From modest beginnings to today, they have come a long way; they have learned, changed, adopted new knowledge and technologies, all in order to better meet the demands of their customers. They procure raw materials by cooperating with milk producers from the Velebit area, and currently purchase milk from thirteen subcontractors, small family farms.

Work is very important to them, but family is always a priority, Tamara Tomaić points out, so today they have about 800 liters of milk a day and with that amount they have no problems with sales.

– Our family has been producing cheese for over 50 years, we are already the third generation, we have four children and we hope that they will continue. They are not yet that keen on production, but the oldest is a sales expert, he promised his grandfather that if no one else wanted to, he would, says Tomaić with a smile.

Work and togetherness

She is proud of her family, but also of the work and tradition of the family woven into each product; they offer Krasna cheese, edelweiss cheese, Škripavac, Velebit cheese, fresh cow's cheese, cow and sheep's curd, and tartufo - cow's cheese with truffles.

- Our best-selling cheeses are Krasna and Škripavac. Škripavac is an indigenous cheese from the wider karst region of Lika, Gacka, Krbava and Velebit, recognizable by its characteristic "squeak" during consumption. It belongs to the group of soft young cheeses, or cheeses without a rind. Škripavac is a daily product, which means that if we have milk in the morning, we can have finished cheese ready for sale in the afternoon, which is why it is our favorite, we get milk in the morning, and in the evening we have šoldi, Tomaić says jokingly.

Tamara got married in Krasno, she previously lived in Sv. Jurja near Senj and all this was an unknown world for her, but she is delighted with the togetherness, this business, she says, everyone lives and works together, so every challenge is easily surmountable.

– We had problems with sales when we were bigger, when we had a plant in Otočac, but now we have returned home, we work less and we have more time for the children. We do not have a large production, and our people still buy cheese for every celebration. We sell some cheese in delicatessens in Zagreb, Dubrovnik and Rijeka, but we sell most of it on our doorstep. Krasno is a famous sanctuary of the Mother of God, and there is also the Northern Velebit National Park, we have a lot of pilgrims and mountain lovers, no one leaves Krasno without cheese, says Tomaić.

And in addition to the fantastic taste, it is a cheese that tells a story about tradition, family, dedicated work and primeval nature. Also, it is cheese – made from milk.

– When I say that this is cheese made from milk, people look at me strangely, but today we have a sea of ​​imported cheeses whose ingredients we cannot prove. When you look at the composition, you can see that many of them are made from plant substitutes. This is cheese made from Lika milk, points out Tomaić.

Awards and recognitions

They respect the tradition of cheese production, use only the highest quality domestic milk produced from cows and sheep grazing on ecologically clean pastures, and apply traditional recipes. That this is a proven recipe for success is confirmed by numerous awards; Škripavac won a gold medal in Varaždin in 2000 and 2001, and a silver medal in Bjelovar and Babina Greda in 2007. Krasnarski sir, a first-class cheese produced using the traditional cheese-making process on Velebit and which matures for at least six months, was awarded a gold medal in Varaždin in 2000, a gold medal in Krasno in 2006, a gold medal in Gornja Radgona, Novi Sad, Bjelovar, and a silver medal in Babina Greda in 2007. The following year, in Zagreb, at the Eco-Ethno Croatia fair, in the category "best of the best", it was even declared the champion of the exhibition. It continued to be successful and attract the attention of lovers of good snacks, just like all other products of the Tomaić family.

No wonder, in each of their cheeses you can feel the spirit of Velebit, the smell of meadows and pastures where cows and sheep graze, whose milk forms the basis of their production. It is a cheese that carries the taste of the Lika region, but also the story of people who decided to stay, create and build a future where their roots are…

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