Franck

Zagreb, Vodovodna 12

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Originally a chicory plant, this factory was founded in 1892 by Hinko Franck and sons in Zagreb, Vodovodna 12. Its founders were members of a famous German family which in the late 19th century founded numerous factories outside Germany.

Gradually the factory was extended and reconstructed, and the production developed so that in the 1930s it had acquired the status of the largest and most modern factory in the country.

The stylised image of a coffee grinder remains to this day the promotion symbol for ‘Genuine Franck’. This trademark on the packages of Franck products was widely known in Croatia but only very few people could afford to buy the real coffee produced by Meinl. Equally famous was the box for Kneipp’s coffee with the image of priest Sebastian Kneipp who recommended barley coffee instead of caffeine-rich and harmful real coffee.

After World War II the factory was nationalised.

In 1965 the Society for Better Nutrition in Croatia and the Chamber of Commerce awarded Franck factory the Gold Medal for Quality and an Oskar for the packaging of Nera coffee extract powder.