Golden Standard is a regional B2B supplier for milk-based coffee in the hospitality industry.

Activity

We develop dairy and plant-based barista formulas and connect them with machines that prepare hot and truly cold microfoam directly from the machine. We supply water filtration and separate coffee and milk path hygiene, train people, and build the Certified standard for venues.

Markets

  • Croatia
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Montenegro

Contact

Why we focus on milk.

The largest part of a modern coffee menu is milk-based — cappuccino, flat white, latte, cold drinks. The ingredient that defines them most is often left to chance.

Table prepared for professional coffee cupping

The coffee world has spent decades perfecting bean origin, roasting, and extraction. Golden Standard directs that same attention to milk.

We connect our own barista formulas with technology that prepares hot and truly cold microfoam directly from the machine. Water filtration, milk system hygiene, and Academy then maintain the same result through the actual rhythm of the establishment.

The system's signature is a fine, glossy, and stable microfoam that respects the espresso and remains consistent from the first to the last cup of the shift.

The project is backed by three companies from three countries and people who have worked in hospitality from both sides of the counter. Who they are is written just below.

Cross-Border Coffee Corner.

Three project partners develop and test an integrated solution through the EmBRACE programme — each with a clearly defined professional role.

  1. Croatia

    Food & Beverage Strategy d.o.o.

    Technical integration and project lead

  2. Bosnia and Herzegovina

    ATA 1

    SOP, training and development of hospitality processes

  3. Montenegro

    FABRICA MNE

    Milk technology and raw material optimisation

Official EmBRACE project announcement

Who is behind the system.

The project is led by people who have worked in hospitality from both sides of the counter — as owners, distributors, baristas, technicians, and suppliers. Below is the role of each, and the full biography opens on click.

  1. Ante Jurić

    Founder and Director, Food & Beverage Strategy · Zadar

    Four decades of representing, distributing and servicing professional coffee equipment.

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    Entrepreneur since 1970. Has worked for over forty years as an agent, distributor, and service technician for Nestlé Professional, Lavazza, and Barcaffè equipment — through his own business and the company Viro Plus d.o.o., where he has been the owner for the same duration.

    Graduated from the Faculty of Organization and Informatics in Varaždin. He built his experience simultaneously in commercial, technical, and managerial roles; that is why the contract, the machine, and the service stand together in the system, rather than separately.

    Since 2024, founder and director of Food & Beverage Strategy d.o.o. in Zadar, the company holding the project. He describes his plan briefly: to coordinate the realisation of started and future projects and to introduce young professional associates to the business.

  2. Dario Muhović

    Project Manager

    Sixteen years in hospitality; established a franchise concept that currently operates in 23 locations across three countries.

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    In the business since the age of fourteen, in a family firm that has been involved in hospitality, trade and event organisation since 1984. Learning the craft from gastronomes, baristas, bartenders and sommeliers employed in the firm.

    From 2009 to 2011, managed his own company My Way Gastronomi and the Platani restaurant on the Zemun Quay in Belgrade: turned a struggling venue into one of the best in the region within two years, then sold it.

    From 2014 to 2021, owner and manager of a restaurant on the Vrbas river in Banja Luka, with over 250 seats. There, he introduced barista culture and latte art to the city and established a standardised coffee menu.

    He specialised in coffee under the mentorship of Aneta Moldavar, author of the book Svet kave. He completed barista courses in 2017 and 2018 at the Sapere academy in Italy, under the mentorship of Andrea Sguazzin, an authorised SCA trainer.

    Since 2018, has been managing the Fabrika Coffee franchise concept — from the selection of green beans and roasting profiles to recipes in the venues. The network currently counts 23 venues: sixteen in Bosnia and Herzegovina, six in Montenegro, and one in Slovenia.

    Regularly at trade fairs and workshops: Milan, Trieste, Berlin, Venice, Hamburg, Prague, Rimini.

  3. Irena Mirković

    Owner and responsible person, ATA 1 d.o.o. · Banja Luka

    Leads the Bosnian-Herzegovinian project partner and the cafeteria where the standard is verified every day.

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    Graduated in International Business Economics at MegaTrend University in Belgrade. Completed barista courses during her studies, while working in a family restaurant and café.

    At the company ITT, managed imports and trade fair activities for the German principal Staedtler Mars from Nuremberg.

    From 2014 to 2017, together with his brother Dario Muhović, created a restaurant and bar on the Vrbas river; in less than three years, the place became one of the most visited in the Banja Luka region. At that time, he introduced a database for price lists and inventory, as well as ordering technology that shortened the order path from the guest to the bar and kitchen.

    Since 2022, has been managing ATA 1 d.o.o. and the Fabrika Coffee Experience cafeteria in Banja Luka — the first café in the city to serve specialty coffee drinks, with its own production of cakes and desserts.

  4. Anđela Barba

    Founder and Director, Fabrika Coffee Montenegro

    Thirteen years in hospitality, from working in the kitchen and dining room to managing a chain of coffee shops.

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    Over thirteen years in hospitality, covering all business stages — from operational work in the kitchen and front-of-house to strategic management.

    Founded and manages the Fabrika Coffee Montenegro cafeteria chain: established the brand vision, business strategy, product and service quality standards, internal procedures, and organisational structure.

    Co-founder and CEO of the cocktail bar Shootka, where she created the cocktail menu and service standards.

  5. Damir Muhović

    Director's Advisor, Food & Beverage Strategy

    Four decades in import, distribution and the HoReCa sector.

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    Business active since 1984. Owner and director of hospitality venues in Banovići and Bol.

    In the late eighties and early nineties at the foreign trade company Dex International; through the family firm, he participated in the supply of the European Athletics Championships in Split in 1990.

    From 1995 to 2011, Director of the HoReCa sector and the companies Interex and Swiss Quality Shop — importing and selling goods from the European Union and Switzerland.

    From 2011 to 2020, Director and owner of the company ITT in Banja Luka, an exclusive importer and distributor, with the German brand Staedtler as the leading principal.

    Director's Advisor, Food & Beverage Strategy: product and service development and business model control in the HoReCa sector.

  6. Jadranka Muhović

    Production and delivery, ATA 1 d.o.o.

    Manages cake and dessert production and quality control of deliveries for eight establishments.

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    Since 1982 in the hospitality industry, then in a family business, managing procurement and finance.

    From 1989 to 1992, managed administration and finance at Dex International, with offices in Šabac, Sarajevo, and Split, and coordinated activities for the 1990 European Athletics Championships in Split.

    From 1992 to 1998, managed franchise projects in cosmetics at DBR Company in Belgrade. From 2000 to 2007, created and managed Salon Muzikalija in Sarajevo.

    Between 2007 and 2011, he worked in the United States on several occasions, where he set up cake production and trained staff.

    From 2011 to 2018, managed the introduction of the German brand Staedtler into retail systems in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 2018, has been setting up the production of Italian franchise cakes in the family business; today, manages that production and quality control of deliveries for eight separate venues.

  7. Damir Jukić

    Technical support and service

    Self-service machine maintenance and IT infrastructure behind daily operations.

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    Electronics engineer by profession, Technical School in Zadar.

    Since 2015, technician for Nescafé self-service machines and technical support for IT and computer networks at Food & Beverage Strategy and Viro Plus.

    From 1996 to 2015, owner and director of the companies DJD Alarm and Pozal, for technical security and alarm systems.

    In the eighties, worked in hospitality, where he gained knowledge of working with catering equipment.

  8. Nikola Stanković

    Bar and service

    Bartender and head waiter with experience in German and Austrian gastronomy.

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    Bartender at the Falkensteiner Punta Skala hotel in Zadar and the Maximilian hotel in Augsburg.

    From 2020 to 2023, Head Waiter at Steakhouse Füssen; previously Bar Manager at the Novi Marinero restaurant and Bartender at the Ambar restaurant, both in Belgrade.

    Gained first experience in German gastronomy in 2019 in Füssen.

    Speaks Serbian, English and German.

The four Ms of a good espresso.

The Italians say that a perfect espresso relies on the four Ms — la macchina, la macinatura, la miscela and la mano. The Golden Standard system respects all four.

  1. Macchina
    Machine. CAYE and FoaMaster maintain temperature, pressure and texture — cup after cup.
  2. Macinatura
    Grinding. Grinder calibrated on-site, using your water; dose is measured by mass, not time.
  3. Miscela
    Blend. Signature Roast and Barista Crema — two blends developed for milk-based drinks.
  4. Mano
    Hand. Human factor — a barista who learns through the Academy to make the standard a habit.

Did you know · Italian coffee proverb

We connect international technology, our own formulas, and local expertise so that coffee bars, hotels, and restaurants can offer milk-based coffee at the level of their own brand.

One standard
for three markets.

Four principles.

This is how we decide what enters the system and what does not.

The cup is the ultimate benchmark

Every decision regarding the formula, machine, and service must be validated by taste, texture, and the guest experience.

Consistency is a sign of quality

The same result through intensive service, different shifts and every new location.

Innovation must have a purpose

Hot and cold microfoam directly from the machine is valuable because it opens up the menu and gives the team confidence in execution.

Partnership maintains the standard

Machine, formulas, knowledge, and support remain connected throughout the duration of the cooperation.

Four technological sources,
one system.

We are the official distributor of Marco Beverage Systems (MilkPal), CAYE Technology (Smart X) and Mr.Cafe (FoaMaster) for Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, while we supply Lattiz through Viro Plus d.o.o., the official distributor for Croatia and Slovenia. Golden Standard provides workflow assessment, configuration, recipes, consumables, training and support.

Marco Beverage Systems logoCAYE Technology logoMr.Cafe logoLattiz logodelivery throughViro Plus
Golden Standard mark — a cup with a latte art motif and a heart in a golden circle

Milk · Craft · Excellence

The circle is the entirety of the system. The cup is the place where formula, technology, knowledge and the guest meet. The heart at the top reminds us that a standard is only valid when it creates an experience that people return to.

Golden Standard · About us

Index · 01–06

Indexpage

  1. 01SystemSix parts and how they enter the premises.
  2. 02ProductsPrices, ordering and specifications.
  3. 03AcademyFour on-site training modules.
  4. 04CertifiedMark on the entrance, machine, and menu.
  5. 05NewsGuides and system announcements.
  6. 06PartnershipPartner programme and application.

Request an assessment for your establishment.

Send basic information about the venue, menu, and current equipment — via the application or to [email protected]. We respond to every application with an assessment and a configuration proposal.

Partner programme application
Interreg IPA Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro, co-funded by the European Union, EmBRACE

The project is supported through the EmBRACE Small Project Fund within the Interreg VI-A IPA programme Croatia – Bosnia and Herzegovina – Montenegro 2021–2027 and co-financed by the European Union.

Programme platform