Awesome ice cream - Sreja Ice

It all began in Dajan Srejic’s kitchen, where he and his girlfriend experimented with different ingredients in an attempt to create the perfect ice cream recipe. “I knew absolutely nothing about binders at first and spent a year and a half doing my own research as well as countless tests,” says Srejic. By trusting his instincts and after a lot of trial and error, he finally managed to create his first successful flavours, such as lemon cake and coconut cake, which are now bestsellers.

The first big step was when Sreja Ice hit the retail market. “I made the rounds in person every day, spoke to the store managers and pitched my ice cream,” says Srejic. “It wasn’t easy, but face-to-face communication and a human touch often made all the difference.” His efforts were rewarded, and Sreja Ice can now be found in restaurants as well as retail outlets.

“Entering the market was tough,” Srejic recalls. “You have to learn to cope with setbacks. The larger retail chains often turned me down. But you have to be convinced of the value of your product before you can convince others.” Today, Sreja Ice is not only listed at Spar Gourmet and Interspar but has also gained major partners such as Coca-Cola Austria.

Srejic has wanted to be his own boss for a long time. “I was eating my favourite ice cream when I decided that I was going to develop a product that tasted just as good – if not better”, he says. This passion was the starting point for the founding of Sreja Ice.

Sreja Ice received significant support from the Vienna Business Agency on its rise to success. The Vienna Business Agency provided advice and support in finding a suitable location and setting up the business in Vienna. “I was really grateful for the support, especially when it came to submitting funding applications and choosing the best location,” says Srejic. As a result of this support, Sreja Ice relocated to larger premises on Heine Strasse in Vienna’s 2nd district, enabling it to substantially expand its production capacity.

“Many of these steps would have been much more difficult without the support of the Vienna Business Agency,” says Srejic. “The consulting sessions on starting a business and the funding opportunities not only helped me financially, but also showed me that I was on the right track with my concept.”

Despite his success in the retail sector, Srejic still had to overcome many challenges. One of these was labelling the ice cream cups correctly. “We have to order 30,000 to 40,000 units of each flavour, and the labelling and information about the contents has to meet all the legal requirements – from the precise ingredients to the quantities in millilitres and grams,” he explains. “This was really time-consuming and showed us how important it is to pay attention to every detail.”

Sreja Ice’s growth is impressive – the company is already represented in every Austrian province. But Dajan Srejic is hungry for more: he wants to expand his brand all over Europe by 2027. “We have already started talks with a large retail chain in Germany and are also looking into opportunities in Switzerland”, says Srejic.

He plans to further expand his product range with new flavours, which will be brought to market in February 2025. He is especially passionate about sustainability and natural ingredients. “We make our ice cream the way it used to be made, with real ingredients and no artificial additives. This is important to us and will continue to be a hallmark of our brand in the future”, says Srejic.

Dajan Srejic is a prime example of how a successful company can grow through passion, perseverance and the right support. Sreja Ice proves that even small businesses can find their place in the market and inspire customers with creative concepts. And who knows – Sreja Ice may soon be making ice-cream lovers happy all over Europe.