The interview was published in December 2022 in the weekly Domovina and on the web portal domovina.je
The state should interfere as little as possible in business, so that we can focus on work rather than politics. My father had very serious back problems and found a traditional healer in Lesce who prepared resin remedies and applied them to the affected area in a special way. Resin was also found to work against Candida albicans, about which I have been rather reserved in recent years despite the surrounding hysteria. Microbiological studies have also shown that spruce resin is effective against all the bacteria it was tested on.
Mr Konc, what exactly do you do in your company and how did you get into this kind of business?
We have been producing spruce resin products since 1990, when my father founded the company. At that time, he was looking for natural solutions to his own health problems, as his orthopaedic surgeon had offered him only two options: surgery or a wheelchair before the age of 30. Suffering from severe back pain, he turned to a traditional healer in Lesce who prepared resin remedies and applied them in a special way, also observing the phases of the moon as part of traditional healing. This helped him greatly. In 1989, when he sprained a finger and could not use the healer’s resin preparations on his hand because they were impractical, he was inspired to create his first spruce ointment. This became our first product on the market. He first gave it to a neighbour who had hip pain, and soon word spread. Within a year, the ointment had become known throughout Yugoslavia. He left his job as a professor of physical education, started a business, and began producing spruce ointment.
I took over the company in 2010, further developing it with my knowledge of chemistry and expanding the product range to include creams, food supplements, capsules, and an oral spray. Still, we remain specialised in resin – everything we produce is based on it, as it is truly an incredibly effective substance. Personally, I have never come across anything more effective.
We deliberately keep our prices low so that our products remain accessible to everyone.
Can you describe in a little more detail how the resin works...
Resin works against inflammation. Although the full mechanism of action is not yet fully understood, research has shown that conifer resin stimulates the local immune response by activating neutrophil granulocytes, which then release cytokines at an accelerated rate. These chemical messengers attract additional immune cells and thereby speed up the self-healing process of inflammation. This effect applies to all types of inflammation – from injuries and infections caused by micro-organisms, to degenerative conditions such as joint inflammation from cartilage wear, spinal issues, gum infections, insect bites, and more.
Another well-researched property of resin is its antimicrobial effect. A Finnish surgeon became interested in this after observing that their traditional spruce ointment, made with resin and butter, was remarkably successful in healing wounds. He conducted an empirical study with two groups: one treated wounds with hydrogel, the other with spruce ointment. In the spruce ointment group, almost 92% of wounds healed, while in the hydrogel group fewer than half did. Further microbiological studies confirmed that spruce resin was effective against all tested bacteria, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative, including MRSA and VRE – bacteria resistant to many antibiotics that often cause hospital-acquired infections. Its antifungal activity has also been studied, showing effectiveness against all dermatophytes, the fungi responsible for most nail and skin infections in humans. Resin also showed activity against Candida albicans, although I have personally remained cautious about the recent hysteria surrounding it. Under an electron microscope, researchers observed fungal hyphae disintegrating under the influence of resin.
Resin helps with inflammation of many kinds – from injuries and microbial infections to joint inflammation from cartilage wear, spinal problems, gum infections, insect bites, and more.
So the resin ointment also helps against nail fungus? A lot of people have problems with that...
Yes, the nail should be coated with the cream, and we usually recommend covering it with microporous medical tape to prevent it from rubbing off. As the new nail grows, it will be healthy – but it is important to remember that toenails grow very slowly, only about 1.5 mm per month, so if the entire nail is affected, healing can take up to a year. The product has no side effects, although 3–5% of people are allergic to resin.
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Smrekovit 365 spruce resin cream
14,00 €
So, in summary, you don’t just have a business, but also a mission…
Yes, that’s exactly how I see it. We deliberately keep our prices low so that everyone can afford our products. If someone truly cannot afford them, we provide them for free. Sometimes, if an elderly lady tells us her pension is very low, we simply take her at her word.
Where do you sell your products?
Mostly through pharmacies, specialist stores, and online. We also have a physical shop at our headquarters on Podmolniška cesta 14 in Ljubljana-Sostro, as well as a Smrekomat vending machine near the company.
Our products are also available in pharmacies and specialist shops.
How do you see the entrepreneurial environment in your country?
I run a small business and for the most part I don't feel much difference when things change in the country and I don't even bother about them. However, I do find the generally negative attitude towards entrepreneurs who are creating in Slovenia, especially from some clients, to be problematic. This rhetoric really needs to be toned down, in my opinion. Especially that, otherwise I do not have a big problem with it. I agree with the saying: 'Give to the emperor what is the emperor's ... '. I see this subject in a that way and I do not want to bother too much with it.
I work alone, but we have external collaborators within the wider family. Fortunately, both my sister and I have a large family, so we help each other within the family.
As an entrepreneur, what else would you like from the state?
Like most businesspeople, I believe the state should interfere as little as possible in business, so that we can focus on work rather than politics. What bothers me most is that we lose about one working day each month to pointless bureaucracy. I would like to see a more favourable tax environment – that seems essential to me – and not the nonsense currently being done, such as taking away benefits like lower payroll taxes that the state itself had already legislated. I would also like Slovenia not to settle for mediocrity but to strive for excellence.