In this episode of Doing Business in English, I sit down with Sondre, co-owner of Mama Nature, an organic vegan café and shop in Bar, Montenegro. Originally from Norway, Sondre made the bold decision to relocate and revive this business—introducing healthier, plant-based alternatives to a country known for its meat-heavy cuisine.

We discuss:

✅ The biggest challenges of running a vegan café in the Balkans

✅ Some of the most common misconceptions about vegan food and where to learn more about it

✅ How Montenegro’s food scene is evolving

✅ The realities of sourcing organic produce in the region

✅ And—what happens if the concept doesn’t take off?

Join us for this insightful conversation! Enjoy the episode, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and drop your thoughts in the comments.
Interested in working at Mama Nature or would like to use the café for classes/presentations/workshops? Contact Sondre and his team at mamanature.mne@gmail.com or share this with someone who’d be a great fit!

Links:

1️⃣ Our podcast studio on Telegram: https://t.me/omut_podcast

2️⃣ This episode in the video format (with subtitles): https://youtu.be/TosP76p2ChQ

3️⃣ Mama Nature's official website: https://mamanature.me/

4️⃣ Mama Nature on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mama.nature.mne

5️⃣ Gary Yourofsky's speech mentioned in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5hGQDLprA8

6️⃣ The Facebook community mentioned in the episode: https://www.facebook.com/groups/618915718264786/

7️⃣ Official Reciklažica (Montenegro's recycling community) website in English: https://reciklazica.me/en/

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Navigation:

00:00 Intro

00:03 Beginning of the episode

00:21 What is Mama Nature? Who founded it?

01:57 What made you want to help run the café?

03:16 Is Mama Nature mostly a place for tourists?

05:41 Do you anticipate some support from the government?

06:34 Have you been in Montenegro for long?

07:15 Has Montenegro been changing for the better?

09:01 Is Mama Nature contributing to recycling initiatives in the region?

10:38 What is your mission?

11:37 Myths about vegan food

13:46 Who will be your customer once you reopen?

14:32 Would you like to expand the business?

16:57 What activities are there in Mama Nature?

17:47 Is there a close-knit green community Mama Nature is part of?

18:45 What would happen if the business were to fail?

20:57 Wrap-up

21:59 Outro