Reliable nose for gaps in the market

Even Roland Böhme did not foresee three years ago that his family firm would develop into one of the shooting stars in the aquatics sector. Böhme, managing director of JBL and son of the company’s founder Joachim Böhme, took the difficult decision in early 1999 of ending cooperation on sales with Eheim and its subsidiary Müller + Pfleger after a period of 35 years. JBL needed the space to expand its own fast-growing product range and thus gradually gave up its wholesale range, which still continued to account for one-third of total sales at the end of the 1990s. Roland Böhme had the right idea. His courageous decision, which not many in the pet sector understood at the time, has since proved to be correct. JBL has been able to concentrate fully on its strengths – the development of innovative products that are oriented to the requirements of the consumers and have raised the company’s profile in the aquatics sector over the years, for example the “JBL NovoBel refill pack”. The company broke new ground in the fish-keeping market in 1997 when it introduced this packaging form, which cuts down on waste. A high-grade closure seal protects the food.
JBL is present  at all the leading fairs.
“JBL Gala” is another example, a premium flake food that does credit to its name, containing exquisite ingredients like whole red bloodworms and spirulina algae. Another special feature is the use of fish fillet as a raw material instead of normal meat. JBL claims that the use of a newly developed fine-grinding process in the preparation of the product ensures far less water pollution than with other foods. In “JBL Novo Pleco Chips”, the algae chips contain ten per cent wood fibres, which are very important as an aid to digestion for suckermouth catfish. The chips do not dissolve in the water, thus causing no pollution and giving shy fish the opportunity to eat undisturbed later.
With innovative products such as the “Solar” full spectrum tubes introdu-ced a few years ago, Roland Böhme and his team have won the hearts of many aqua-rium hobbyists.
JBL has long since compensated for the sales lost when it relinquished the wholesale business. Total sales have increased by 30 per cent in each of the last two years. In Asia, the company even succeeded last year in doubling its sales compared with 2000. In addition to Germany, France is one of JBL’s main markets. The company has also achieved high growth rates in Italy and Portugal, thanks to greater collaboration with major importers…