A competent player in the market

Miazoo Ltd started out as a 20 m² pet shop stocking one or two pet foods, a range of care products and a few accessories. The goods sold were all of Bulgarian or Russian origin and not up to the western standard that his Bulgarian customers, as yet few in number, were already demanding. Ivan Antonov
quickly realised that he could only make progress by importing products from Western Europe himself. His first sortie in search of contacts led him to Karlie
in Germany. “It was the beginning of a long business relationship”, comments Ivanov. “To our delight, our customers accepted the products on offer and thus considerably accelerated the development of the company”. Two years later, in 1996, Antonov added products from Beaphar to his range, followed by the products of Sera, Savic and Chicopee Premium Pet Food two years after that (1998). The latest additions to Miazoo’s range are Flexi products (2000), goods from Animonda (2002) and “Pura”-cat litter from India (2003). “We are the sole importers of the products of these companies into Bulgaria”, says Antonov.
For Miazoo, the annual staging of the Zoo-Revue consumer fair in Plovdiv is an important barometer of the mood among consumers.
The entire family is involved in the company. Ivan Antonov (far right) is regarded as a pioneer of the Bulgarian pet product sector.
Miazoo also produced its own range of high-quality dog leads and collars right from the outset. Ivan Antonov’s entire family was involved in the production work, much of which was undertaken by hand. Production was then outsourced in large part to a small Bulgarian company as order quantities grew. Shortly afterwards, the company bought its own machine, took on extra staff and commenced large-scale production in house. Five of Miazoo’s staff of twelve are still continuously employed on production. “We have bought a new machine and we have done our first exports this year to Macedonia. We would like to export our leads and collars to other countries”, says Antonov. “Thanks to in-house production of the goods, some still hand-made, we can certainly offer an attractive price”. The range of leads and collars is complemented by birdseed blends, sold under the company’s own “Miazoo” label, and its own make of rodent food under the “Party” brand. Antonov says that Miazoo’s customer base is made up of around 115 pet dealers, ten wholesalers, various veterinary clinics and a few supermarkets. With annual sales of over 500,000 €, the company is one of the…