Success story in France

The words "steady growth" probably best describe the deve­lopment of Zolux, the French man­ufacturer of pet products. Its origins go back to 1933 and the opening of a small seed shop in Saintes, France. This laid the foundations for a company with a long history. In 1950, the firm started to develop a wholesale business in bird products, followed a few years later by the development and distribution of an ornamental fish range. The Zolux Group was actually created in 1970, when Zolux pro­ducts were first launched in France and a number of neighbouring countries. In subsequent years, the company built its own factory in Brion and invested extensively in pro­duct research and development, acquisitions and the construction of further factories. Further manufacturing developments in Zolux's own factories or those of its close partners up to 2000 gave rise to products including comfort bedding, ready-to-wear, harnesses, polyresin and ceramic items along with glass aquariums and wooden articles.Expansion across Europe and beyondBetween 2003 and 2009, Zolux expanded across and beyond Europe, opening an office in Shanghai as well as setting up Zolux Polska sp zoo in Poddebice, Poland, and Zolux Italia srl in Bologna. The French company made a number of acquisitions in the new millennium too: in 2011 it took over Saint Bernard, a mass-market brand with a manufacturing arm for treats for dogs, cats, birds and small animals. The acquisition of Francodex, a company specialis­ing in the field of animal health, followed in 2012. In the past three years, Zolux has also invested heavily in manufacturing cosme­tics, accessories and treats for pets. Another special feature of Zolux is its in-house processing of various raw materials such as textiles, polyresin, ceramic, wood, glass, nylon and leather. Each production site is run by a manufacturing manager who is an expert in his field of activity. Pro­ducts marketed under the "Zolux" brand are intended to attract customers by their name.Protection against product piracy"We like to give strong names to our strong ranges, such as 'Nutri'Mel' for our bird and small animal food range, 'Avanti' for cat and dog snacks or 'Rodycare & Mustcare' for our cosmetics small animal range. These different names allow us to create various atmospheres on our packaging, which is in our opinion a way to help stores make their shelves more attractive and less monotonous," says Claire Brice-Bonneteau, communications and marketing manager at…