MiaZoo's Company History
MiaZoo was founded in 1994 as a small family company by Milkana and Ivan Antonov. We started with a small pet shop of 20 m2 in the city of Varna. From an early age, our two sons -- Anton and Ivaylo -- joined the business.
Before the political turmoil of 1989 and the end of communist regime in Bulgaria, there were practically no pet shops in the country and the number of pet dogs and cats was very small. Taking care of a pet at your home was not regarded as a good hobby. That is why there was lack of products for dogs and cats. The few pet shops that existed back then were specialized in ornamental fish and birds and were located only in some of the big cities.
In the first pet shop we opened in 1994, we could only offer canned food produced in Bulgaria, a few types of shampoo, bentonite litter for cats, dog collars and leashes made of leather. In the same year we took the risk to produce our own first genuine-leather dog collars under MiaZoo brand. Their quality was soon appreciated by the clients and our market share started to grow along with MiaZoo production. In our best years, we reached a staff of 7 people engaged in the production of dog and cat accessories of genuine and artificial leather.
Back in the 90’s, information about producers or registry of pet product suppliers was nowhere to be found. That made us begin an active search for producers’ contacts from Western Europe. So, in 1996 we discovered “Karlie GmbH” and that was the first brand we started to distribute exclusively in Bulgaria. At that time our business headquarters was a tiny 60 m2 apartment.
A major milestone in our development as a distributor was our first visit to Interzoo fair in 1998. Our cooperation with Beaphar, one of MiaZoo's most valued partners, dates back to that time. Gradually we added to our portfolio other leading brands such as sera, flexi, animonda, Chicopee etc. This rapid development made it necessary for us to move to a much bigger warehouse with an area of about 300 square meters.
Throughout these years, a huge challenge for our business development was the existence of a customs regime on imports, with very unpredictable regulations. It was a huge obstacle to the expansion of the assortment of food, vitamins and other pet care products. The situation changed radically after 2007, when Bulgaria was accepted as a member of the European Union. As a result, many reputable brands across the whole spectrum of pet products made their way into the Bulgarian market. The growth of the pet market after the EU membership led to a further warehouse expansion of 700 m2 . In the early 2021 followed a next move to a new 1200 square meter premises, and in late 2022 -- next relocation to the current warehouse, spanning on 2 500 square meters.
Today MiaZoo employs over 44 team members, who serve more than 350 pet shops and veterinary clinics across the country. On average, 80 orders are prepared and dispatched from the warehouse daily. MiaZoo is a representative of more than 25 brands, most of them with exclusive distribution contracts for the Bulgarian market. In addition, we are a trusted distribution partner for brand like Piper, 4Vets, Wildfull, Barkin, Savic, Antos, Wanpy, It's My dog, Pet Head, Vet's Best and more.
A new focus in MiaZoo business is creating our own brands -- anipro, Clean Box, Rolf's Farm. Puppy pads in biodegradable packing, biodegradable poop bags and pet wipes, a line of dog and cat cosmetics in a 100% recycled plastic packaging, dog snacks, dog and cat accessories are now on the market under the anipro brand. Under the brand Clean Box we offer different product lines of cat litter, made of biodegradable wood, wooden sand and fine bentonite. Rolf's Farm is premium dog food. The assortment of these brands will continue to grow with a focus on biodegradable products or products with an environmental contribution.
At MiaZoo we care about sustainability and strive to integrate environmental protection not just in our products and choice of packaging but also in special projects such as “CashON”. We created incentives for our clients to return carboard boxes from MiaZoo product deliveries. We then reuse the boxes for next deliveries and grant 0.15 EUR for each returned box to a community fund, devoted to protecting and planting new trees. Our team also participates in clean community projects such as the World Cleanup Day, plastic collection, recycling initiatives and more.
Miazoo is one of the first pet companies in Bulgaria with a comprehensive wholesale digital platform www.miazoo.bg where every business partner can compare prices, discounts, promotions, and place their orders. Digitalization and automation of business processes for us is key and is led by our eldest son - Anton Antonov. Our web sales platform is fully integrated with a new ERP system so as to provide a real-time information about availability, quantities, prices, discounts and promotions. All orders get automatically processed through the ERP the system and are being executed by warehouse staff. Anton Antonov is also in charge of MiaZoo’s business development and new products management in the company.
In 2018 the company opened a veterinary clinic in Varna, run by the younger son -- Dr. Ivaylo Antonov, a veterinarian. He has earned several specializations and academic degrees in ophthalmology for domestic animals in Germany, Luxembourg and France. “Dr. Antonov” vet clinic specializes in ophthalmological diseases and is the only one of its kind in Eastern Bulgaria. The clinic owns equipment for cataract removal and replacement of eye lenses of the highest class. The growing number of happy pet patients and their owners will soon make it necessary to move the vet clinic to a more spacy location.
We thank all our clients, business partners, patients and employees for all the years of rapid development and success and for all good years that are yet to come!
Ivan Antonov
