22.04.2019
On May 18 Lyubomir Nokov, co-founder and manager of Bio Bio, a producer of the Harmonica brand organic products and chairman of Biomag stores, was guest lecturer of the Green Marketing course at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski".
The history of harmonica is quite an interesting one, not least for being shared by a captivating narrator like Mr. Nokov. What led him to become involved in this market was his family's need for healthy organic food. The company started in 2008 with organic yoghurt. Today, it produces more than 120 products, which are sold on the Bulgarian and the foreign markets. Mr Nikolov pointed out the principle which has been part of the company's business model from the beginning: "Every one of our products is a solution to a particular problem. That’s how we evolve. We look for food categories within which imitation foods have started appearing and offer alternatives. "
At the heart of the company's work are partnerships, mostly with bioproducers from whom it buys the raw ingredients, but also with all the rest in the value production chain. The creation of a product involves between 25-30 organisations and this naturally requires a focus on relationships with partners.
Care for the environment is a central concern in the company's work. All packaging is made of recyclable materials. The company is no longer using polystyrene and is planning to start using aluminum cans as packaging for the range of soft drinks it intends to launch on the market.
The biofood market in Bulgaria is still below 1%, with consumption related to more to the education level of the target market than the income level. The growth potential is significant. "Bio-business is yet to develop. I think there will be a lot of interest in this sector and quality food in general, " notes Mr. Nokov.