2020 has been an incredibly trying year for businesses and the public. Nevertheless, Sylvia Pavlova’s company managed to keep afloat and maintain its positions on the markets of more than 30 countries in Europe and the world.

During her six years in the bio cosmetics business, the business lady has learnt many lessons but two of them have come to form the basis of her company’s success. The first is connected with a good assessment of the products the public needs now, but also in the future. Another advantage the company offers is that it makes cosmetics for babies, children and adults out of entirely harmless as well as edible products – something that is especially important to millions of parents who know only too well that their children tend to ingest different things. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic and its global impact catalyzed a change in consumer attitudes towards buying and using more environmentally friendly, though more costly products. The second lesson is connected with the fact that any rival should be seen as a friend with a shared goal.

All this, plus a modicum of luck, is what helped the Bulgarian company find its way on the radar of royal correspondent Robert Jobson and to be presented as one of ten lifestyle brands in the book Baby Sussex. The range of baby products by the Bulgarian company was noticed during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s tour of Africa, says the brand’s founder Sylvia Pavlova, though she does not have any information of how the products actually reached the household of the young family.

“Finding our way into a book dedicated to Prince Harry and his family is such an honour for a small company like ours. We have now moved on so it doesn’t distract us from our current work, but what we know is that the aim was to support environmentally friendly companies founded by women. To include us in the book, the royal correspondent’s associates set up an entire team of researchers who literally took our company apart. It was amazing that during the interviews we had with the publishers they quoted and asked us about things we had said in the Bulgarian language on TV in Bulgaria 18 months previously.”

Sylvia Pavlova says that the most important element in the business card the country presents to the world is the fact that, come what may, there are exceptionally talented people in Bulgaria, people with a flair for business and with incredible energy to manufacture high-quality products. That is something that all foreigners should know about the country, whatever their rank or social status.

As to the privilege accorded to a company made mention of in an article or any writing dedicated to a given royal family, it is certainly a rare thing with multiple, though not instant benefits:

“We mustn’t presume that because a country of Bulgaria’s rank is made mention of this will automatically lead to new factories or automotive giants in the country,” explains historian Petar Stoyanovich and adds:

“But there are several simple truths that should be more widely known. Royal and aristocratic circles are still a powerful though not quite so closed system in which historical heritage, talent and virtues still operate, in combination with a considerable financial, as well as other kinds of strength.

It (the book – editorial note) will most probably reach its classical readership of people tempted by things out of the ordinary, glamorous and glossy. It will probably get coverage from the yellow press but the important thing is to make use of this to encourage people to open one more page, to watch one more film, to learn one more new thing.”

Photos: Personal archive, BGNES