What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the name “ZAFIR”?
The story of the pastry shop Zafir dates back to the beginnings of the 90’s, when Marija and Dragoljub start their business path. Marija, at the time employed at “Tekstil Promet”, and Dragoljub in “Kiro Fetak”, together with the support of their friends and immediate family, and leaning on their own ambition and entrepreneurial spirit, decide to dedicate themselves on making real Maria’s love and passion – cakes.
On the story of how “Zafir” grew into a nationally known brand, we talked to its general manager – Goran Zafirovski.
COULD YOU BRIEFLY TELL US HOW IT ALL BEGAN?
Perhaps, to some, this will sound incredible, but the foundations of “Zafir” were literally built in our own kitchen – my mother’s favorite place. First, we started by making cakes for our friends for their special occasions, and later the word spread to their friends and acquaintances, and as the old saying goes “the good word travels afar”, satisfied with the results, new orders started coming in. Later we started selling the cakes and cookies in the colonial house which my parents owned. The demand on cakes and cookies grew constantly, so it was necessary for us to seriously consider production expansion. In 1994 my parents officially founded the company. It may sound unreal, but our production literally began in the basement of the building where my parents live to this very day.
Of course, the basement met all the sanitary requirements, something on which we uncompromisingly pay attention to since the beginning, and still do. Even though I was young, I still remember how we started. The elderly will certainly recall that starting your own business was a challenge, mainly because of the restricted access to finance, especially in newly formed business fields. At that time, bank loan interest rates were not cheap, and loans were not as available as they are today, so we looked for a way on how to get that financial boost so we could continue with our intentions and plans regarding expanding the capacities, something on which we were seriously focused towards achieving. I want to emphasize that during that period women were rarely entrepreneurs, and my mother was one of the few.
And so, in 1996, we got in touch with the financial association “Moznosti”, which at the specific time was presented by USAID as a financial institution, whose goal was to provide financial means for the support of upcoming professions with solid business ideas. We were especially happy because “Moznosti” recognized our good business idea and potential, and they granted my parents the loan of DM 14.000. We used the given funds for further expansion of the business, and also capacity expansion and purchasing the equipment necessary for undisrupted production, after we relocated to a different, more suitable work space. “Zafir” is an example of a successful family business.
WHICH FAMILY MEMBERS ACTIVELY WORK IN “ZAFIR”, AND WHO FOLLOWS IN MARIA’S FOOTSTEPS MORE?
I, my sister Maja and my father were helping my mother since the very beginning, but together with my sister we got more actively involved in 1998. I was in charge of distribution in Skopje, where as a student I received and delivered orders of packaged cookies across the colonials. The first week I collected orders, and the next I distributed them. Everyone is involved in the business – my parents, my sister, my wife Emilija, who has been a part of the company since the start, even before we were married, my brother in law Dejan, who has been with us for 14 years. We are all dedicated and continue on the path our parents paved for us, and I am happy to have inherited the sense of doing business from my father and the creativeness from my mother (but I thing that I inherited the culinary gift and sense of creativity from my mother) ☺.
I will tell you an anecdote about the first time I got recognition from my mother, which made me extremely proud. I don’t remember how old I was, but I was relatively young back then. We had a cake order- the character Sarah Kay, and my mother was ill, so she couldn’t make it. She gave the responsibility to me. The end result, to say boastfully, was excellent, and not just for a beginner. And a confirmation was my mother’s praise that I had done it better than she could.
WHEN AND WHERE DID THE EXPANSION OF “ZAFIR” BEGIN?
In 98’ we started working more seriously, in the sense of making plans and strategies for the long-term growth of the business. Until then, the “Zafir” team was consisted of 15 employees, with the tendency of expanding even more. The idea was to make a small, local place, which would be a temple of sweet delights, a place where you could have coffee with your friends, and taste a delicious piece of cake or a cookie. Because we were doing everything by ourselves, it was a real challenge to find the necessary ingredients, tools and materials. For example, cookie molds, knives, packaging, specific tastes and toppings… If you remember, in 98’ there wasn’t much choice and space for creativity in North Macedonia in terms of creating art in the preparation of sweets, so we had to manage. Basically, the idea was to create the perfect fusion of presentation and taste, something that didn’t exist at the time, something that stood out from the ordinary.
That was the thread on which we started and still maintain our “place in the sun” in the Macedonian market. In its beginnings, “Zafir” was recognized by its perfectly and neatly packaged cookies that stood on the shelves in the markets. Of course, the growth and progress of “Zafir” is due to the constant trainings, ingredient improvement, introducing new ones, and the growth of production portfolio and of course accessibility. In terms of the development program of entrepreneur skills, once again thanks you to “Moznosti” and USAID, I went to the USA in order to perfect and require practical experience in worldly known pastry shops and pastry factories, and it was there where I learned the secrets of making the famous New York cheesecake.
In Greece I had the opportunity to learn a great deal on Greek sweets. And yes, I went to Belgium ☺ to learn more about the secrets of the quality Belgium chocolate. From Italy I brought back the knowledge of making the Italian gelato. Thanks to these international experiences, my grandmother’s old cook book, and my mother, we are able to give a new tang to traditional recipes, something which will make us recognizable.
WHERE CAN WE FIND “ZAFIR” AND THE FAMILY ZAFIROVSKI TODAY, AFTER 25 YEARS OF DEDICATED WORK?
We are proud that today everyone can enjoy our products. You can find them in 35 markets in North Macedonia and also local shops, in the pastry shop in Kumanovo, as well as the pastry shop in Skopje. But of course, our plans don’t stop here. Our next goal is to start to export outside of our country, but when the conditions will allow. Today “Zafir” has 70 employees, and the majority of them have been with us since the beginning. Our neighbor Valentina, who has been working with us since the star is now the manager of the workshop.
And the family Zafirovski – each of us has their duties. For example: my father is the constant that keeps us all grounded, so that we don’t forget who we are, and he can often come into the shop and give us the proper scolding ☺; my mother is in charge of RD (research and development) and in her lab she is constantly working on creating new, innovative flavors and products; my sister is in charge of bookkeeping; my wife is the head decorator; my brother-in-law keeps everything in order inside the shop, and I try to synchronize all that and upgrade it technically and technologically. And to conclude, a message from my mother to us, to pass to our children: Be an example to your children. They have the chance to be true professionals in the field of geniuses.