One of our dearest customers is the Gusto puff-balls maker in Prahova, and their success story impresses and equally pleased us, because it shows’ how far can lead you a simple but very original approach to promote a product loved by the Romanians since the founders of this company were just … some nasty children.

The story of Phoenixy and Gusto puff-balls begins in 1992, when Eliodor Apostolescu and Catalin Nour as students, are looking for a way to start their own business. The first steps in entrepreneurship make them through a business with ice cream, which they have developed for four years. Later, they decide to expand their business in the food business to ensure continuity throughout the year.

“We were thinking of doing a business together and we liked the Phoenix name very much. Being in the exams, I talked to a lawyer to help us set up the company, and when he wrote the name, he accidentally wrote a “y” at the end of the chosen name, not knowing why, and so did “Phoenixy”  After many years, we had the opportunity to change this name, but from one superstition ( because the company went well with that name ), I never change it” says Eliodor Apostolescu.

“I realized what I had to do at every stage of the company’s development, without much effort to concentrate, I just came up with my ideas. Everything I did before and what I do today is to give my ideas free and as some others have talent in painting, music, others in sports, I have native inclinations towards management aproach” adds Mr. Apostolescu.

The initial investment was about $ 2,000, savings that the two businessmen managed to raise. “We have limited ourselves to the length of our blanket, as a word says. We have never resorted to bank loans or other loans, all the investments we have made have been made only from own funds and reinvesting the profit obtained year after year” Mr. Apostolescu adds.

Now, a 20 million-euro business, Phoenix is ​​the leader of the local puff-balls market, with a market share of 70%. The company owns in its portfolio 15 types of products, distributed nationally and internationally. In the Baicoi plant, over one million puff-balls are produced daily. The company exports to Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Greece, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, England, Hungary, Belgium, Hungary, Croatia, Albania and America.