How Barfer was created.
As you might guess, it all started with dogs. Two bull terriers, Angelina and Baxter. None of the commercially available pet foods on the market suited them, so their owners decided to find a better and healthier alternative. Angelina was allergic to the preservatives found in kibble and canned food, and Baxter had a long-term issue with muscle development. So, they began their search.
Did you know that before 2012, we had almost no BARF options here? No joke: we were reliant on foreign sources for information and incomplete, poorly translated texts. People usually bought meat at exorbitant prices from butchers.
This lack of options laid the foundation for Barfer.sk. What started as a project aimed at educating Slovak dog owners eventually grew into a small local BARF e-shop for Bratislava and its surroundings. Over time, it became the largest BARF store in Slovakia and an educational platform with a blog about natural feeding in the country.
But let’s go in order. The beginnings were not easy. Even before 2012, when we launched our Facebook page, we were trying to advise people on how to BARF correctly. What to do, what not to do. Where to buy all the ingredients. The purchasing part, in particular, was a challenge. Buying from a butcher made no sense, neither for us nor for our customers. Over the past 9 years, we have worked with various local suppliers and producers to be able to offer you a complete range of BARF products at affordable prices.
Demand in Bratislava grew beyond the district's borders, and soon we started hearing from people in Nitra, Trenčín, and other regions. That’s when we realized Barf Bratislava was no longer just Barf Bratislava. Welcome, Barfer!
We overcome obstacles
It sounds simple, but along the way, we encountered so many obstacles that we often came close to giving up. The logistics of barf ingredients are demanding—from storage, through dispatch, to delivering the meat to the customer. Traditional courier companies can't deliver these products at reasonable quality or prices. Using courier companies without specialization in raw food transportation is risky—not only because the product can spoil, but also because we don’t have full control over how the courier interacts with our customer. Since the entire Barfer project began with a customer-focused idea of "educate and help," we gradually built a team of people who share our passion for BARF. For an incredible 9 years, we've been improving, thanks to feedback from Barfers across Slovakia.
Ecology is also an important topic for us, and the transportation of meat by courier services has proven to be very unecological. The amount of waste generated from packaging orders was unacceptable, and we had to come up with an effective solution.
Since the beginning of 2020, we have managed to build our own distribution team, which gladly delivers our products to you. It’s easier to communicate with satisfied customers. They are more likely to tell us what troubles them, what they need, and how we can help. And if we want to improve, this feedback is invaluable to us. Thanks to the relationships we are building with you, Barfers, we can weather challenging times, such as the current COVID-19 crisis and the difficulties associated with delivering products.
We are improving together.
When we started, the competition was minimal, and they sold products but provided no information. We didn’t just want to sell; we wanted to educate as well. We knew that just as raw feeding had helped our dogs, it could help many others too. However, if a dog owner is unaware of this healthy and natural alternative, how could they utilize it in feeding? In this regard, we see tremendous growth in both the Slovak and Czech markets, and we proudly say that we have contributed to it – together with you. Intensive education has reflected in how many people approach the choice of pet food today.
We know that raw feeding isn't suitable for everyone. It is appropriate for almost all furry friends, but the issues tend to arise from the owners. Sometimes, there are health obstacles for the dogs, but many dog owners hesitate about raw feeding primarily due to the time-consuming preparation, which can be intimidating for many beginners. This challenge gave rise to an idea we had been carrying in our minds for several years: a complete Barfer menu that requires no preparation.
Why did it take us so long? We were searching for the highest quality ingredients to create the Barfer menu. But that's just one part of the raw feeding puzzle. Even the tastiest and highest quality Barfer menu loses its value if it's not delivered on time and with consideration for the freshness of the ingredients. Therefore, we had to solve the distribution along with the recipe. However, everything turned out well, and now every busy Barfer can conveniently order prepared meals for their four-legged companions, starting with just one package delivered right to their door.
Be part of our community.
For a long time, we had to maintain a minimum order value to be able to ship and provide free delivery for our customers. In 2020, paradoxically during the crisis, we managed to launch sales starting from 1 kg, something that had been unavailable to our Barfers for the entire 8 years. This new option is especially welcomed by dog owners with smaller breeds.
However, this is just a small change, and together we can achieve much more. We are a community, and a community helps each other. We strive to deliver all products across Slovakia as quickly as possible. However, it is understandable that if we want to ship an order from Western Slovakia, where we are based, to a customer in the east, we need to consolidate orders as much as possible for each delivery. It would be very unecological and uneconomical for the customer if we shipped orders individually. The more dog owners know about us, the more shipments we will have. This will also reflect in the speed and cost of delivery.
How can you help? Educate dog owners in your area. Feel free to show them our blog, which you can find at www.barfer.sk. Let’s break down the myths we encounter daily together. Whether it’s the myth about dogs becoming aggressive after eating BARF, which is, of course, not true, or the fact that even hunting dogs can be fed BARF without attacking game. Are bones dangerous for dogs? If they are cooked bones, we agree. However, a dog that has been fed BARF long-term has no issues processing bones of all kinds, of course, appropriate to the dog’s size and dental condition, as well as its digestive health. You can also find an article about this so-called needle reflex on Barfer.sk. These are just two examples of the myths we are debunking. Educate yourself with us, recommend our articles, and show people that a healthy and honest alternative exists.
Happy customer, happy dog.
We want to deliver quality to more countries. We have great ingredients, but we also need a quality distribution network. In Slovakia, we have already built it, and you can feel it in shorter delivery times, lower shipping costs, and a wider portfolio. Now we are working on expanding abroad. However, that is just a business goal. What truly matters to us are the animals for whom we are doing this now.
We are saddened by the fates of abandoned dogs and other animals. That's why we strive, with your help, to support shelters, adoption programs, and non-profit organizations that share our vision. By purchasing products from Barfer.sk, you also support this vision, for which we are grateful to you.