Our Story...
Having grown up around the distribution industry, I learned about sales & building customer relations. I attended trade shows with my family & at times helped source products for their business. At a 2018 trade show, we came across a product that didn't suit the family business plans, but was all my husband & I could think about. So we went out on a limb and opened Zarabull & Co. (named after our dog ZARA) to strike a deal as their Canadian Distributor Partners.
Over a period of time, we continued to bring brands into Canada that we felt dogs like ours were missing out on. In a span of just 4 years, we worked with a dozen more brands, imported from 5 countries & survived a pandemic. Our initial focus was on heavy duty toys, however throughout covid we broadened our brand selection as higher demands were placed on enrichment products & overall canine wellness/interaction eventually becoming the primary focus of our company.
Like many others, I too was working from my home office throughout the lockdowns & our dogs were with me daily. While we have always felt we gave our dogs a good life, I began looking into ways to add more enrichment to their lives.
I began collaborating with various small companies with single ingredient / healthy treats, supplements & wellness items. Seeing these small brands grow, knowing we had the opportunity to shine a light on them or introduce them to some of our retail partners was rewarding. Despite not acting as their distributor it gave me that “good feeling” you get just for being kind & supporting a hard working, local small business.
We shared creative ideas in the ways of marketing & product development. These positive interchanges seemingly kicked my creative thinking back into gear - the little spark I didn’t know I needed to embrace future plans.
Getting to blend business with my love of dogs has been a unique experience, one filled with constant learning and growth opportunities. After nearly 5 years, I determined distribution wasn’t where my heart was. I didn’t feel like I was making enough of an impact. There were bright spots to the pet industry as a whole though…
I found myself wondering - Was I selling myself short if I closed the doors? Was there still something to refuel my passion? Not sure how to answer, I decided I’d sit on it for a bit before filing any closure documents.
I pulled out a folder that I’d tucked away with sketches, product ideas
& notes. I began working on them again as a creative outlet as I tried to clear my thoughts. Then something happened, I started tossing around an idea… Maybe Zarabull & Co. could be its own brand. Maybe I could turn these doodles into actual products… Was this the “thing” I was missing? My husband once again supported me, his answer was simple… YES! I decided it was finally time to believe in myself & stop wondering “what if” and jump in with both feet.
Creating my own product line would give Zarabull & Co. the ability to work with companies & retailers that have the same mind set as us. Being able to determine where products are sold we could make a (small) difference in our community. We could get back to expos/markets and truly be the face of our products.
As we prepared to head in this new direction, I wanted to ensure our efforts would have a positive impact & benefit more than just our company. It was determined the best way to do so was manufacturing our products right here IN CANADA. We then took the time to find a facility we were comfortable with and took those first big steps to move forward.
Who would have thought that I could take on distribution in a tough market, make it through a pandemic as a new business & pivot to manufacturing our own products which would help boost/support our local economy? Had you asked me back in 2018, I would have thought it was crazy to think that big, but now I’m simply excited & extremely grateful ...
We hope you’ll find that our designs & brand values resonate with you.
So what makes our products different?
Our products are original to Zarabull & Co. - I hand sketch all of them personally as step one in our design process. Since they are our own designs, we have opted to bring more of a “local” feeling to them. Through the process, I review feedback from customers, test prototypes in house with our own dogs to ensure usability & once a final product is ready we run our quality control checks.
We do not share our molds with other brands or approve of replication of them. This is to ensure Zarabull & Co. products are always made in Canada using appropriate materials, resulting in the quality you’d expect from us. We do not simply private label existing molds & claim them as our own.
Beyond that, we aren’t just a Canadian company based on our office location or point of shipping - we truly are a MADE IN CANADA BUSINESS. We have made added efforts for all aspects of our process to be done locally/ within Canada. This ensures we can have the maximum positive impact on our economy & its infrastructure. We can support other Canadian businesses in our process be it labels, card stock/packaging etc & feel good about the way we are operating our business.
We are set up to work with small locally owned/operated retailers across Canada & have taken this into consideration when planning our product line. We are open to new retail partnerships and opportunities, so long as they align with our company mindset.
The CanineS Who Drove / continue to drive our passion
LOLA
2008-2012
ACE
2010-2016
ZARA
2013
LONDON
2019