Victor Trendafilov

Can small retailers sell the way big retailers do?

Adrian Tzanov

Can small retailers sell the way big retailers do?

Miroslava Georgieva

Trust in the Basket. Shoppers at the control: smart decisions in uncertain times

 

Miroslava Georgieva is an established market research and business development professional with 28 years of experience in market intelligence, consultancy, and commercial leadership. Throughout her career at GfK and YouGov, she has worked with leading FMCG manufacturers, retail chains, and international companies, helping them better understand consumer behavior, develop categories, and make data-driven strategic decisions.

 

She has led research teams in Bulgaria and Ukraine, building long-term partnerships and supporting businesses in adapting to changing market environments. Her expertise spans consumer insights, price sensitivity, inflation-related trends, and the key factors influencing purchasing decisions, as well as translating market data into practical and actionable business solutions.

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The presentation will show how Bulgarian fast moving consumer goods shoppers are reshaping the basket under sustained financial pressure, with growth driven more by price than real demand. Drawing on YouGov shopper and consumer data, it explains why promotions, private label, and active price comparison have become central to every shopping trip.

 

For fast moving consumer goods and retail executives, the key message is clear: shoppers are not just looking for the cheapest option - they are looking for trusted signals of quality, fair price, local or natural value, and meaningful innovation.

 

Filip Kulaksazov

Beyond the Basket: What Defines the Success of a Category Today?

Petia Dekova

Data and Growth Opportunities Amidst Turbulence

Petia Dekova has been with the Business Development Team at ICAP CRIF for the past 13 years. She is responsible for the development of important business fields, data sources and partners. She leads the Dun & Bradstreet-ICAP CRIF Payments Registry-Trade Exchange and the ESG Synesgy Platform development, in Bulgaria.

 

Petia has been in international trade, business development and strategy making throughout her whole career. She has spent most of her professional life with the Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corporation (1990-2011). She has also worked for BHP Billiton, Europe (2003-2010).

 

She holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Administration of Trade from the Higher Institute of Economics, Sofia.

 

Elena Kostadinova

Price promotions—marketing’s problem child

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elena Kostadinova is a lecturer in the Department of Marketing and Strategic Planning at the University of National and World Economy with many years of academic and research experience. Her scientific interests are in the field of consumer behavior, marketing research, sustainable marketing and promotional strategies. She is the head of the scientific project “Price Promotions: Management Motives, Decisions and Consequences” and the author of the first Bulgarian textbook in the field of sales promotions.

 

Elena has a number of scientific publications and has been a guest lecturer at leading Western European universities.

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Survey data from manufacturers and retailers.

Grigor Dimitrov

"Measuring" market dynamics: What happened to prices, promotions, and product assortments during the euro adoption period?

Grigor Dimitrov is the founder of Merim.bg, an independent platform for market analysis and price transparency. His professional background includes extensive experience in market research, consumer behavior, and marketing strategies, gained at international companies such as Zalando and agencies like Nielsen and GfK. He is an alumnus of Erasmus University Rotterdam and the University of National and World Economy (UNWE).

He also speaks at international market research conferences on topics related to consumer spending and research methodology.

Yavor Rachev

Let’s shop together for good value and health – an interactive demonstration

Yavor Rachev is an entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience building businesses in sports, media and retail. His work has always stayed close to the end customer: what draws them in, what keeps them, and what they trust.

Today he is developing Savly.app, a Bulgarian shopping app that compares prices across retail chains and rates the ingredients of food products.

He is interested in how transparency changes shoppers' decisions and what opportunities it opens up for retailers.

Georgi Todorov

Georgi Todorov has an extensive experience in organizing sales seminars and trainings in the FMCG, DIY and PHARMA sectors. He has been a Sales Manager in a number of Bulgarian companies for import, export, distribution, and production of goods – he has been responsible for development of marketing strategies and trading policies, development and training of trading teams, coordination and control of the trade representatives and marketing and accounting. For the last three years Georgi has been training the export departments of leading Bulgarian manufacturers.

 

Currently he is a sales mentor and personal coach for a large group of sales professionals. He specializes in the development of organizational models for sales and distribution of goods and services.

Georgi is also the author of training materials and professional guides for the FMCG professionals.

 

Ten years ago, Georgi was one of the initiators of the introduction of new services and methods for consumers counting in stores / traffic counting. Today, ReExe devices for people counting provide real-time data from over 2,000 stores in the country, and Georgi's team performs controlling at over 12,000 point of sales per year in Bulgaria.

 

Corina Bulimar

Corina Bulimar is Business Development Director at Mastercard Advisors, where she helps businesses prepare for the next era of commerce shaped by data, AI, and autonomous decision-making.

Her expertise includes Agentic Commerce, digital personalization, experimentation, performance marketing, and analytics-driven growth strategies. By combining technology, consumer insights, and business strategy, she supports organizations in transforming data into actionable decisions and measurable business outcomes.

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Todor Terziev

When Processes Work, the Business Grows

Todor Terziev's professional path goes from human resources management to Lean management and optimization of administrative and commercial processes to artificial intelligence. His understanding of processes, that every inefficiency is an opportunity for improvement, leads him to the creation of Zenterra AI.

A company specializing in building AI systems and digital solutions for business process automation. Zenterra is a partner of Anthropic (Claude Partner Network) and works with B2B clients in the field of FMCG, logistics, finance, production and administration. The company helps Bulgarian businesses transform manual and time-consuming operations into intelligent, automated solutions.

Maria Milusheva

„Portrait of the Bulgarian Women”

Maria Milusheva is Chief Creative Officer of OM Group – Bulgaria's largest communications group – and co-founder of MUCH BETTER, the country's only femvertising agency.

 

With experience across virtually every industry, she has earned 100+ awards, including 20 EFFIE AWARDS, and has served on the jury of numerous national and international festivals. She has spoken at Cannes Lions, Golden Drum, TEDx, and Ad Black Sea Festival, and currently teaches Brand Positioning & Strategy at Telerik Academy.

 

Maria launched the Balkans' first femvertising conference -The XX Factor, and initiated the first national study on Bulgarian women.

 

She has declared boredom a personal goal. She has not yet achieved it.

Atanas Atanasov

Brands on the Edge: Marketing That Works While AI Rewrites the Rules in Real Time

Georgy Gavazov

Brands on the Edge: Marketing That Works While AI Rewrites the Rules in Real Time

Radostina Hristova

How Strong Is the Influencer’s Impact?

Radostina Hristova is an accomplished digital marketing, PR, and influencer communications expert with over 15 years of industry experience. As the founder of Radostna Agency, she bridges the gap between brands and content creators, executing over 200 successful campaigns annually and managing a network of 4,000+ nano and micro-influencers.

 

Her core focus lies in converting audience trust and social influence into measurable business outcomes, driving everything from brand awareness and consumer behaviour insights to direct revenue growth.

 

As Chair of the Bulgarian Content Creators Association (BCCA), Radostina is actively involved in advancing professional and ethical standards for the creator economy in Bulgaria. Through BCCA’s membership in the European Influencer Marketing Alliance (EIMA), she also contributes to the broader European dialogue on the policies, regulation and standards shaping the future of influencer marketing.

Hristina Nikolova

Hristina Nikolova has over 20 years of experience in the field of market research. For the past 18 years, she has been a key part of the Ipsos team, and since 2015, she has held the responsibility for the development of the Quantitative Research Department in Bulgaria. The client portfolio she manages includes successful projects for leading Bulgarian and international companies across various sectors, including FMCG, finance, services, healthcare, and others.

 

Her professional expertise encompasses strategic market research, advertising, and innovation. Her successful career progression is attributed to a combination of significant experience, skillful client communication, and a continuous search for new opportunities. A driving force in her work is her passion for monitoring global trends and effectively applying them in practice to provide her clients with the most relevant and workable solutions.

 

Her academic profile combines solid theoretical knowledge with practical application in a real-world business environment. Hristina holds a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and a Master's degree in Trade Economics from the University of National and World Economy. In addition to her numerous specializations in the research field, Hristina is also an internationally certified "Business NLP Master Practitioner with coaching skills." This qualification enables her to approach business challenges and her team's development with greater depth, blending analytical precision with a nuanced understanding of human behavior.

 

Nina Denisova, PhD

Nina Denisova has over 14 years of experience in research, with a focus on understanding consumer practices, identities, and cultural transformations. Since 2014, she has led the development of the qualitative research team and business at Ipsos in Bulgaria. In 2024, she also took on the role of Client Officer. Her work involves supervising the entire research process – from creating the research design and moderating fieldwork to data analysis and its activation into business solutions. In her work, she applies a wide range of methodologies and analytical tools to uncover untapped business potential, identify opportunities for strategic development, and provide comprehensive business consulting.

 

Her professional experience is highly regarded internationally. Since 2018, she has been recognized as a global expert in semiotics at Ipsos, involved in projects with experts from various countries. Nina is an active member of professional communities, including the Consumer Culture Consortium, an international community dedicated to decoding cultural transformations, which she joined in 2021. As an accredited Censydiam researcher and trainer, and a proven workshop facilitator, she skillfully works with diverse audiences – from consumers and citizens to experts and managers.

 

Nina's academic profile includes a PhD in Sociology and a Master's degree in Public Relations from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". Her specialization in behavioral research, along with skills acquired from professional NLP coaching training, further enriches her moderation and analytical skills, as well as her overall focus on business development and process management.