Our story started in 1999. Aquarium design had changed little in over 100 years. As enthusiasts, we were disappointed with this.
On and off, we thought about what fish need and we thought about the owner of the aquarium. The fundamentals had to be right. So, we threw away the rule book, looked at the problem without constraints and engineered our own aquarium.
The biOrb was born.
Or if we’re really honest with you, a working prototype was made. We didn’t have any actual orders. Not one.
Sure, all the people we showed it to agreed that it was exciting and that they loved it. It was just that the public wouldn’t buy it… so they said. People just want regular glass boxes, we were told.
Fortunately for us, not everybody agreed because on a cold English day, the 19th of October 1999, our fax machine burst into life. Someone believed in us and we had our first order. Now our dream was starting to become a reality. At last, we were making products.
Next, we had a bit of luck. Within months the biOrb appeared on a TV show. Blue Peter, the children’s show. So now we had one product and some publicity.
Working hard, our sales grew. Enough that a year later we could try to sell in different countries. The US office opened. We started to export to Europe. Before long, biOrb was available in 22 countries.
More sizes, more shapes, more accessories. To keep up with customer demand, the range kept growing. Now, all these years later and over 1.5 million people enjoy keeping fish with a biOrb.
We’re bigger now. And we’re making more products, not just aquariums. Terrariums, vivariums… and more to come. Each one with a unique approach to design – just like the original biOrb.
Someone once said that every company is the long shadow of its founders. biOrb remains an invention-company at heart. We set out to make products that people want to own and tell their friends about.
For us, there’s nothing better than seeing people staring wide-eyed at one of our products for the first time. Especially children. Jaws drop and heartbeats calm. You can’t quite explain it, but it’s a magical feeling. When you see this, then all the struggles the product has been through, the design, the development, the relentless testing… suddenly… it’s all worth it.
Today, in this increasingly busy, always-on, hectic world, our aim remains the same as it's always been.
To create wonder.