Frustrated by the food market concentration reducing consumer choice, blocking out smaller food producers, and forcing farms and food companies to shut down to lack of distribution, Swedish farmer Jens Thulin decided to do something about it. Mylla was born — a SaaS platform and marketplace enabling producers to sell directly to consumers, businesses and the public sector. To learn more, I recently spoke to Jens.

I’m a farmer by background, running my own beef production at Vismarlöv Farm in Skåne – one of the few climate-certified farms in Sweden. Earlier I co-founded Giab Nordic AB and helped grow it from startup to IPO. As a farmer, I experienced firsthand how hard it is to reach the market on fair terms. That’s why we started Mylla in 2020 – the solution I myself was missing – an online marketplace where farmers and food companies can take control of their sales, margins, and brand.

Today, three companies control more than 90% of the Swedish grocery market. This results in consumers facing a limited and low-price driven selection, while smaller producers have almost no chance to get access. Every day, a farm or food company in Sweden is forced to shut down – not because of poor quality, but because the system leaves them without options. At the same time, demand for local, sustainable, and transparent food is higher than ever.

Mylla is a SaaS platform and marketplace that enables producers to sell directly to consumers, businesses, and the public sector – without unnecessary middlemen. Our platform combines several elements:

What makes us unique is that we build from the producer’s needs and outward – not the other way around. The platform is modular and scalable, and one of the biggest enablers is data. We make valuable sales and consumer data available – data that is not collected or used today – and turn it into insights that improve decision-making for producers. This will also become a major future revenue stream as we monetize analytics and smart services.

Food production is one of the most important industries to transform in order to reach climate and environmental goals. Mylla reshapes the structure of the food system by giving smaller producers new ways to bring sustainable food to market. In five years, we see a clear “before and after Mylla.” Our platform will be the leading marketplace for small-scale producers in Sweden and beyond, playing a key role in food security and resilience. We are building an ecosystem where hundreds of producers are connected, data and resources are shared, and bottlenecks in logistics are removed through smart technology. In short, we are creating a more resilient, sustainable, and transparent food sector – where producers, consumers, and society all win.

We operate a hybrid model with recurring revenues. Farmers and food companies pay a subscription fee based on the features they use, plus a commission on sales. We also offer value-added services like marketing and integrations. Consumers pay for the products and delivery. A central strength is our recurring revenues — subscriptions from producers, membership fees from our consumer community, and a transaction fee on every purchase made through the platform.

The Swedish food market generated over SEK 340 billion ($36B) in 2024. Online food sales are growing by more than 13% annually and are expected to reach SEK 35 billion ($3.7B) by 2027. Unlike competitors, we are not a retailer – we do not purchase goods, build central warehouses, or run our own transport fleets. Instead, we are a transparent platform and an enabling tool for farmers and food companies. We call it a SaaS-enabling marketplace – a model where we avoid tying up capital in warehouses, vehicles, or logistics infrastructure. This makes our business model unique, scalable, and highly cost-efficient, allowing us to grow much faster without increasing our cost base. As a result, our capital requirements are significantly lower than those of comparable players in the industry.

In the next 2–3 years we will focus on several things:

To date, we have raised approx. SEK 15 million ($1.6M), including from lead investor BackingMinds, and grown by over 120% with significantly reduced operating losses during the first two quarters of 2025. This shows that the business model works and that the market responds. We are now raising SEK 15 million ($1.6M) in a new funding round to take the next step in our expansion. Up to SEK 8 million ($850K) of this round is available through a crowdfunding campaign via an SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) – a holding company that allows our community of customers, farmers, and food companies to become shareholders in Mylla. This not only provides capital but also builds stronger loyalty and engagement from those who use the platform. The round is being raised at a pre-money valuation of SEK 75 million ($8M) and is backed by existing shareholders, including BackingMinds. Larger investments benefit from a discount of up to 30%. Interest has been very strong – already in the first week of the crowdfunding campaign we secured over SEK 4 million ($400K), and inflows continue daily. This confirms both the market need and the strength of our community.

We are currently in the middle of this crowdfunding campaign, which has had a very strong start and has been met with great interest. It demonstrates that what we do resonates – with consumers, producers, and investors alike – and that there is real power in our grassroots base. We welcome more investors who want to join the journey, but also people with experience in managing and leveraging a large shareholder base. Our ambition is to unlock the potential of up to a thousand new shareholders, using this unique ownership structure to build an even stronger community with high loyalty and long-term engagement.

The easiest way to reach me is via email or LinkedIn.