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For over 40 years, Göran Sundström has been involved in beekeeping on the family farm outside Uppsala. It all started with him and his wife Eva taking care of a community of bees when there were too many apple trees but too few bees on the farm and it has continued from there. They made beeswax candles, soaps and ointments that they traveled around to markets and sold. Eventually the focus became more and more on honey and in 1993 Upplands Honung was started.
Today, Upplands Honung has90 unique bee farms, 10 employees and an annual turnover of over SEK 7 million. The basic idea is to focus on sustainability. Partly so that the organic farming can continue to be KRAV-certified, but also so that the employees can feel safe when they work. Upplands Honung still operates on the farm where it once started and is still a family business. In addition to Göran, who is the beekeeper, and Eva, who makes all the labels, daughter Emmy also lives on the farm with her family and also works in the company.
In addition to the bee farms on the farm, Upplands Honung has bee farms scattered around Uppland. They produce around 30 tons of honey themselves but also buy up to 50-60 tons of honey from other beekeepers which they then bottle. This is done to be able to keep production and the business going all year round, something that is important for Upplands Honung from several aspects. Partly to be able to deliver the volumes that the wholesalers they work with require, and partly to be able to offer employees the security that a permanent job provides.
Founded
1993
Headquarters
Uppsala
Employees
10
Froda came into the picture in 2022 when Upplands Honung needed to invest in a larger bottling machine for the honey. "When it comes to a major investment, it is difficult to finance it out of your own pocket without affecting liquidity too much. It doesn't always make sense financially and it often takes too much time away from us to the extent that it affects the regular business," says Sundström. "The bottling machine we bought is below the level of those used in large-scale production, like operators, which has enabled us to produce on the large scale we do. We bottle around 2,500 cans a day inside our factory and in addition to the bottling machine we also have a labeling machine, all to ensure the same delivery all year round."
7.3
mSEK
Turnover
Why did you choose Froda?
"Dealing with Froda was so simple compared to other banks. The information about loan availability and terms was quick and clear. We saved a lot of time and administrative work, which is invaluable as a business owner when you're already struggling to keep up with everything you need to do. The clear explanation of how the repayment would proceed was also great."
The future of Upplands Honung
"We will continue to both produce our own honey and buy in to bottle. This is how we can make our product nationwide and we will continue to do so. Our own honey is called Upplands Honung and is sold locally in Uppsala, while the honey we buy and bottle is sold on to wholesalers such as Axfood."
About Froda AB
Froda was founded in 2015 with the ambition to redefine business finance by making it more accessible and effective for small businesses. Froda's vision is to empower all small business owners, regardless of background, to realize their business ideas. By combining technological innovation with efficient digital processes, Froda has shortened the loan processing time from months to minutes - creating a financing model that is fast, fair and inclusive. Today, Froda is one of Europe's fastest growing tech companies.
In 2021, Froda launched an embedded finance initiative, through which the company has expanded to the Nordic region, the UK and Germany and entered into partnerships with Visa, Lunar and Checkout.com, among others. As a credit market company, Froda is under the supervision of Finansinspektionen.
