About a year ago, our first freeze dryer rolled through the door.

We had big dreams, plenty we did not know, and a rather naïve idea of how difficult it would actually be. Freeze-drying food could not be that complicated, could it? We soon found out we were wrong!

Over the past year, we have produced thousands of meals (which sounds incredible when you say it out loud), tested countless recipes and learned more than we could ever have learned from books. Above all, though, we have experienced what it means to build a business from scratch – during days, evenings and weekends, with our minds racing for half the night.

When nothing works

If you follow us on social media, you will know that things have not always gone to plan.

Our freeze dryer broke down when we were at our busiest. We struggled with vacuum seals that would not stay airtight. We ordered pouches we thought would be perfect – until they arrived and turned out to be anything but. We cut meat the wrong way, had food that would not dry, pressed the wrong buttons and used the wrong trays in the freeze dryer.

There have been days when we wondered whether we were in our right minds. But perhaps this is how you learn new things.

Small victories mean a lot

At the same time, so many wonderful things have happened.

We have met customers at trade fairs and events around the country. We got off to a flying start with a limited company from AB Jämtland, and regional investment support made our launch possible. We have been invited onto podcasts to share our journey. We have met people who were curious, asked questions and cheered us on far more than we could ever have hoped.

It is hard to describe how much that encouragement means when you are packing pouches late on a Sunday evening.

Local partnerships

One thing became clear early on: we do not just want to produce freeze-dried food. We want to create something that feels Swedish, and preferably rooted in Jämtland. Something built on partnerships with the people and businesses around us.

During the year, we have had the pleasure of working with everyone from local ingredient producers to Jämtland’s one and only Trangia (shop Trangia here), and we have developed locally produced freeze-dried dog treats (available from Jillie). Our moose stew would never have been the same without the excellent moose meat supplied by Hede kött & Chark, and friends and local mushroom experts have provided us with mushrooms.

It feels especially rewarding when small businesses can help each other grow.

Two steps forward, one step back

Every pouch represents hundreds of small decisions, failures, improvements and tests.

Behind every finished meal are recipes that did not work, long conversations that went nowhere, purchases of strange gadgets, labels that had to be redone and packaging that ended up in the bin.

You cannot see any of this when you hold the finished pouch in your hand. But we hope it is where the quality takes shape.

We are still finding our pace

Many people ask how things are going. The answer is: better than we dared hope – but more slowly than we sometimes wished.

We have other jobs that keep life running and put food on the table. We still have not been able to pay ourselves a salary. And we still have more ideas than hours in the day.

Today, though, we have stockists who believe in us, partnerships we could only dream of when we started, and customers who return to order again.

That feels like confirmation that we are on the right track.

Year two begins now

The first year was mainly about learning to survive and trying things out. We hope the second will be about developing and growing.

More products.
More stockists.
More partnerships.
Better production, and more of it.
More investment.
And hopefully a little more sleep!

We will certainly face new challenges. But we hope you will keep following our journey, through the good times and the difficult ones.

Thank you to all our customers, stockists, partners, family, friends and everyone who has cheered us on during our first year. We could never have done it without you.

Now the next year begins. One step at a time.