The small e-juice company from Tibro competed against multimillion-dollar competitors to see who makes the best e-juice. The result was second prize at the Vaparound Global Awards.
"Very powerful" says Linus "Koyuki" Gustafsson to Vejpkollen.
For the first time ever, a Nordic juice has managed to stand out among the thousands of entries in the Vapouround Global awards. Vejpkollen exchanged a few words with Linus "Koyuki" Gustafsson, a juice maker from Tibro, who won second prize in the "Best dessert" category.
First of all, congratulations! How did this happen?
- They were the ones who actually approached us. We have not expanded outside Sweden directly and have not been in the UK market at all. But there had apparently been tips about us, if I understood it correctly. The representative I spoke to had done some digging and liked the design. There was nothing like it in the UK market. It seemed like fun, and we had nothing to lose. So we sent in a couple of juices in different categories. Then we didn't think much more about it. It was quiet for a while before we were asked if we could participate in the ceremony. At the time it seemed a bit far-fetched - you know who wins every year. It's the big multi-million dollar companies.
But then we got another call that we had been shortlisted for the top five. Then there was a bit of panic. There are still over 5,000 submitted juices. So then it felt a little more possible. We simply had to book tickets, hotels and stuff.
"White blueberry cheesecake" was the flavor that went all the way to silver. How long did it take to get that recipe right, and what was the process?
- Ironically, I'm not a pastry fan myself. So the ambition was to create pastry juices that worked for people like me. Something that is not so heavy and that is aimed a little more at people who otherwise like fruit juices. We usually have a development time of three or four months and then the design work and graphics take another month. With the Chronicles series in particular, it was the first time I left the design entirely to Sanna Martinsson-Matsson. Now I will never interfere again, haha. She has completely free rein from now on and I stick to the juice.
You put a lot of emphasis on design, you see?
- Yes, design is very important to us! If you boil down the company, it's me and Sanna at the center, although we have very important other employees too. I'm in charge of flavors and recipes and she's in charge of design. Those are our two most important parts.
You are the first Swedish company to win a prize in the "Vapouround global awards". How does Swedish juice fare internationally otherwise?
- According to those who recruited us for the competition, we were even the first Nordic company to receive a prize. It was second prize in itself, but it was still very powerful. There are almost no Swedish juices on the international market, except those that can be ordered online. I know that "Mumma juice" was out on the market for a while, but 90 percent consists of British and Chinese manufacturers. It can be relatively monotonous, so some people probably think that Swedish juice built on Swedish taste buds will be a breath of fresh air. Time will tell if it will stick, but I think there is definitely a market for it right now.
And now you are working on a new large juice lab in Tibro?
- Yes, I am standing in the new premises right now. There is still some construction to be done, but the new warehouse will be 250 square meters and 120 square meters of clean lab. We are probably not alone in Sweden, but for us it is big! Just a few years ago I was mixing bottle by bottle in my room, so it's very fun.
In parallel with e-juice, you also make nicotine pouches. Tell us a little about how they are going!
- Only time will tell. But we have developed five bags with different flavors that sell well in the vejp world. These are the same flavors as the e-juices. Anything we can do to help smokers quit is good.
