Revenue for 2025 reached SEK 155 million, compared to SEK 86.8 million during the previous year. This represents an increase of 78.6 percent. Operating profit followed a similar curve, amounting to SEK 39.6 million, a 100 percent increase.
It's absolutely incredible. I haven't quite grasped how incredible the figures actually are. For me, they are just a receipt for all the work and nothing I focus heavily on, says Jonna to Ehandel.se and continues:
Every day is a new day where you try to do your best. The most important thing for me is that we build something, while having a lot of fun along the way.
The company's management report explains the strong development by building a loyal customer base with repeat customers, combined with a strong presence on social media and a clear offering. But when we ask Jonna Gustafsson what she believes is the real recipe for success, she chooses instead to highlight her staff.
We are humble in acknowledging that we are not experts in everything. The recipe for success is our fantastic staff, who do an incredible job. We try to do everything to be a good workplace and keep them motivated. Everyone who works for and represents Essnce is incredibly important in our success story, she says.
Continued Growth During the New Year
But if last year's financial year laid a solid foundation, the new year has not meant any rest or relaxation. The machinery has continued to spin at the same high speed during 2026, and the sights have been set far beyond the country's borders.
Following previous successes in the neighboring country, the company is now noticing an even stronger foothold in the Norwegian market, while interest has begun to spread to entirely new areas outside the Nordics. But it is not only geographically that the business is expanding.
2026 has continued to go incredibly well. We are seeing even more traction in Norway, but also in more markets outside the Nordic borders. We have also launched two additional product categories this year, both of which have performed very well, says Jonna.
The rapid sales pace has meant that the inventory has been emptied faster than planned. But according to Jonna, it is a receipt that the products are hitting the mark, when the shelves are gaping empty.
One of them has almost sold out every time we have replenished the stock, and the other is a summer limited edition that will also be completely sold out within a week. Of course, it's a receipt that the launches have exceeded our expectations.
However, a sell-out is never fun for customers who are left empty-handed, but at the same time it is a clear proof that the demand has been much greater than we even dared to hope for.
Physical Store Spaces Become Permanent
Although the fragrance rocket has essentially built its empire on the digital playing field, the step out into the physical reality has been tempting.
What started as temporary and time-limited pop-up ventures has evolved into a strategic springboard over the past year. The experiences from meeting customers face to face have provided several insights, and now management has decided. The search has begun for more long-term and fixed solutions in the country's major cities, where finding the perfect address is a top priority.
We have actually kept the store in Gothenburg since the opening in October last year, and we are really looking for a premises that can become permanent. We'll see exactly when that happens.
We are also eager for a permanent store in Stockholm, but then the location will be A and O for us. We are also currently at Väla shopping center, where we were also last year, and we will be there until the end of the year. Then we'll see how the year delivers and make decisions about a possible permanent store going forward.
The Strategy Behind the Summer Break
In the e-commerce industry, constant visibility and uninterrupted optimization of advertising campaigns are often an unwritten rule to keep sales figures up. But during last year's summer period, the Nässjö-based company chose to go completely against the grain and challenge industry norms. They simply pulled the handbrake on digital marketing and let the ad accounts lie completely silent for two weeks.
It was an unusual and seemingly risky move for a company in rapid growth, but the decision was based on a desire to protect the internal well-being of the organization over constant online visibility.
The consequence of a two-week break had no remarkable effect on the result. The main reason we took the break was honestly mostly that we in the team would get some time to log out, gather inspiration and at the same time not have an overly stressful period when we would cover each other's holidays.
But this year the team chooses to keep the machinery running during the summer months. Instead of shutting down, full activity is now planned, where marketing runs as usual:
Unfortunately, we will not be running the same break this year. It is a joint decision we have made as a team because we have many fun events that we at Essnce will be visiting during the summer.
Leadership Through Intuition
In previous contexts, the company has communicated that the workforce has grown to encompass over a hundred people, which easily paints a picture of a very large organization. However, looking at the annual report, it looks different, where the formal average number of employees during the financial year 2025 is registered as nine people.
When we ask Jonna how this adds up, she explains the setup behind the scenes:
This is perhaps actually a large part of our "secret sauce". We have help from Slashten when it comes to staffing, so "100 employees" may be a bit wrong. We have had over 100 people working for Essnce, but not necessarily at Essnce. But honestly, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we don't try to build things too complex. It should be simple and fun, and so far we have managed to maintain that feeling even as we grow.
Keeping the organization agile has also required a clear division of responsibility at the very top of the company.
To prevent the creative pace from being slowed down by operational details, the management has been divided into two separate tracks. The logistical machinery, which requires fixed structures and constant efficiency improvements, is handled entirely by the company's CEO Fredrik Nordendorph, who is also Jonna's husband. In this way, she can keep her hands free to steer the parts of the business that require immediate responsiveness to consumers and rapid strategic shifts.
I am of course not involved in everything in the same way anymore. I am primarily responsible for business and product development as well as marketing, and there I still believe strongly in gut feeling. What does the customer say? What feels right? What is missing from the market? Of course, data also plays a role, but for us it is not about making things rocket science. It's about listening, feeling and daring to act quickly.
Financing and Future Expansion
The company has financed its growth on its own so far without external capital, which is seen as an advantage in maintaining control over the business idea. But interest from external investors exists. Raising capital is not a priority at the moment.
We are entirely self-financed so far, and that is something I am very proud of. It has allowed us to build Essnce our way, with quick decisions, made many decisions on gut feeling and without having to compromise our vision.
Of course, there is interest from outside, especially now that the company has grown rapidly and we have received this type of attention. But right now we are not stressed about raising capital. If we were to do so at some point, it needs to be with the right partner, for the right reason and to actually help us take the next step internationally.
Leaning back after the recent successes is not on the agenda for the fragrance company. Looking ahead, the duo now aims for even higher heights. The goal that has now been pinned down shows that the expansion plans extend far beyond the current playing field.
We have grand plans ahead. For the first time, we have sat down properly and set a clear goal for where we want to be, and we are aiming for one billion, says Jonna Gustafsson and concludes:
We want to build Essnce into a global fragrance company with products that smell good in several different categories. The nearest goal is to establish ourselves in more new markets, but perhaps with more physical presence as part of the strategy. In addition, we will continue to launch more fun product categories. Fragrance is so much more than just perfume, and we see many opportunities ahead.