It started as a spontaneous test in 2021. After selling his previous company, serial entrepreneur Andreas Spaniol wanted to see if he could enter the golf industry, an interest he had since childhood. The solution was to import a small test batch from China.
I bought 250 golf gloves via Alibaba and found a name that was easy to remember and perhaps a little irritating: Golfvante. The name has actually caused some irritation over the years, as the product is actually called golfhandske, Andreas Spaniol told Ehandel.se.
When the stock in the garage in Svedala sold out in just one month, he realized there was great potential. From being a small side project, the business has grown rapidly, entirely without external capital.
According to the company's latest annual report for 2025, net sales doubled from just over 1.4 million to over 2.9 million Swedish krona. During the same period, profit landed at around 370,000 Swedish krona.
For 2026, the company appears to be approaching 4.5 million Swedish krona in turnover.
It wasn't a single campaign or clever solution that changed everything, Andreas states. We came up with better products, broadened the range and gradually became better at e-commerce and advertising. At the same time, more existing customers started to return.
A million-dollar business on two legs
Today, the parent company Vant & Co AB rests on two legs. The consumer brand and e-commerce Golfvante accounts for the lion's share with around 90 percent of turnover. The second leg is the B2B business Vantgolf, where the company helps other players develop and manufacture their own golf gloves.
The slightly unexpected thing is that we were completely new to the golf industry in 2021. A few years later, we are helping both larger and smaller brands outside of Sweden with their products, says Andreas, adding that they now also hold the agency for their production partner and manage the factory's sales in Europe, Africa and North America.
The expensive material lesson
Finding the right production partner and understanding the industry, however, was not a straight path. The company learned the hard way how complex it is to manufacture a really good glove.
We have worked with about ten factories and made many incorrect purchases and product choices. A prototype may feel good, but when the finished production arrives, materials, fit or sizes may differ. We have received deliveries that we were not satisfied with and had to start over several times.
Today, they have a deep understanding of materials, from cheap synthetics to premium cabretta leather, and dare to make tougher demands on tanneries and suppliers.
The e-commerce part has also required patience. To drive growth, advertising via Meta has been crucial, but today other channels are growing rapidly.
We are working more with email, which has become one of our most profitable channels. This allows us to communicate with existing customers without having to buy back the same customer through advertising every time. We also often hear that customers recommend us to their golf buddies.
Rejects 3PL for own warehouse
In 2026, the company expects to sell 35,000 gloves in Sweden alone. The goal for 2027 is 50,000 gloves sold in the Swedish market – which Andreas estimates corresponds to about five percent of the market share – plus growing sales in the rest of Europe.
With these volumes, it is no longer possible to run the entire logistics from home, and a move to new premises is planned for 2027. However, an external logistics solution is not currently relevant.
We have looked at 3PL solutions but so far judged that they are too expensive for us. We also want to maintain proximity to the products and customers. The strategy is therefore to continue to warehouse, pack and ship ourselves, but from a location that is better suited for the business. All customer packages are packed by us, concludes Andreas Spaniol.