He has several Norwegian billionaires on his property side – now Minimei is bankrupt and $21 million in debt.

It has been no more than two years since DN wrote that sales of the carrier developed by the Norwegian “minimeis” were growing at record speed. In two years, the turnover of the company behind Mini Messen has increased 60 times – reaching NOK 124 million in 2020.

Since then, trading volume has decreased year after year.

Now the company has been declared bankrupt.

Trading value decreased

It appears in a tender application to the Oslo District Court, where it appears in the ruling that the council stated the total debt was NOK 21 million. The total value of the company’s assets is approximately NOK 19 million.

“The work is ongoing and the company has four employees,” she says.

Last year, the company’s turnover amounted to NOK 56 million, down from NOK 83 million the previous year. In the past two years, the company has lost a total of NOK 19 million.

DN tried to contact Chairman Erlend Glømmen and General Manager Tarjei Espolin Johnson. They have not yet responded to inquiries.

Multiple stakeholders

Trustee Christian Solmsley says it’s too early to tell what happened, but suggests liquidity was the issue. He explained that the debt consists of bank debts with commitments on inventory, operating accessories, and receivables, in addition to trade payables.

– The property manager says: – So far we have confidence that the warehouse will be completed at a good price.

According to Solmsley, there are parties interested in purchasing the stock and rights.

– How many stakeholders are we talking about?

The bankruptcy filing includes information about five interested parties.

-Is one of these current owners?

– The property manager says: – I didn’t get the impression of that.

Time magazine

After selling a few thousand units a year, Minimeis in 2019 bet on quintupling production. That same year, Time magazine named the Minime one of the best inventions of the year. Since then, mini ice cream sales have set new records. The pandemic did not stop growth. on the contrary.

– In 2019, we sold 20,000 Mini Maizers. Last year, sales were nearly 95,000 units. “In total, we have now sold between 170,000 and 180,000 small devices,” Managing Director Johnson told DN in 2021.

They have now sold about a quarter of a million Mini Maizers, according to last year’s annual accounts.

As of April this year, the product was available in about 700 stores, mostly in Europe. The company was due to launch minimeis in the US in the second and third quarters through a range of small private store chains and large retailers, according to annual accounts.

I raised money last year

In 2020, the company raised a total of NOK 50 million. As witnessed by Dagens Næringsliv, Minimeis was worth around NOK 200 million at the time. The company then brought in Norwegian investors, including Christian Stabile Eriksen and Norona owner Jørgen Jørgensen.

From last year’s annual accounts, it appears that the company brought in NOK 18.5 million at the beginning of 2022.

“This was the basis for the transformation that led to Minimeis entering the retail market and creating new market channels,” the annual report said.