A Swedish venture capitalist is investing in a number of initiatives in Malta, ranging from pick’n’mix sweet shops to a restaurant catering to the 8,000-strong Swedish community lured to Malta by the i-gaming industry.

Jonas Galotta has spent the past decade in Switzerland, from where he works with distressed companies and turns them around.

When he visited Malta, he came across the pick’n’mix shops Candynavia, which he thought had considerable untapped potential. He bought the business in June and immediately launched a refurbishment programme of the nine outlets.

“I see a lot of potential and can see the number of outlets increasing to 15. And we are also discussing the possibility of having stands in 15 supermarkets. But I really don’t see why things should stop there. I am talking to Malta Enterprise about the possibility of manufacturing some of the sweets here.

“Each outlet stocks around 250 different sweets but I would look at making around 100 here – and giving them a local twist, such as the shape... Other types of sweets, such as liquorice, we would get from Scandinavia...”

With Facebook groups dedicated to the Swedish community sprouting up, he also realised there was an untapped market in catering to the Scandinavians and decided to open food outlets called Swedish Delights. At first, he was only planning a take-out service/delicatessen but then added deliveries ­– in liveried Volvos, of course. But the instant success encouraged him to open a restaurant in Paceville, whose walls are covered with Swedish-themed posters and memorabilia.

“We are going for Swedish products on the menu, including soft drinks. Only the wine will be local as Sweden is not a great wine-producing country,” he laughed. “However, we will be offering candy shots (candy in vodka), which we do really well in Sweden!”

He has a wealth of ideas, determined to make the restaurant stand out from the rest. For example, he has a dog menu, and provides a bowl of snacks and water, as well as bones from the kitchen. He is also considering a delivery service for school lunches.

He admits that while the i-Gaming industry is currently flourishing, no one can predict its future.

“I am not sure that we would survive if the Swedes left. It is a bit of a gamble. But thankfully there is growing local interest. People are curious about Scandinavia as it is not a cuisine that they know a lot about,” he said. “And more and more Maltese are travelling to Sweden and come back keen to taste the delicacies again. I sold over 400 roes in one month – I never expected that kind of response!” he said.

Mr Galotta is already itching to take on another project and has a bar planned. What was supposed to be a warm weather refuge in Malta has turned into an opportunity to unleash his enthusiasm.

“I embarked on this project as a hobby,” he admitted. “But I must admit that when I saw how many opportunities there are, I got very involved!”

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.