White Guide
White Guide is a Nordic culinary media company operating the leading nationwide restaurant, hotel, café, and bar guide in Sweden and Denmark, serving food enthusiasts and travelers with curated reviews, news, and a proprietary classification system since 2005.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersBangkok, Thailand
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What White Guide does
White Guide is a privately held Nordic culinary media company founded in 2005 that operates the leading and only nationwide restaurant and hotel guide in both Sweden and Denmark. Its core products are two country-specific digital platforms — whiteguide.com/se/sv (Sweden) and whiteguide.com/dk/da (Denmark) — that publish curated reviews, news, trend analyses, and long-form Långläsning editorial content covering restaurants, hotels, cafés, and bars. The company maintains a proprietary five-level classification system ranking establishments from "Recommended" up to "Global masters level," supplemented by a separate Mat- & Dryckeskalender (Food & Drink Calendar) product launched in 2024.
The business serves two distinct customer groups. Consumer-side, it targets Nordic food enthusiasts, tourists, and travelers seeking expert-reviewed dining and accommodation recommendations. Commercial-side, it monetizes through display advertising, brand partnerships (twelve partners visible on the Danish site, including S.Pellegrino, Arla Unika, Cacao Barry, and Landbrug & Fødevarer), newsletter sponsorships, and the calendar product. Distribution runs through its owned websites, an email newsletter, and social channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter/X for both the Swedish and Danish brands.
The company is small (11–50 employees), independent, and founder-led — founder and publisher Lars Peder Hedberg passed away, marking a leadership transition — with a 2023 funding round from LEVELS - The Venture Studio suggesting a pivot toward studio-backed growth. There are no disclosed enterprise contracts, paywall subscriptions, AI/ML capabilities, or material M&A activity in the input data, and pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company description is constrained to factual information present in the input; any expansion or revenue claims beyond what is stated are intentionally excluded.
White Guide firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- White Guide
- Legal name
- White Guide
- Website
- https://whiteguide.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- White Guide is a Nordic culinary media company operating the leading nationwide restaurant, hotel, café, and bar guide in Sweden and Denmark, serving food enthusiasts and travelers with curated reviews, news, and a proprietary classification system since 2005.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
White Guide industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Restaurant and Hotel Guide
- NAICS
- Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Review-Led Travel Discovery & Booking Platforms (THAKAAAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Restaurant Reservations & Dining Booking Platforms (BPAMAIAK), Local Tours, Activities & Attractions Metasearch (THALAEAI)
Keywords
Where White Guide is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bangkok
- HQ country
- Thailand
- HQ region
- Asia
Markets served
White Guide business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
White Guide product offering
Product offeringCore offering
White Guide operates as the leading and only nationwide restaurant and hotel guide in both Sweden and Denmark. Since 2005 it has curated news coverage, trend analyses, detailed guides, and impartial reviews of restaurants, hotels, cafés, and bars, organized through a proprietary five-level classification system and supported by long-form editorial content.
Product overview
White Guide is a Nordic culinary guide platform offering restaurant, hotel, café, and bar reviews and recommendations. The platform operates across Sweden and Denmark, providing a searchable guide with a proprietary classification system that ranks establishments across five levels. The core offering consists of the White Guide Sweden and White Guide Denmark platforms, complemented by the Mat- & Dryckeskalender™ (Food & Drink Calendar) product. The classification system covers restaurants, bars, cafés, and hotels with rankings from 'Recommended' up to 'Global masters level'. Content includes news coverage, trend analyses, long-form articles (Långläsning), and detailed establishment reviews.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- White Guide Sweden (Sverige) Sweden's leading and only nationwide restaurant and hotel guide providing comprehensive coverage of gastronomy and food culture through news, reviews, trend analyses, and meticulous guides for Swedish diners and travelers.
- White Guide Denmark (Danmark) Denmark's leading and only nationwide restaurant and hotel guide covering the Nordic culinary scene with reviews and news for Danish diners and travelers.
- Mat- & Dryckeskalender (Food & Drink Calendar) A digital calendar featuring food and drink events, available as a standalone product to food enthusiasts in the Nordic market.
Companies that use White Guide
Customer profileSegments1 record
White Guide technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
White Guide partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- Gastro UnikaminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- DFDminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- Bent BrandtminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- Cacao BarryminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- Arla UnikaminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- S.PellegrinominorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- Landbrug & FødevarerminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- København KombuchaminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- insulaminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- Kay BojesenminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- Laudrup vin gastronomiminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
- Glumsø SlagtehusminorDisplayed as a partner logo on the Danish White Guide platform.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights4 records
White Guide competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Yelp: Consumer review platform for restaurants and local businesses. Comparable as a discovery and review destination, though U.S.-centric and crowdsourced rather than expert-edited like White Guide.
- TripAdvisor: Global user-generated review platform covering restaurants and hotels across all major markets. Comparable as a restaurant/hotel discovery and review platform, but operating at vastly larger scale with crowdsourced rather than editorial content.
Direct peers
- The World's 50 Best Restaurants: Annual ranking of the world's top restaurants based on expert votes and editorial curation. Comparable to White Guide's 'Masterclass' tier and global masters level rankings for Nordic restaurants.
- Michelin Guide: Global restaurant rating guide operating a star-based classification system. Directly comparable to White Guide as an authoritative editorial restaurant guide, though operating at much larger geographic scale and brand recognition.
- Gault & Millau: European restaurant guide with a points-based ranking system across multiple countries. Directly comparable as a country-by-country editorial restaurant rating brand with a tiered classification structure.
- Zagat: Editorial restaurant rating guide historically based on curated reviews and scores. Comparable to White Guide as a curated editorial guide, though now operated within Google rather than as an independent platform.
Regional players
- DK Eyewitness Travel: Major travel guide publisher covering European destinations including Nordic countries, with restaurant and hotel recommendations. Comparable as a travel-focused editorial guide with restaurant/hotel content, though broader in scope than White Guide's culinary focus.
- Lonely Planet: Global travel guidebook publisher covering Nordic countries with restaurant and accommodation recommendations. Comparable as an editorial travel guide with restaurant/hotel content, though broader in scope (destinations, hotels, attractions beyond dining).
Emerging players
- Eater: Food and restaurant editorial publication covering dining scenes across U.S. and select international cities. Comparable as editorial food/restaurant content platform, though primarily digital-native without a formal classification system.
- Infatuation: Restaurant discovery platform with curated editorial reviews and city-specific dining guides. Comparable as an editorial-led restaurant discovery and review destination, though operating primarily in North American cities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
White Guide social profiles
Digital presenceWhite Guide financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
White Guide leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
White Guide funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
White Guide M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about White Guide
What does White Guide do?
White Guide operates as the leading and only nationwide restaurant and hotel guide in both Sweden and Denmark. Since 2005 it has curated news coverage, trend analyses, detailed guides, and impartial reviews of restaurants, hotels, cafés, and bars, organized through a proprietary five-level classification system and supported by long-form editorial content.
Is White Guide a public or private company?
White Guide is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was White Guide founded?
White Guide was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is White Guide based?
White Guide is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, in the Asia region.
Who are White Guide's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Yelp and TripAdvisor. Direct peers are The World's 50 Best Restaurants, Michelin Guide, Gault & Millau and Zagat. Regional players are DK Eyewitness Travel and Lonely Planet. Emerging players are Eater and Infatuation.
Does White Guide have an API?
No public API is recorded for White Guide.
What industry is White Guide in?
White Guide's product category is Restaurant and Hotel Guide. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKAAAN, Review-Led Travel Discovery & Booking Platforms, with a secondary code of BPAMAIAK, Restaurant Reservations & Dining Booking Platforms. Its NAICS code is 561591 and its SIC code is 7990.