Safe As Milk

What Safe As Milk does

Safe As Milk is a bootstrapped, Brighton, UK-based software studio that develops and sells premium Shopify themes through the official Shopify Theme Store. Founded in 2015/2016 by designer Dean Ricca-Smith and developer Modestas Urbonas, the company operates with a small team of founders plus support staff and no external investment. Its product portfolio consists of two themes: Venue, launched in 2017 as an elegant minimal theme for omnichannel merchants (those selling both online and in physical stores, with features for events, multiple locations, and various delivery options), and Creative, launched in 2021 with a bold, modern-luxury aesthetic built on Venue's success.

The themes are built on Shopify's native Liquid templating language with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and ship extensive built-in features designed to eliminate dependence on third-party apps: Quick Shop slide-out/modal buy flows, custom color and image swatches, advanced headers with mega menus, predictive search, multilingual and multi-currency support via Shopify Markets, Eventbrite event feeds, Mailchimp newsletter integration, Shop Pay Instalments banners, and Google structured data. Venue receives continuous major-version updates (v16.0 through v18.2.2 documented between April 2025 and June 2026) and has accumulated over 500 positive reviews on the Shopify Theme Store.

The business model is a one-time perpetual license per store, with free updates included as long as source code remains unmodified. Licenses are single-store and non-transferable to other merchants, and all payments are non-refundable per Shopify policy. Distribution is exclusively through the Shopify Theme Store marketplace, which handles trial installation, payment processing, and theme update distribution. Customers are long-tail SMBs across verticals including creative studios, food and beverage (notably craft coffee and craft beverage), retail, art, and outdoor/adventure, with thousands of merchants actively using the themes.

Name

Safe As Milk

Legal name

Safe As Milk

Website

https://safeasmilk.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Safe As Milk is a bootstrapped Brighton, UK-based Shopify theme studio selling the Venue and Creative premium themes exclusively through the Shopify Theme Store to SMB merchants worldwide via one-time perpetual licenses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New Brighton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Theme Licenses: One-time payment for theme license. Each license grants use for a single store only. Merchants can transfer a theme to a second store only if they close their first store. Multiple stores require multiple downloads and each download is subject to applicable license purchase. Themes come with free updates unless source code has been edited.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Safe As Milk develops and sells premium Shopify themes (Venue and Creative) through the official Shopify Theme Store. Each theme is licensed as a one-time, non-refundable perpetual license for a single store with free automatic updates and complimentary support covering pre-sales questions, theme functionality questions, and bug fixes. Themes are built using Liquid, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and include built-in features such as Quick Shop, custom swatches, mega menus, predictive search, multilingual/multi-currency support, and advanced header and navigation options, targeting Shopify merchants running omnichannel and online stores.

Product overview

Safe As Milk offers two premium Shopify themes: Venue and Creative. Venue is the original flagship theme (launched 2017) featuring elegant minimal design with powerful features for omnichannel merchants including those with physical stores and event venues. Creative is the newer premium theme combining bold design, modern performance, and deep customization. Both themes are sold through the Shopify Theme Store, receive regular updates, and include features like Quick Shop, custom swatches, mega menus, and extensive customization options without requiring coding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Venue Theme A premium, minimal Shopify theme with built-in features for omnichannel merchants — supporting online sales alongside physical stores, events, multiple locations, and various delivery options. Sold as a single-store one-time perpetual license with free updates and complimentary pre-sales and bug-fix support.
• Creative Theme A bold, modern Shopify theme for merchants seeking a premium, asymmetric 'modern luxury' aesthetic, with deep customization options (multiple layouts per section), modern performance, and built-in features that help merchants sell more, faster. Sold as a single-store one-time perpetual license with free updates and complimentary support.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 500 positive reviews for Venue theme since 2017
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ShopifycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 July 2017Safe As Milk develops themes for the Shopify Theme Store, leveraging Shopify's platform infrastructure. Themes integrate deeply with Shopify features including Markets, multi-currency, checkout customization, and Shopify's theme update distribution system. Shopify processes payments for theme purchases.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pixel Union: Popular Shopify theme developer with a portfolio of premium themes sold through the Shopify Theme Store, targeting the same SMB merchant segment with comparable feature depth and pricing.
• Archetype Themes: Premium Shopify theme studio focused on design-forward themes for growing merchants, distributed through the Shopify Theme Store with similar positioning around customization and merchant self-service.
• Out of the Sandbox: Long-established premium Shopify theme developer selling multiple themes via the Shopify Theme Store with one-time license pricing and dedicated support - directly parallel to Safe As Milk's Venue and Creative model.
• Fluorescent: Shopify theme developer producing premium themes for direct-to-consumer brands via the Shopify Theme Store, with similar emphasis on ease of customization and feature breadth comparable to Safe As Milk's offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Themeforest (Envato Market): Massive multi-platform template marketplace that includes a large catalog of Shopify themes. Operates broadly as a theme distribution channel rather than as a single-theme studio, competing indirectly for merchant theme-purchase budgets.
• Shopify: The platform itself and ecosystem owner. Shopify's own free themes (Dawn, Sense, etc.) and continued investment in the Theme Editor directly compete with third-party premium-theme studios like Safe As Milk.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SafeAsMilkCo
• Facebookfacebook.com/safeasmilkco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Safe As Milk