In today’s economy, scalability, automation, and growth culture aren’t reserved for Silicon Valley anymore. Across Europe and beyond, companies rooted in agriculture, fashion, or hardware are building operations with the mindset — and efficiency — of the tech world. They’re data-driven, digital-native, ethics-first… but not tech companies. At least, not in the traditional sense.
Let’s take a closer look at the players turning the model upside down — and winning.
1. Another Tomorrow: Sustainable fashion, built like a startup
Founded in 2020 by former Morgan Stanley executive Vanessa Barboni Hallik, Another Tomorrow was born with a mission: rethink luxury fashion from the ground up.
- Fully transparent supply chain, regenerative materials, and a D2C-first digital structure.
- By 2024, the company crossed $50M in revenue, with healthy margins due to smart overstock management powered by AI (source: voguebusiness.com).
- Without relying on traditional VC hypergrowth, it scaled through strategic capital aligned with ESG values.
Key takeaway: A fashion brand, but built like a SaaS company. Internal CRM, drop-based model, and circularity systems from day one.
2. Circular Computing: The IT refurbisher with tech DNA
What’s more unsexy than refurbishing laptops? Yet Circular Computing, based in the UK, turned it into a €150M enterprise by applying tech-level systems to industrial logistics.
- Supplying over 34,000 remanufactured laptops to clients like Atos, the company saved nearly 19,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions (source: wikipedia.org).
- Their model? Certified carbon neutrality, real-time stock traceability, AI-enhanced refurbishing lines, and a hybrid B2B/B2G distribution pipeline.
Key takeaway: They don’t make tech — but they use it to completely reinvent an existing industry.
Why “Tech Culture” Is Now A Business Operating System
Across all industries, a new type of company is emerging — not defined by what it sells, but how it operates:
- Digital-first infrastructure: cloud ERP, CRM automation, blockchain tracking
- Data & KPI obsession: real-time dashboards, testing loops, performance indicators
- Smart capital: no aggressive VC, but sustainable long-term investors
- Mixed distribution: direct, wholesale, marketplaces, and even government contracts
You no longer need to code to operate like tech — just adopt its logic.
Jungle Grower: Farmers with a tech playbook
Let’s talk about Jungle Grower. Based in Rhône-Alpes, France, the company grows organic hemp over 3 hectares outdoors and 2,500 m² of glasshouse facilities. But this isn’t old-school farming. This is full-stack agriculture, reimagined.
- Automated irrigation and climate control
- Sensor-based data tracking across all plots
- Internal seed management and certified organic soil cycles
- Dual-brand strategy: Jungle Grower (B2B) + Jungle Kush, a lifestyle-forward D2C cannabis label
Even in its wholeseller of seeds and chanvre Jungle Grower brings full traceability, CRM automation, and growth analytics to a product that’s as physical as it gets.
This is the reversal: traditional farming roots, but built on digital DNA.
It works — and it scales.
(source: jungle-grower.com)
Industry Numbers Don’t Lie
- The global organic hemp market was valued at $146M in 2023, with an expected +13.4% CAGR through 2032 (source: gminsights.com).
- In France alone, the market hit €1B in 2022, and could surpass €2.5B by 2025
- In Europe, the overall cannabis sector is growing at +26.7% CAGR through 2029 (source: databridgemarketresearch.com).
This isn’t hype — this is a structural shift. And players like Jungle Grower are positioned to ride the wave.
A Few Revealing Anecdotes
- In 2024, Jungle Grower implemented real-time climate and soil tracking across every 10 m² of its fields. Teams now adjust micro-strategy plot by plot based on live data.
- Another Tomorrow increased profit margins by 8% in Q1 2024 using AI-driven bundle suggestions for slow-moving inventory (source: voguebusiness.com).
- Circular Computing won a 60,000-laptop tender in Ireland, beating new manufacturers by 30% on price — while cutting over 15,000 tonnes of emissions (source: wikipedia.org).
Hybrid Models Are the Future
| Business Component | What It Looks Like in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Digital Core | Cloud-native tools, real-time dashboards |
| Mission & Impact | Bio, zero-waste, carbon-neutral, ESG-backed |
| Capital Strategy | Ethical funds, patient capital, value-aligned investors |
| Distribution Mix | D2C, B2B, government, global marketplaces |
| Ops Culture | Weekly KPI reviews, live experimentation, lean cycles |
These aren’t just tools — it’s a philosophy. The tech mindset has moved from sector to system.
Conclusion: You Don’t Have to Be a Tech Company to Act Like One
Another Tomorrow, Circular Computing, and Jungle Grower all prove one thing: what matters is not what you sell — but how you build.
- You can sell clothing, laptops, or hemp — and still operate like a hyper-efficient SaaS.
- You can monitor climate data, automate sales, and raise ethical capital — without ever writing code.
- You can scale and stay grounded.
Jungle Grower is perhaps the perfect metaphor for this new era: a company rooted in the soil, but scaling like a startup. With its hybrid digital model, internal tech systems, and dual-brand strategy, it plays both sides — and wins.
The real disruption of 2025? Companies that grow like tech, without being tech.
