Oddlygood Global, a spinoff of Valio, one of Finland's premiere food companies, closed its first round of funding with an investment of $28 million from the private equity division of Helsinki-based Mandatum Asset Management.
Oddlygood develops and markets plant-based products, including oat drinks for coffee, oat yogurts, cheeses and dairy alternatives used in cooking and baking. Known for its Finlandia brand of cheeses and butter in the US, Valio spun off the plant-based division's business earlier this year and will continue as Oddlygood's majority shareholder.
Mandatum's investment will fuel Oddlygood's goal of becoming a global leader in plant-based products.
The sales of Oddlygood products have doubled every year since the brand's debut in 2018. In Sweden, Oddlygood has grown 131%, while the market share of oat-based dairy alternatives has only grown by 12%. In October this year, the company had the second largest market share in oat-based beverages in Sweden, according to NielsenIQ ScanTrack.
Currently, Oddlygood products are sold in Finland and Sweden, as well as in the UK, Russia and the Baltic countries. US sales are slated to begin in early 2022 as production begins of Oddlygood Oat Yogurt in Northern California.
The company's US headquarters are in Parsippany, N.J. Earlier this year, Oddlygood started marketing its cheeses to the US foodservice sector with a focus on pizza operators. Oddlygood Global plans to grow sales and distribution in existing markets and enter new ones.