Oddlygood snaps up British plant-based firm to expand UK and EU presence

Finnish plant-based company Oddlygood has acquired UK-based Rude Health, which formulates dairy-free drinks, cereals and snacks with a focus on flavor, provenance, sustainability and health. With the move, Oddlygood aims to “revolutionize” plant-based in foodservice, expand its business beyond the Nordics and drive both UK and European growth.

The UK’s competitive plant-based drinks market has seen 18% growth in the sector and Oddlygood will support the growth of both the brands’ product portfolios, claims the Valio spin-off.

“Both Oddlygood and Rude Health have complementary portfolios, target audiences and capabilities that will enable us to grow both brands alongside each other,” says Niko Vuorenmaa, CEO of Oddlygood.

“The UK market is notoriously competitive with established leaders but we believe that bringing these brands and teams together will reinvigorate the market and re-engage both new and existing users of plant-based products.”

Oddlygood’s product range includes oat, soy and almond drinks and alternatives to cheese, yogurts, cooking products and desserts. It launched its Barista Oat Drinks in the UK earlier this year.

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

Expanding business

Rude Health was co-founded in 2005 by Camilla and Nick Barnard. Since then the company claims it has grown to become a top five UK plant-based drinks brand alongside its range of cereals and snacks. 

“We created Rude Health at our kitchen table, to make healthy eating a celebration, not a sacrifice. From these basic beginnings mixing muesli, we branched out into more cereals and then dairy alternative drinks,” says Camilla.

The brand is available across major retailers, foodservice operators and providers, such as Bidfood, Foodbuy and Creed and has a café in London, which started operating in 2016. 

The company notes that this year, the brand is on track to deliver £28 million (US$30.3 million) revenue. Recently, Rude Health also recertified as a BCorp with a score of 120.7, putting it among the top three food and drink brands in the UK.

 Before Rude Health, Oddlygood acquired the Nordic brand Planti last year, to manufacture plant-based dairy alternative spoonable snacks in Sweden and dairy alternative cooking products in Finland.