Björn Öste founded Oatly with his brother Rickard in 1994. Fast forward to today and Oatly IPOed in May 2021 at a value of $10 billion. But how did this startup from Lund, Sweden become the world’s leading alt-milk brand? In today’s episode, we cover Oatly’s startup journey from the early academic days focused on lactose intolerance to the development of their famous barista strategy. We also cover the brothers’ other entrepreneurial endeavors to develop food with clear health benefits.
- 5:00 How Oatly started
- 18:00 Nailing branding and product-market fit
- 41:00 Tips for entering the US market
- 47:00 Aventure and developing science-backed ventures
- 57:00 The story of Good Idea – sparkling water that reduces blood sugar
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🍫 How Nick’s developed high-tech, good for you sweets
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🐄 How Arla is using blockchain to track their milk
🇸🇪 More interviews from Sweden
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Episode Transcript
nalisa Winther, Nordic FoodTech Podcast Host 1:39
I kind of want to start by just checking in and knowing how you are, but also how you’re feeling because on May 20th 2021, Oatly IPOed, and that was a company that you helped to found. So how is it now, it’s two months later, how are you feeling?
Björn Öste, Oatly 1:55
Oh, I feel great. It’s been quite a journey. And people seem to think that an IPO is some kind of an end pointer. It’s just the beginning, the end of one chapter and the beginning of the new chapter. I’m super excited to follow the company into the future.
Analisa Winther, Nordic FoodTech Podcast Host 2:15
And I want to go back to the very beginning of the chapter when Oatly was founded, it was started by you and your brother. And that’s not something that necessarily happens every day. So, how did that come about that you two went into business together?