Oddlygood Oat Yogurt from Finland start U.S. Production
PARSIPPANY, N.J. (Dec. 1, 2021) – Valio USA is slated to begin U.S. production of Oddlygood Oat Yogurt from Finland in early 2022 in Northern California. The four-flavor line, currently sold in five countries in the Nordic region, will be produced in the U.S. with oats from Canada.
The yogurts garnered top scores for flavor, texture and aroma versus leading U.S. oat yogurt brands in a March 2021 consumer taste test conducted in Northern California by Curion, a consumer product testing firm.
“Consumers are embracing plant-based alternatives to conventional foods like never before. Our Oddlygood Oat Yogurt hits the mark on numerous fronts. It’s dairy free, gluten free and vegan, not to mention creamy and delicious,” says Mari Meriluoto, director of marketing and business development for Valio USA.
Known for its Finlandia brand of cheeses and butter here in the US, Valio, based in Helsinki, Finland, created the innovative alternative yogurts as part of its growing suite of plant-based products under the playful brand name Oddlygood. Oddlygood’s other offerings in the Nordic countries, all made with simple ingredients, include Original Oat Drink, Barista Edition for coffee, cream alternatives and plant-based sliced and shredded mozzarella, cheddar, gouda and smoked gouda plant-based cheeses.
The products are now sold in Finland, Sweden, Russia and Baltic countries. Oddlygood plant-based cheeses for foodservice are now available in the U.S.
To support the U.S. expansion, Valio USA created three new positions. Essi Liljama, formerly a regional sales manager at Four Sigmatic, was named national sales manager for Natural and Retail channels, Oddlygood. Tim Burkart a regional business manager at Chobani, was named sales manager, Foodservice, West and Michael Reed, a regional chain account manager at Ventura Foods, was named sales manager, Foodservice, East, both reporting to George Martone, head of Foodservice.
The yogurt flavors include Plain, Vanilla, Blueberry and Raspberry. They come in single-serve containers in 5.3 oz. (150 gram) portions and are sold in 12-pack cases. The suggested retail price is $1.99/5.3 oz.
Each yogurt has 3 grams of protein per serving and contains live and active cultures. Calories range from 110 to 120 per container. The yogurt is made from a blend of water, gluten free oat flour, cane sugar, pea protein and other ingredients depending on the flavor and is enriched with vitamins (B12 and D2) and minerals (calcium). For more details and sell sheet, click here.
About Valio USA Valio USA is part of Valio Group, a dairy and food company based in Helsinki, Finland, with roots dating back to 1905. It changed its name from Finlandia USA, Inc. in September 2020. The company is owned by dairy cooperatives comprising 4,300 dairy farmers and has been named Finland’s number one sustainable brand for the past eight years. Known for innovation, Valio launched plant-based products under the Oddlygood brand in 2018 in Finland and Sweden including oat drinks and yogurts and later launched cheese alternatives and cooking ingredients. Valio USA sells dairy cheese and butter under the Finlandia label and Oddlygood plant-based Mozzarella and Cheddar to the foodservice sector. Learn more at Valio USA. For more information on Oddlygood plant-based products, go to Oddlygood.net/us
Media Contacts Louise Kramer, lkramer@louisekramer.com or 917-734-1563 Mari Meriluoto, mari.meriluoto@valio.com or 973-713-2202
Sales Contact Essi Liljama, essi.liljama@valio.com or 917-341-3074 Instagram: @Oddlygoodus