Oatly founder’s new soft drink venture: "Our goal is global expansion"

Björn Öste is the more business-minded of the brothers, while Rickard is the scientist. Together they built up the oat milk company Oatly to a value of at most $10 billion before selling their shares and moving on. Björn officially cut ties with the business when he left the board in December 2021.

"It was just before the big stock market downturn. I usually say that I take the blame for that," he laughs.

Öste is in high spirits when Impact Loop meets him during a brief visit to Lund. Although he’s been based in the US for several years, the brothers' parent company, Aventure, is managed from Skåne in southern Sweden, along with the three subsidiaries currently in their portfolio. 

Their latest venture, DoubleGood, has grown out of the scientific research that has been running alongside Oatly’s rapid expansion. Its focus is clear: developing food and drink products specifically designed to aid weight loss and improve metabolic health.

Öste compares it to the Nordic pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk, which struck gold a few years ago with the release of Ozempic, a drug for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes. 

"I see it as building a food-based Novo Nordisk," says Öste. "But Rickard doesn't usually like it when I say that."

That said, Öste thinks there are flaws in the drug-driven public health revolution.

"These drugs are extremely popular, but on their own they don't provide a long-term solution to the problem - unless you complement them with physical activity and a better diet. They are expensive and often have unwanted side effects. In the U.S., four out of ten users drop out of treatment after a year and gain weight again."

Hunger-quenching sparkling water

According to Öste, the solution lies in developing foods that mimic the effects of drugs but without the potential side effects. One of the other Aventure companies he and his brother own is Berry Lab, which is exploring the health benefits of berries from Nordic forests, while Glucanova focuses on developing cereals. 

The third pillar is their new consumer brand Good Idea, under the company DoubleGood.

Their first product is a flavoured sparkling water, designed to support metabolic health. Öste hopes it will revolutionise and challenge the soft drinks market, especially in the United States.

"We develop food and drink products that are clinically proven. This drink both satisfies hunger and lowers blood sugar by 25 percent after a meal, which helps you feel less tired after lunch. We are now starting to receive data from diabetics and obese people who have dramatically improved their health just by supplementing their diet with Good Idea."

Since the product is designed to be consumed with every meal, Good Idea managed to turn over almost SEK 24 million in 2023 – almost exclusively through online sales and subscriptions.

According to Öste, the company is perfectly aligned with several current megatrends, with the interest in pharmaceuticals mentioned earlier playing a significant role.

"We also clearly see that knowledge about glycolysis is really starting to explode. More and more individuals are buying their own blood glucose metres to keep track, while influencers like Glycose Goddess are educating the public and putting fear into the food industry."

In Sweden, Good Idea products are sold online, but Öste says the real potential lies in the North American market. Since autumn 2022, the company has had a team of nine people based in the US.

"Our goal is global expansion. We will seriously establish 'food as medicine' as a sector. We are now working with clinics in both Europe and the US to see if we can be part of their treatments. And with US Medicare and Medicaid, the government may end up subsidising food as a preventive health measure, which could cover 24 million Americans."

Our goal is global expansion. We will seriously establish 'food as medicine' as a sector

A familiar journey?

It’s clear that Björn Öste is deeply passionate about tackling a global problem, while simultaneously spotting a huge market ripe for the taking. Sound familiar? It’s a bit like déjà vu from his previous business journey.

"That is probably the case," he says."Just like when we started Oatly, it's about really indulging in a lifestyle, a passion."

Öste won’t say exactly how much he and his brother made from their exit at Oatly, but it’s no secret they’ve got the financial freedom to make flexible life and career choices now.

"I could probably have spent the rest of my life sailing. But I need a big issue to devote myself to."

He sums up: "Oatly was fun. But this is fun for real."

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Björn Öste’s food tech investments

Alongside Good Idea, Öste is also involved in other food tech companies that want to change the food industry. He tells Impact Loop who they are - and what he sees in them.

1. Blue Red Gold (Investor and Board Member)‍

A saffron producer utilising robotized indoor cultivation in Sörmland.

"An incredibly interesting company that finally offers delivery security for a raw material that otherwise suffers from a very unreliable supply chain. At the same time, they manage to meet the purity and quality standards demanded by both the food industry and health food producers."

2. OlsAro (investor through Aventure. His brother Rickard Öste is on the board)

Research-based plant breeding.

“Professor Olof Olsson was the first to publish the oat genome, and now with OlsAro, the team has developed a salt-tolerant wheat variety. Normally, this type of plant breeding can take up to 15 years."

3. Oshi (advisor to management)

California-based company that produces plant-based salmon from soy protein.

"I'm not really a super fan of meat imitations, but this company is so exciting that I had to say yes. There are some really fun positioning challenges that are very similar to my journey with Oatly."

4. Vertical Harvest (investor and board member)

American vertical grower with social sustainability as its trump card.

"The founder is an architect and urban planner by training, and she saw how there were urban spaces that were completely unused. The company's business idea is to contribute to the local food system with indoor farms, while also making areas more attractive - and they employ people with disabilities who are often outside the labour market."

5. Cirkulär (investor through Aventure. Rickard Öste is on the board)

Sponge protein from pulp production waste streams. Founded by Björn Öste's nephew Eric Öste.

"Right now they sell a lot of mushroom-based feed to the fishing industry. It's an industry desperately looking for solutions other than buying fishmeal based on bycatch, which is a disaster for the oceans. Cirkulär is set to become Sweden's next unicorn in the food industry."