Oddlygood Acquires UK’s Plant-Based Company Rude Health

Finnish plant-based company, Oddlygood, became one of the leading plant-based companies in the UK and Europe, with the acquisition of pioneering British plant-based company, Rude Health, for an undisclosed sum.

This will be Oddlygood’s second acquisition, after acquiring Nordic plant-based brand ‘Planti’ in 2023 to further drive growth and market-leading innovation. The global plant-based dairy alternatives market is re-gathering pace and is expected to grow to $67.44 billion by 2030, making it a hot bed for new investment and innovation.

Oddlygood is a key player in the Nordic plant-based market, where in six years it has grown to an anticipated turnover close to $53.02 million this year and a widely stocked range of plant-based alternatives to milk, cheese, desserts, cooking products and yoghurts, it said in a release.

The company launched its plant-based desserts into the UK market in 2023 and established itself in the competitive UK plant-based drinks category earlier on this year. Its mission is to raise the standard of plant-based food and drink.

The UK is a key territory for the company and its acquisition of Rude Health will further diversify the business beyond the Nordics and drive both UK and European growth. 

Founded jointly by Camilla and Nick Barnard in 2005, Rude Health has registered an impressive growth becoming a top five UK plant-based drinks brand alongside its range of cereals and snacks. The brand, which has always focused on quality ingredients and taste, is now widely available across major retailers and foodservice operators in more than 40 countries and has a successful online presence.

It has garnered a loyal customer base – even opening its own café in London which has been running since 2016. This year, the company is on track to deliver $34.99 million in revenue – its biggest year to date.

Increasing Market Share

Rude Health will continue to make the products everyone has come to know and enjoy. Oddlygood will establish a base for its UK and European operations and support the expansion plans. The move will see Oddlygood increase its market share of the competitive UK plant-based drinks category, worth $541.88 million.

Oddlygood CEO Niko Vuorenmaa said that their ambition is to become one of the leading plant-based companies in the UK and Europe and this acquisition will help accelerate this, but key to its success is the strong alignment between Rude Health and Oddlygood.

Rude Health is one of the biggest success stories in British plant-based food. It’s nothing less than impressive the way the team has grown its product range alongside such a distinctive and well thought of brand to deliver commercial success, Vuorenmaa said.

“Both Oddlygood and Rude Health have complementary portfolios, target audiences and capabilities which will enable us to grow the business.  What we’ve achieved with Oddlygood in such little time is down to the expertise and passion of our team. We’ll focus the same attention and care to Rude Health and look forward to collaborating with their team,’’ Vuorenmaa added.

Camilla Barnard, Co-Founder of Rude Health, said that they created Rude Health at their 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. The Rude Health brand has grown beyond anything I could imagine to become a household name. Now is the right time to find a partner who can help take it to the next stage of success and Oddlygood shares so many values and the ambition to make this possible,’’ she said.

Rude Health CEO Tim Smith said that joining forces with Oddlygood opens up new opportunities for growth and innovation, and their shared missions around taste, quality and the crucial role of plant-based food and drink make this a natural fit.

Oddlygood’s founding company, Valio, has over 100 years of dairy expertise in addition to plant-based dairy and meat alternatives. A key player in the international dairy products market, with a turnover of $2.44 billion, it launched Oddlygood in 2018 to apply its expertise to a new and relevant sector.