Oddlygood is launching a four-strong Barista Oat range into Sainsbury’s, marking a significant step in the Nordic plant-based brand’s UK expansion as it looks to recruit new shoppers into the category.
The rollout comes as the plant-based drinks category returns to modest growth (+0.6%), with the company positioning the range as a taste-led offering designed to bring barista-style performance to everyday usage occasions at accessible price points. Backed by decades of research and development expertise from Valio, Oddlygood is targeting further penetration in the UK grocery channel as it seeks to play a role in the next phase of category growth.
The lineup includes four 1L SKUs: Barista Oat Original, Barista Oat Delight, and two flavoured variants – Nutty Vanilla and Hazelnut. All products are fortified with essential vitamins and minerals and designed to deliver strong foamability for coffee, while also being suitable for wider usage including cooking, overnight oats and smoothies.
The introduction of flavoured options is intended to tap into consumer demand for flavoured coffees, with 63% of Brits starting their day with one. Research from the Oddlygood Group’s Plant-based Glass Ceiling Report also found that 66% of low plant-based drink users and 58% of lapsed users are interested in trying different flavoured coffees, suggesting an opportunity for retailers to re-engage shoppers and drive category penetration.
The drinks are made using Finnish gluten-free oats, with the company using 100% of the oat flour in production to support consistent barista-quality performance, including stable micro-foam and reliable texture across both hot and iced drinks while minimising waste.
The UK listing builds on strong momentum for Oddlygood Group globally, where the business reports growth of close to 60% year-on-year. The expansion forms part of the group’s strategy to accelerate distribution and establish itself as a leading plant-based challenger brand across Europe.
“Oddlygood is stepping up its UK ambitions with a clear goal: kick-starting the next phase of growth in plant-based drinks by bringing shoppers back into the category,” Sam Maguire, Country Manager at Oddlygood Group, said. “Backed by strong R&D expertise, we’ve created an oat range that delivers barista-level quality and flavour-led innovation at an accessible price. While the category has faced some headwinds, we see a real opportunity to re-engage shoppers and increase penetration – our launch into Sainsbury’s gives us a great platform to help drive that growth.”
Oddlygood was launched in 2018 by Valio, a Finnish dairy company with more than 100 years of heritage and €2.3bn turnover, to develop plant-based alternatives across milk, yoghurt, desserts, cooking products and cheese. The brand was spun off as an independent business in 2021 and now operates as part of Oddlygood Group, where it has become a key player in the Nordic plant-based market.
In October 2024, Oddlygood Group acquired UK plant-based brand Rude Health, which continues to perform strongly as a top-five UK plant-based drinks brand and is growing at 24% year-on-year. The group says it aims to redefine the category and become Europe’s leading plant-based challenger, supported by continued international expansion.
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