NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The LIVEKINDLY co., a collective of heritage and startup brands on track to become one of the world’s largest plant-based food companies, today announced the acquisition of Oumph!, a multi-award winning plant-based brand from Sweden. With this purchase the LIVEKINDLY co. underlines its ambition to spearhead a global food transformation with environmentally friendly meat alternatives.
Founded in 2014, Oumph! is part of the Swedish company Food for Progress, which seeks to create a sustainable and secure worldwide food system, and a partner of the Research Institute of Sweden (RISE) which develops better plant-based ingredients.
Oumph! is targeting a wider audience and aims to draw the attention of more people to plant-based food, through its disruptive branding along with unique taste and texture. Since the launch in Sweden back in 2015 the brand has become a favourite with a wider audience across markets, driving new consumers to the plant-based category. The brand has had a strong development in sales, and reported a 40 % growth for the first quarter 2020 across all markets.
Under the leadership of global food industry veterans, the LIVEKINDLY co. is working to make plant-based living the new normal by building an ecosystem of founder-led plant-based consumer brands including: The Fry Family Food Co., LikeMeat, Oumph! and digital media platform, LIVEKINDLY.
“The LIVEKINDLY co. is leading a movement to build a more sustainable future through our portfolio of brands—who are all creating delicious healthy plant-based food—and our ecosystem of mission-aligned partners,” said Kees Kruythoff, CEO and Chairman of the LIVEKINDLY co. “Bringing Oumph! into the LIVEKINDLY co. family was a natural next step for us. Their commitment to plant-based food quality and protecting the planet mirrors our own as we accelerate our mission to make plant-based eating the new normal.”
“Since co-founding Oumph! five years ago, it’s been an amazing journey to-date and I’m incredibly proud of the work our team has done in creating exceptionally tasty plant-based food,” said Anders Wallerman, co-founder of Oumph!. “Our mission from day one has been to get more people eating plant-based food, which is a healthier, more sustainable way forward for the environment. I look forward to working with the LIVEKINDLY co. to introduce new, and existing products to more people around the world.”
Oumph! products are currently available across the Nordic Countries, United Kingdom and most recently, at Jumbo in the Netherlands—along with Fry’s and LikeMeat.
Plant-Based Food Growth
Global: The global plant-based meat market was estimated to be valued at $12.1B in 2019 and is likely to reach $27.9B by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 15% during this period – according to a report by Research and Markets.
ABOUT THE LIVEKINDLY CO.
The LIVEKINDLY co. is a collective of plant-based heritage and start-up brands including: The Fry Family Food Co, LikeMeat, Oumph! and digital media platform, LIVEKINDLY.
Committed to transforming our global food system and the only company in the plant-based food sector to own and operate the entire value chain of production, the LIVEKINDLY co. has established strategic partnerships with seed growers, producers, distributors, and has invested in infrastructure to transform traditional meat production facilities to plant-based products.
The LIVEKINDLY co. and its portfolio of brands are creating delicious plant-based food without the need for animals or the depletion of natural resources. We’re bringing kindness where it belongs: to your plate.
ABOUT FOOD FOR PROGRESS
Oumph! is a multi-award winning plant-based brand founded by Food for progress. Food for Progress is a Swedish food company that joins forces to produce tasty, nutritious and climate-friendly food that everyone on the planet can eat. Forever.
Houlihan Lokey has served as the exclusive financial advisor to Food for Progress and assisted in structuring and negotiating the transaction on its behalf.