New healthier foods – SLU Holding invests in Havredals

Sustainability, better health and reduced climate impact are built into Havredal's business concept. The company develops plant-based food with the goal of affecting the climate as little as possible. The raw materials are produced in the Nordic region and the processes are developed in Uppsala at the Green Innovation Park.

“Our goal is to contribute to a substantial reduction in Sweden’s CO2 emissions within five years by getting more people to choose plant-based products,” says Havredal's founder, Per-Johan Thörn. “Havredals makes vegetarian food for meat-eaters and milk-drinkers. The idea is to make the transition to a more plant-based diet as simple as possible.”

In the spring, Havredals launched its first product, an oat drink that contains significantly more oats than other corresponding alternatives on the market. The high oat content provides enough beta-glucan fibre to lower blood cholesterol content, which in turn reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Per-Johan Thörn has extensive experience in product development and retail distribution in the food industry. He has developed oat protein and beta-glucan for the food industry and has been the dairy manager at the ICA grocery chain.

“We strongly believe in Per-Johan Thörn and the team behind Havredals,” says Cristopher Johansson, business developer at SLU Holding. “They have a carefully configured sustainability approach and the market for herbal alternatives to meat is growing strongly. Havredals is at the forefront when it comes to developing new healthy products.”

Together with Almi and private investors, SLU Holding is now going as a Havredals partner. Through the investment, Havredals will be able to scale up production in the future to create a circular factory in Uppsala.
Havredal's oat drink is presently sold in selected stores in Stockholm and Uppsala. The assortment is being continuously developed and new products will be launched shortly.