NEW YORK– Hälsa – the Scandinavian organic drinkable oat yogurt sensation, OatgurtTM – has experienced 120% baseline growth in the past three months. In addition to Wegmans and selected New York stores Hälsa is now also available at ShopRite, Fresh Direct and at all three New York City airports through grab-and-go retailers and kiosks.
“Consumers and retailers have really responded to Hälsa’s super clean-label qualities, and we’re opening new doors at a fast phase,” says company co-founder and CEO Mika Manninen.
Hälsa — Swedish for health — is the world’s first dairy-free yogurt made without a single artificial ingredient. The probiotic yogurt is manufactured with a new proprietary technology that company co-founders Helena Lumme and Mika Manninen spent four years developing.
“Whole grain oats are one of the healthiest grains, yet most oat milks out there are not much more than fortified water. We cracked the code by developing a new manufacturing process that keeps all the nutritional benefits intact,” says company president Helena Lumme.
Hälsa raises the bar for the plant-based milk category by eliminating all food additives and chemicals from the manufacturing process and recipe: No enzymes are used to alter the grain during process, and the product is free of gums, emulsifiers, phosphates and processed sugar that compromise gut health.
Hälsa’s 100% clean-label promise includes sustainably grown, glyphosate-free ingredients. Its source of oats is Scandinavia’s Oat Valley where the grains are carefully grown, harvested and dried in a way that avoids the use of the mold-preventing sprays omnipresent in Canada and the U.S. “Having our own clean source of organic oats becomes a more important factor as more U.S.-made oat products test positive for glyphosate,” Lumme adds.
In 2011 Lumme and Manninen were the first to introduce oat milks to the U.S. Despite winning a spate of innovation and taste awards at the time, they went back to the drawing board knowing that consumers deserved a far superior and healthier product that they believe will set an important new standard for all others.
Dairy and soy-free, Hälsa Organic Oatgurt is available in four great fruit flavors — Organic Strawberry, Organic Blueberry, Organic Mango Pear, and Organic Concord Grape. The product line is rare among plant-based beverages in that it boasts both pre- and probiotics, no added sugar, and only 120-130 calories per bottle, with a suggested retail price of $2.99 per 8-ounce bottle. Hälsa can be found at Wegman’s, leading independent health food retailers and via Fresh Direct in New York City, and at NYC airports.
For more information, please visit www.halsafoods.com
