Orkla establishes venture fund to encourage start-ups

27 Mar 2017

With a view, it says, to promoting innovation and creativity, supplier of branded consumer goods and concept solutions Orkla has established Orkla Venture, opening up the possibility of investing directly in start-up companies.

Orkla establishes venture fund to encourage start-ups

With a view, it says, to promoting innovation and creativity, supplier of branded consumer goods and concept solutions to the grocery, out-of-home and bakery markets Orkla has established Orkla Venture, opening up the possibility of investing directly in start-up companies. Orkla has allocated NOK 100 million to this initiative.

Orkla says its ambition is to build up a project portfolio consisting of exciting, relevant growth companies with significant potential. The investments will essentially be concentrated in the Nordic and Baltic regions, in line with Orkla’s other core business activities.

“We will primarily focus on business concepts linked to consumer-related products, services, ingredients and processes, as well as the digitalisation of both goods flow and communication,” said President and CEO Peter A. Ruzicka. “A feature common to all the projects will be that they have an industrial logic and a potential that could be relevant for the future Orkla.”

Orkla Venture will be established as a separate entity under Orkla Investments and will have the same relationship with partners as an ordinary venture fund.

“We believe that Orkla can be an attractive investor capable of contributing not only funding, but also industrial expertise from every part of the value chain,” said Ruzicka.