The Icelandic functional drink Collab has truly established itself in recent years. Icelanders consume it in large quantities, and now its international expansion continues. Morgunblaðið recently reported that Collab could be found in supermarkets in Austria. This is confirmed by Andri Þór Guðmundsson, CEO of Ölgerðin, which produces the drink.

“That’s correct. Collab has entered the Austrian market – straight into the lion’s den, or rather the bull’s,” says the CEO, referring to Austria being the home country of Red Bull.

Austria is therefore the third country targeted with Collab, in addition to Denmark and Germany. “You could say we are ahead of schedule in securing listings for the product; agreements to get into retailers’ assortments have gone even better than expected. Collab is already available in well over a thousand stores in Austria, which is somewhat more than we had anticipated at this stage,” Andri says.

Among the retail chains selling Collab in Austria are Billa, Billa Plus, and Mpreis. Andri notes that the product is already available in roughly ten times as many stores in Austria as exist in Iceland in total. Further distribution agreements for Collab are also in place for the coming months. “It is, however, far too early to claim victory – but the start is promising.”

Andri is asked whether it is difficult to get Icelandic products into foreign markets. He says that, in general, securing points of sale has gone remarkably well.

“In this industry, competition is typically extremely fierce, and it can take a long time to get into trial sales with major retailers. Collab, however, is both a unique product and has a unique story that is opening doors for us. You can see and hear that the product’s sustainability angle — collagen sourced from Icelandic marine products — carries significant weight. Awareness of the benefits of collagen has been growing substantially in most markets, and retailers want to offer healthier options.”