The BioGaia story
The BioGaia story starts back in the late 1980s. Two Swedish entrepreneurs, Peter Rothschild and Jan Annwall, became inspired by the work of leading researchers in the probiotics field, and decided to pursue the possibilities presented by probiotics as a natural alternative to antibiotics.
With some of the health-promoting properties of Lactobacillus reuteri already documented, Peter and Jan acquired the commercial rights to the strain, but soon started hitting obstacles. Firstly the food industry said that consumers wouldn’t buy probiotic milk. Then the authorities said that with probiotics added, such a product couldn’t be called ‘milk’.
Undeterred, Peter and Jan joined up with a small independent dairy and launched the first functional food product on the Swedish market, BRA milk (the B stands for bifidus, the R for reuteri, and the A for acidophilus) which the authorities at first tried to ban.
This pioneering approach to developing new products has stayed with us ever since, and helped us become a leader in the field of probiotics.
Milestones
- 1991: Launch of the first functional food product containing BioGaia probiotics
- 1993: First patent on L. reuteri granted
- 1997: The unique LifeTop cap bottle closure is developed
- 1997 The first probiotic fresh juice and fresh cheese with L. reuteri are launched
- 2000: BioGaia launches its chewable tablet for Gut and Immune Health
- 2000: BioGaia Probiotic drops, the world’s first probiotic in drop form, and BioGaia Probiotic Straw (former LifeTop Straw), the first probiotic drinking straw, go on sale
- 2004: The BioGaia Oral health products, probiotic chewing gum and lozenges, hit the shelves
- 2004: The number of daily doses of L. reuteri sold globally passes 1 billion
- 2007: The number of daily doses of L. reuteri sold globally passes 2 billion