Oddbird: Gen Z Q&A spotlight

Today’s consumer landscape is being reshaped by a new generation – and by brands willing to rethink the rules in otherwise established markets. In this Q&A, Moa Gürbüzer, Founder at Oddbird, share who their customers are today and how Gen Z – alongside a distinct Swedish brand heritage – fits into that picture.

You operate in established markets, but with an innovative twist. Who are your main customer groups today – and where do Gen Z, and any “Swedishness” or distinct brand heritage, show up in that mix?
When we started Oddbird, it was never about creating an ‘alcohol-free alternative’. It came from a much bigger question: why should alcohol be a prerequisite for social connection in the first place?  Today, our customers no longer fit into traditional categories. They are people who want freedom of choice without having to explain it. Gen Z is clearly accelerating this shift, but what’s most interesting is how quickly it has become cross-generational.

Our Swedish heritage has shaped how we built the brand, but not as an aesthetic. It is a way of thinking: simplicity, honesty, and a belief that things can always be done better than they have been. We have never tried to fit into an existing category, we have focused on building a new one, step by step.

You’re all, in different ways, shifting how people behave in your market. How is Gen Z driving that change, and how does it affect the way you shape and communicate your offer?
I think what Gen Z has fundamentally removed is the idea of automatic choices. Alcohol is no longer something you default to, it is something you actively choose, or choose not to. That shift changes the entire dynamic of social occasions. For us, it has reinforced something we have believed from the beginning: this is not about replacing alcohol, but about creating something that stands entirely on its own. A drink should not need to be defined in relation to another product, it should be complete in itself.

It has also changed how we communicate. We are not trying to persuade or educate. Instead, we try to stay relevant to how life is actually lived, dinners, celebrations, everyday moments – where the choice simply feels natural, not alternative. Ultimately, it comes back to something very simple: making it possible to be fully present, whatever you choose to drink.