This is a fundamental idea for success, says the founder and product developer at Arctic Bioscience, Hogne Hallaråker.
"Do it now, don't wait until tomorrow."
This is a fundamental idea for success, says entrepreneur and product developer at Arctic Bioscience, Hogne Hallaråker. In this article we take you on the journey of an entrepreneur from Volda.
Interest in the sea
It all started with an interest in life on the coast. When Hogne was five years old, he would walk along the beach, rummaging through seaweed and looking for life. He has had an interest in the ocean his whole life. When it came time to choose an education, science was a natural choice. He studied aquaculture for three years at the University of Western Norway, before moving on to marine biology at the University of Bergen.
During his studies, he focused on halibut larvae and became familiar with the positive effects that phospholipids have on the development of larvae into adult fish. Various larval deformations are a challenge in halibut production, and these largely disappeared with the intake of omega-3 phospholipids at the beginning of the larval phase.
Before completing his studies, he was offered a teaching position at Volda University College, where he taught biology and chemistry. At this time, the entrepreneurial spirit began to grow, and in 1995 Hogne opened his first business. This was "Biologen Zoo" in Volda, a pet store with fish, rabbits, birds and other animals. He had the store for 10 years before selling it.
"I started the business out of commercial interest. I like creating new things, so that's where I started."
Started Arctic Nutrition in 2011
Hogne then got a job as a plant manager at a pilot plant developing fatty acids. It was in this company, Natural ASA, that he established the idea of a new company based on phospholipids, which would be called "Natural Phospholipids". Before this company was founded, Natural ASA was acquired by Aker Biomarine, where Hogne was employed and worked for three years.
During this period he had a desire to continue the phospholipid idea, which was not further developed at Aker Biomarine after they bought the company. This desire resulted in the founding of Arctic Nutrition in 2011, together with Jan Remmereit and Harald Nordal. All three were already part of the academic community in Ørsta who had been researching fatty acids since 1997.
In 2012, they secured several regional investors and were now able to develop the company and spread the research story about omega-3 phospholipids from herring roe.
"In the beginning, we set business goals, and then it was important to secure the value chain. We needed to have sufficient knowledge to be able to establish the process. This meant we needed knowledge about logistics, research and sales."
The local community requested Romega
In the initial stage, establishing an online store was not a goal. The local community and some companies gradually began to demand the product, and in 2016 the online store was established as a test. There, Romega was sold as a finished product; a dietary supplement in the form of capsules with fat from herring roe.
The following year, Arctic Nutrition gained national attention after a TV2 report presenting the positive effects of omega-3 from herring roe. This led to Romega selling out in three hours and the online store "crashing" due to high demand.
"Then we saw that it made sense to produce more of the finished product. We also needed to have a larger organization to meet market demand."
Since 2017, the professional network has expanded and the company today has several thousand customers who use Romega daily.
Do it now!
Hogne explains that the entrepreneurial mentality has always been there, but that the process has also brought a lot of learning.
"Being an entrepreneur has taught me that you have to do things simply. Do it now! Don't wait until the next day, or the next hour. Time goes by quickly, and you have to do a lot yourself in the beginning. That's why you can't put anything off."
The first five years after Arctic Nutrition was founded, a lot happened at once, and vacations and free time were rare.
"In the beginning, everyone had to do everything. Then I had a lot of responsibility, and the tasks were very varied. Legs and arms were everywhere."
Today, the workday looks different, but it’s still hectic. Arctic Nutrition changed its name to Arctic Bioscience in 2021, and now consists of a large professional environment where tasks are distributed to a much greater extent. Hogne spends much of his time in meetings, sales trips and project follow-up.
"There is a lot more administrative work now than before. In recent years, I have spent a lot of time on clinical follow-up at Haukeland Hospital, among other things."
Future plans for Romega
There is a lot of research and work behind a company like Arctic Bioscience. To achieve success, you have to believe in your own product, but there is also a clear motivation behind all the work.
"It's nice to know that you're accomplishing something, and that what you're accomplishing can actually be useful and positive for other people."
Despite Arctic Biosciences' success with Romega, it does not mean that the product is fully developed. Hogne explains that there are several plans for Romega in the future. Among other things, it is desired to make Romega in liquid form, and to develop it for specific uses.
"Today we have a product that is used for different reasons. We want to differentiate it more. It could be making a product that is adapted for joints, a product that is adapted for the brain and one for the heart."
This entrepreneurial story is not over yet.
There is no doubt that there is a strong interest, a good professional environment and a strong will behind Hogne's entrepreneurial story. And even though Romega has become a success today, that does not close the idea of further developing the product. It will be interesting to follow Hogne and the environment at Arctic Bioscience into the future.
Keep your eyes open, because this entrepreneurial story isn't over yet. 
