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Oatly

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Oatly AB
Product typeDairy alternatives
CountrySweden
Introduced1990s
MarketsInternational
Websitewww.oatly.com/int/

Oatly is a food brand from Sweden that produces alternatives to dairy products from oats.[1][2] Oatly was formed in the 1990s using research from Lund University.[3][4][5] Oatly has headquarters in Malmö and a production and development center in Landskrona.[6][7][8][9][10]

History

Shelves of Oatly products
Oatly Salty Caramel Hazelnut vegan ice cream

Oatly was founded in 1993 or 1994 by food scientist Rickard Öste and his brother Bjorn Öste.[11][12] The parent company of Oatly AB is Ceba AB, which was founded by Rickard Öste in 1994, and he is the majority owner.[13]

Oatly is now part-owned by The Blackstone Group (7%), Verlinvest, China Resources, Industrifonden, Östersjöstiftelsen, and the employees.[14][15][16]

In 2020 Oatly's sale of a US$200-million stake to investors including the Blackstone Group, which has financed companies driving extensive deforestation in the Amazon, as well as driving road development into the depths of the jungle for export of foodstuffs,[17][18] angered consumers and led to a backlash against the company.[19]

Products

Oatly has a range of products including: oat milk, ice cream, cold coffee, yoghurt substitutes, cooking cream, spread and custard.[20][21][22] All products are certified kosher and vegan and are non-GMO project verified.[23] All US Oatly products are certified gluten free.[23][24] However, in Europe and Asia, Oatly's products are not gluten free.[24]

In the US, Oatly's oat beverages, frozen desserts, and “oatgurt” are offered. Varieties of oat milk available in the US include the following: barista edition, original, chocolate, full fat, and low-fat oat milk.[25] Oatly also offers a nondairy frozen dessert, similar to an ice cream, in several flavors. Flavors available for purchase in the US include chocolate chip, mint chip, coffee, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, oat, and salted caramel. Oatly frozen desserts are available in store only, in the United States.[25] Oatgurt, a substitute yoghurt, is made with oats and does not contain any dairy. The product contains active and live cultures.[26] Flavors of oatgurt available in the US include plain, strawberry, peach, black cherry, and mixed berry.[25]

Internationally, Oatly also offers on the go, single-serve beverages packaged in silver containers that resemble cans, but are made of recyclable paper. Varieties include chocolate oat milk, cold brew latte, organic matcha latte, and organic mocha latte.[22] Additionally, both boxed oat drink and boxed chocolate oat drink are available outside the US.[22]

The only difference between Oatly's original oat milk and barista edition oat milk is fat content. The barista edition contains a slightly higher fat content than the original version. The higher fat content allows the oat milk to perform better when steamed and paired with espresso for coffee drinks, hence the name "barista edition." [23]

In 2018 the company was publicly criticized for supporting a local pig farm to which it sold the residue of its manufacturing process. The company said it would "re-visit the issue."[27]

Advertising

Oatly advertisement on the Stockholm Metro, 2016

The Danish dairy company Arla Foods produced a series of adverts to discourage people from buying vegan alternatives to cow's milk and used a fake brand 'Pjölk' which was similar to Oatly. In response Oatly trademarked the fictitious brands Pjölk, Brölk, Sölk, and Trölk and began using them on their packaging.[3]

The Swedish dairy lobby LRF Mjölk successfully sued Oatly for using the phrase "Milk, but made for humans" for £100,000. In response to the lawsuit, Oatly published the text of the lawsuit leading to an alleged 45% increase in Oatly's sales in Sweden.[citation needed]

In 2018, Oatly spent £700,000 on advertising in the UK on All 4 and on billboards in train stations in Brixton, King's Cross, Oxford Circus, and Shoreditch using the "Milk, but made for humans" slogan banned in Sweden.[3]

Oatly Barista Edition oatmilk

In February 2021, the company advertised during Super Bowl LV. The commercial, called "Wow, No Cow", featured CEO Toni Petersson singing a jingle in an oat field. It used an ad aired in Sweden in 2014, which got banned due to a lawsuit from LRF Mjölk that sued Oatly for using the phrase "Milk, but made for humans".[28][29]

Later that month, Oatly launched their first Europe-wide advertising campaign[30][31] called "Are You Stupid?",[31][32] showing results from focus group testing,[30] showing people recognising which products do and do not contain dairy, irrespective of packaging,[30][32] and directing viewers to a petition against "Amendment 171",[32] supported by the European Dairy Association,[30][31][33] which seeks to ban non-dairy products from using "dairy-based descriptors" such as “dairy”, “creamy”, “yoghurt-style dessert” or “does not contain milk”[33] and could be interpreted to ban "packaging designs that call to mind dairy products, such as yoghurt pots or milk cartons"[31][33] and ban climate impact comparisons.[31][33] Campaigners — and one focus group member — argue that Amendment 171 would make it harder for the EU to meet its goal of increasing plant-based food consumption.[30][34] Amendment 171 was approved by majority vote in the European Parliament in October 2020 and went into trilogue negotiations in late January 2021.[33] As the campaign launched, the measure was still in front of the Council of Ministers;[30][31] as of February 2021, that is still the case.[30]

Partnerships

On March 2, 2021, Starbucks released Oatly oat milk nationwide in the U.S to its customers after successful regional trial runs in California and the Mid-West. After positive feedback from customers and employees, oat milk joined the other alternative milks on the menu at Starbucks.[35]

Oatly plans to open the factory in the United Kingdom by 2023, breaking ground in Peterborough, England.[36] Oatly's vegan milk factory will be capable of producing 300 million litres of oat milk per year. The company notes this figure will grow to 450 million litres.[37]

Oatly partners with Yeo's for $30M Asia oat milk factory in Singapore [38]

References

  1. ^ "Dairy-free Oatly labels to include climate footprint figure to encourage milk swap". The Drum. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Oatly pushes coffee drinkers away from dairy with 'Ditch Milk' creative". The Drum. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Webber, Jemima (10 December 2019). "Why Sweden Is Terrified of Oat Milk". LIVEKINDLY. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  4. ^ Goldberg, Jacob. "Sweden's 'Milk War' is getting udderly vicious". The Outline. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  5. ^ Oat Milk Is Coming To Your Town, retrieved 3 January 2020
  6. ^ Sugar, Rachel (14 August 2019). "Oatly and the quest for the perfect alt-milk". Vox. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  7. ^ dairyreporter.com. "Oatly has sights set on great march into China". dairyreporter.com. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Oatly: "We're Seeing a Post Milk Generation Taking Shape"". vegconomist - the vegan business magazine. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Sweden Is Waging a War on Oat Milk". InsideHook. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Oatly ice cream: Swedish plant-milk company launches UK offering". Verdict Retail. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Against the grain - Issue 126 - Magazine". Monocle.
  12. ^ "How Oat Milk Could Change the Way You Drink Coffee". Time.
  13. ^ "Rickard Öste — Food's Future Global". foods-future.com. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  14. ^ Bakst, Danny. "I've tried a lot of popular oat-milk brands out there — here's why I think Oatly is the best". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  15. ^ Koenigs, Mike (12 September 2019). "How the Co-Founder of Oatly Is Shaking Up the Beverage Industry". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  16. ^ Chung, Ben Dummett, Miriam Gottfried and Juliet (14 July 2020). "Oat-Milk Company Oatly Draws Investment From Blackstone-Led Group Including Oprah". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 6 September 2020 – via www.wsj.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Grim, Ryan. "A Top Financier of Trump and McConnell Is a Driving Force Behind Amazon Deforestation". The Intercept. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  18. ^ "Activists sour on Oatly vegan milk after stake sold to Trump-linked Blackstone". the Guardian. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  19. ^ Nagarajan, Shalini. "Oatly vegan milk faces activist anger after Trump-supporting billionaire Schwarzman's Blackstone acquired a stake". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Oatly reveals plans to open factory in the UK to meet rapidly growing demand". www.veganfoodandliving.com. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  21. ^ "Oatly's Path to Alt-Milk World Domination Starts in New Jersey". Bloomberg Businessweek. 31 July 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  22. ^ a b c "Products | Oatly | the Original Oat Drink Company". www.oatly.com. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  23. ^ a b c "Frequently Asked Questions". OATLY!. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Frequently Asked Questions". | Oatly | the Original Oat Drink Company. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  25. ^ a b c "Products". OATLY!. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  26. ^ "Oatgurt Plain- 24oz". OATLY!. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  27. ^ Chiorando, Maria (6 February 2018). "Plant Based Brand Oatly Addresses Controversy Over Selling Oat Residue To Pig Farm". Plant Based News. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  28. ^ Lundstrom, Kathryn (7 February 2021). "Oatly's CEO Wrote That Song in the Brand's First Super Bowl Ad". Adweek. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  29. ^ "See Oatly bring a 2014 ad banned in Sweden to the U.S. for its Super Bowl debut". Ad Age. 7 February 2021.
  30. ^ a b c d e f g Briggs, Fiona (15 February 2021). "Oatly launches first European-wide creative in UK: Are You Stupid?". Retail Times. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  31. ^ a b c d e f "Oatly: Are You Stupid?". The Drum. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  32. ^ a b c McGonagle, Emmet (15 February 2021). "Oatly takes on European Parliament with 'Are you stupid?' campaign". Campaign. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  33. ^ a b c d e Bonadio, Enrico; Andrea Borghini (26 January 2021). "Vegan 'dairy' products face EU ban from using milk cartons and yoghurt pots: The UK could be next". City, University of London. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  34. ^ European Alliance for Plant-Based Foods (5 October 2020). "What is Amendment 171 and how could it affect plant-based foods?". Politico. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  35. ^ "Oatly oatmilk coming to Starbucks nationwide in the U.S. on March 2". Starbucks Stories & News. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  36. ^ Maxwell Rabb (15 March 2021). "Oatly Announces Plans for the World's Largest Oat Milk Factory". thebeet.com. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  37. ^ "Oatly to Open One of the World's Biggest Vegan Milk Factories in the UK". LIVEKINDLY. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  38. ^ Larsen, Mette (31 March 2021). "Swedish Oatly partners with Yeo's for $30M Asia oat milk factory in Singapore". ScandAsia. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
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