Oatly facts for kids
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: OTLY |
| Founded | 1994 |
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Area served
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International |
| Products | Dairy alternatives |
| Revenue |  US$722 million (2022) |
 −US$393 million (2022) |
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| Total assets | US$1.23 billion (2022) |
| Total equity | US$791 million (2022) |
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Number of employees
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2,009 (2022) |
Oatly Group AB is a Swedish food company famous for making products from oats that are alternatives to dairy. Their most well-known product is oat milk. The company was started in the 1990s based on scientific research from Lund University in Sweden.
Oatly's main offices are in Malmö, Sweden. They also have a center for creating and making new products in Landskrona.
The company is very popular in countries like Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom. By the end of 2020, you could find Oatly products in about 60,000 stores and 32,200 coffee shops worldwide. In China, their products are in 11,000 coffee and tea shops. In the United States, they are sold in over 6,000 stores, including thousands of Starbucks locations.
Contents
History of Oatly
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How Oatly Began
Oatly was founded in 1994 by food scientist Rickard Öste and his brother, Björn Öste. They wanted to create a healthy and plant-based alternative to milk using oats.
Today, Oatly is owned by several groups and people. These include the investment company The Blackstone Group, a company connected to China Resources (which is owned by the Chinese state), and many others. Famous people like Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z, and even Starbucks founder Howard Schultz, have also invested in the company.
Challenges and Growth
In 2018, Oatly faced criticism for selling the leftover material from its oat milk production to a local pig farm. The company promised to look into the issue. A year later, in 2019, Oatly opened its first factory in the United States in Millville, New Jersey.
In 2020, some customers were upset when Oatly sold a part of its business to The Blackstone Group. This investment group had also supported companies linked to deforestation in the Amazon.
In 2021, Oatly became a public company. This means it started selling shares of itself on the Nasdaq stock market under the name "OTLY." This is called an initial public offering (IPO). The company was valued at over $10 billion.
Legal Issues
Shortly after going public in 2021, a group called Spruce Point Capital released a report that questioned Oatly's business practices. They claimed Oatly was not being honest about its sales and its environmental impact. This caused the company's stock price to drop and led to some lawsuits.
Oatly also took a small British company, Glebe Farm Foods, to court. Oatly claimed that the name of their oat drink, "PureOaty," was too similar to Oatly's brand. However, in August 2021, a judge in London disagreed and ruled in favor of Glebe Farm Foods.
What Products Does Oatly Make?
Oatly sells a wide variety of oat-based products. These include:
- Oat milk (often called oat drink)
- Ice cream
- Cold coffee drinks
- Yogurt substitutes (called "Oatgurt")
- Cooking cream
- Spreads
- Custard
- Mayonnaise
All of Oatly's products are vegan, meaning they contain no animal products. They are also certified kosher and are made without genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In the United States, all Oatly products are certified gluten-free. However, in Europe and Asia, they are not.
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Products in the United States
In the U.S., you can buy Oatly's oat drinks, frozen desserts, and "oatgurt." The oat milk comes in different types, such as original, chocolate, full fat, and low-fat.
Their frozen desserts are like ice cream and come in many flavors, including chocolate chip, mint chip, coffee, and strawberry. Their "oatgurt" is a yogurt alternative made from oats and contains live and active cultures, just like dairy yogurt.
What is Barista Edition?
You might see an "Original" and a "Barista Edition" of Oatly's oat milk. The only real difference is the amount of fat. The Barista Edition has twice as much fat (3%) as the original (1.5%).
This extra fat helps the oat milk steam and froth better, making it perfect for coffee drinks like lattes. That's why it's called the "Barista Edition." It also tastes great in tea lattes.
Creative Advertising Campaigns
Oatly is known for its bold and sometimes funny advertising.
The "Pjölk" Response
A Danish dairy company called Arla Foods created ads making fun of plant-based milks. They used a fake brand name, "Pjölk," which sounded like Oatly. In response, Oatly cleverly trademarked the name "Pjölk" and other similar names and started using them on its own packaging.
Banned Slogans
In Sweden, Oatly used the slogan "Milk, but made for humans." The Swedish dairy industry sued them, and Oatly lost the case. Instead of hiding it, Oatly published the entire lawsuit online, which actually made their sales go up. They later used the same banned slogan for a successful ad campaign in the UK.
Super Bowl Commercial
In February 2021, Oatly aired a commercial during the Super Bowl LV. It featured the company's CEO, Toni Petersson, singing a simple song in a field of oats. The ad, called "Wow, No Cow," was unusual and got a lot of attention.
Fighting for Plant-Based Foods
Oatly also launched a campaign in Europe called "Are You Stupid?". It was created to fight a proposed rule known as "Amendment 171." This rule would have stopped plant-based food companies from using words like "creamy" or "yogurt-style" and from using packaging that looked like dairy cartons. Oatly argued this would make it harder for people to choose environmentally friendly options. In May 2021, the European Union dropped the proposed rule.
Recent Partnerships
In 2024, Oatly announced a fun partnership with Minor League Baseball in the U.S. They called themselves the "121st team," known as the "Malmo Oat Milkers." In September 2024, they also launched a campaign in the UK to encourage people to try oat milk in their tea.
