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. It makes plant-based products from oats. These products are alternatives to dairy, like oat milk.
Oatly started in the 1990s. Its ideas came from research at Lund University. Oatly's main office is in Malmö. It also has a place where it makes products and develops new ones in Landskrona.
Oatly's biggest markets are Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom. By the end of 2020, you could find Oatly products in 60,000 stores. They were also in 32,200 coffee shops around the world. In China, Oatly is in 11,000 coffee and tea shops. In the United States, it is in over 6,000 stores. This includes thousands of Starbucks locations.
The Story of Oatly
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Oatly was started in 1993 or 1994. A food scientist named Rickard Öste and his brother Björn Öste created it. The company's name changed from Havre Global AB to Oatly Group on March 1, 2021.
Today, different groups partly own Oatly. These include The Blackstone Group and China Resources. Some famous people also invested in Oatly. These include Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, and Starbucks founder Howard Schultz.
In 2018, some people criticized Oatly. This was because the company sold leftover materials from its process to a local pig farm. Oatly said it would "re-visit the issue" to address these concerns.
In 2020, Oatly sold a part of its company to investors. One of these was the Blackstone Group. Some consumers were upset by this. They knew Blackstone had invested in companies that caused harm to the Amazon.
In 2021, Oatly decided to offer its shares to the public. This means people could buy parts of the company on the Nasdaq stock market. Its value was estimated to be over $10 billion. On its first day, Oatly's stock started at $17. It then traded at $22.12.
Later in 2021, a company called Spruce Point Capital published a report. They questioned Oatly's business practices. Spruce Point said Oatly might have made its sales look higher than they were. They also accused Oatly of "greenwashing". This means making themselves seem more environmentally friendly than they are. Oatly's stock price went down after this report. Several lawsuits were filed against the company.
Oatly also took a small British company, Glebe Farm Foods, to court. Oatly said Glebe Farm's oat drink, "PureOaty," was too similar to their brand. In August 2021, a judge decided in favor of Glebe Farm. The judge found only a "very modest level of similarity" between the two brands.
Oatly Products
Oatly makes many different products. These include oat milk, ice cream, and cold coffee drinks. They also make substitutes for yogurt, cooking cream, spread, custard, and mayonnaise. All Oatly products are vegan. This means they do not contain any animal products. They are also certified kosher.
In the US, Oatly's products are certified gluten-free. However, in Europe and Asia, Oatly's products are not gluten-free.
In the US, you can find Oatly oat drinks, frozen desserts (like ice cream), and "oatgurt" (a yogurt substitute). Oat milk varieties include barista edition, original, chocolate, full fat, and low-fat. The frozen desserts come in flavors like chocolate chip, mint chip, coffee, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, oat, and salted caramel. Oatgurt flavors include plain, strawberry, peach, black cherry, and mixed berry.
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Outside the US, Oatly also offers single-serve drinks. These come in recyclable paper containers. Flavors include chocolate oat milk, cold brew latte, organic matcha latte, and organic mocha latte.
The "barista edition" oat milk has a bit more fat than the original version. This higher fat content helps it work better when steamed or frothed. It's perfect for coffee drinks like lattes. It also gives a richer taste when added to teas.
Oatly Advertising
A Danish dairy company called Arla Foods made ads to discourage people from buying vegan milk. They used a fake brand called 'Pjölk'. Oatly responded by trademarking 'Pjölk' and other similar names. They then used these names on their own packaging.
The Swedish dairy industry group, LRF Mjölk, sued Oatly. This was because Oatly used the phrase "Milk, but made for humans." In response, Oatly published the details of the lawsuit. This actually helped increase their sales.
In 2018, Oatly spent a lot of money on advertising in the UK. They used the "Milk, but made for humans" slogan on TV and billboards.
In February 2021, Oatly aired an ad during the Super Bowl LV. The ad showed CEO Toni Petersson singing a jingle in an oat field. This ad was first shown in Sweden in 2014. It was banned there because of the lawsuit from LRF Mjölk.
Later that month, Oatly started a new ad campaign in Europe. It was called "Are You Stupid?". The ads showed people recognizing products that did not contain dairy. They also encouraged people to sign a petition against "Amendment 171." This rule, supported by the European Dairy Association, wanted to stop plant-based products from using words like "creamy" or "yogurt-style." It also aimed to ban packaging that looked like dairy products. Campaigners argued that this rule would make it harder for the EU to reach its goals for plant-based food. On May 25, 2021, the EU withdrew Amendment 171. This means plant-based companies can still use words like "buttery" or "creamy."
In early 2022, several Oatly ads were banned by the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA did not disagree that a vegan diet could reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, they found that consumers might confuse claims for Oatly Barista Edition with other Oatly products. They also said a study comparing the meat and dairy industry to transportation was not fair.
