Oatly

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Oatly Group AB
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: OTLY
Founded1994; 30 years ago (1994)
Headquarters
Malmö Edit this on Wikidata
,
Sweden Edit this on Wikidata
Area served
International
ProductsDairy alternatives
RevenueIncrease US$722 million (2022)
Decrease −US$393 million (2022)
Total assetsDecrease US$1.23 billion (2022)
Total equityDecrease US$791 million (2022)
Number of employees
2,009 (2022)
Websitewww.oatly.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Oatly Group AB is a Swedish food company that produces alternatives to dairy products from oats, including oat milk.[2][3] Oatly was formed in the 1990s using research from Lund University.[4][5][6] Oatly has headquarters in Malmö and a production and development center in Landskrona.[7][8][9][10][11]

Oatly's key markets are Sweden, Germany and the United Kingdom. The company's products were available in 60,000 retail stores and 32,200 coffee shops around the world as of 31 December 2020.[12][needs update] Oatly is available in 11,000 coffee and tea shops in China, and at more than 6,000 retail and specialty shops across the United States, including thousands of Starbucks locations.[12]

History

In Finland, oat drinks for sale: Regular, Organic, and Barista
Oatly Salty Caramel Hazelnut vegan ice cream

Oatly was founded in 1993 or 1994 by food scientist Rickard Öste and his brother Björn Öste.[13][14] The parent company of Oatly AB is Ceba AB, which was founded by Rickard Öste, Ingegerd Sjöholm, Inger Ahlden and Lennart Lindahl together with the cereals company Skånska Lantmännen on February 17, 1994[15][16] Oatly Group changed its name from Havre Global AB on 1 March 2021.[12]

Oatly is now part-owned by The Blackstone Group (7%), Verlinvest, 45,9% via Nativus Company Limited a part of China Resources (a conglomerate owned by the Chinese state), Industrifonden, Östersjöstiftelsen, and the employees.[17][18][19] The group also included celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z, as well as Starbucks founder Howard Schultz.[20]

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."[21]

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,[22][23] angered consumers and led to a backlash against the company.[24]

In 2021, Oatly applied to be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "OTLY".[25] When the company set terms for its initial public offering, its potential value was estimated at more than $10 billion.[26] Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse were the underwriters.[27] OTLY stock was priced at $17 but had its first public trade at $22.12 on the first day.[28]

On July 14, 2021, short seller Spruce Point Capital published a report questioning Oatly's management and sustainability.[29] Spruce Point alleged that Oatly overstated revenue and margins, among other accounting issues, and accused the company of green washing for understating water usage, and for not having a waste-water treatment facility.[30][31][32] After the announcement Oatly's stock briefly went below IPO, resulting in several class-action lawsuits.[33] Glenn Vanzura of Mayer Brown stated that it is common in other industries that after a short-seller targets a company to drive down stock price, a class action lawsuit is filed, noting that such lawsuits are often dismissed.[34]

Oatly took a small British firm, Glebe Farm Foods, to court, alleging it had infringed Oatly's trademark by selling cartons of an oat-based drink called "PureOaty". In August 2021, the judge dismissed Oatly's case at London's High Court, concluding there was only a "very modest level of similarity" between the Glebe Farm branding and Oatly's.[35]

Products

Oatly chocolate ice cream

Oatly has a range of products including: oat milk, ice cream, cold coffee, yoghurt substitutes, cooking cream, spread, custard and mayonnaise.[36][37][38] All products are certified kosher and vegan and are non-GMO project verified.[39] All US Oatly products are certified gluten free.[39][40] However, in Europe and Asia, Oatly's products are not gluten free.[40]

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.[41] 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.[41] Oatgurt, a substitute yoghurt, is made with oats and does not contain any dairy. The product contains active and live cultures.[42] Flavors of oatgurt available in the US include plain, strawberry, peach, black cherry, and mixed berry.[41]

Oatly Barista Edition oat milk

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.[38] Additionally, both boxed oat drink and boxed chocolate oat drink are available outside the US.[38]

The only nutritional 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 (3% versus 1.5%). The higher fat content allows the oat milk to perform better when steamed, frothed, and paired with espresso for coffee drinks, hence the name "barista edition". It also makes for a richer and more pleasant flavor complement to teas in tea lattes and is commonly used as a milk alternative for matcha lattes.[39]

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.[4]

The Swedish dairy lobby LRF Mjölk successfully sued Oatly for using the phrase "Milk, but made for humans." In response to the lawsuit, Oatly published the text of the lawsuit leading to an increase in sales.[43]

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.[4]

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. The ad was originally 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".[44][45]

Later that month, Oatly launched its first Europe-wide advertising campaign[46][47] called "Are You Stupid?",[47][48] showing results from focus group testing,[46] showing people recognising which products do and do not contain dairy, irrespective of packaging,[46][48] and directing viewers to a petition against "Amendment 171",[48] supported by the European Dairy Association,[46][47][49] which seeks to ban non-dairy products from using "dairy-based descriptors" such as "dairy", "creamy", "yoghurt-style dessert" or "does not contain milk"[49] and could be interpreted to ban "packaging designs that call to mind dairy products, such as yoghurt pots or milk cartons"[47][49] and ban climate impact comparisons.[47][49] Campaigners — and one focus group member — argued that Amendment 171 would make it harder for the EU to meet its goal of increasing plant-based food consumption.[46][50] Amendment 171 was approved by majority vote in the European Parliament in October 2020 and went into trilogue negotiations in late January 2021.[49] On 25 May 2021 the EU withdrew Amendment 171, thus allowing plant-based dairy companies to use words like "buttery" or "creamy" to describe their products.[51]

In the beginning of 2022, several Oatly ads were banned by the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), a private regulatory body. The ASA did not dispute Oatly's claim that a vegan diet would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But the ASA found consumers could confuse claims for Oatly Barista Edition with its other products, and that a study comparing the meat and dairy industry to the transportation industry did not compare the two equally.[52][53]

References

  1. ^ "Oatly Group AB 2022 Annual Report (Form 20-F)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 20 April 2023.
  2. ^ Watson, Imogen (1 April 2019). "Dairy-free Oatly labels to include climate footprint figure to encourage milk swap". The Drum. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  3. ^ Glenday, John (20 March 2019). "Oatly pushes coffee drinkers away from dairy with 'Ditch Milk' creative". The Drum. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Webber, Jemima (10 December 2019). "Why Sweden Is Terrified of Oat Milk". LiveKindly. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  5. ^ Goldberg, Jacob. "Sweden's 'Milk War' is getting udderly vicious". The Outline. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  6. ^ McMorris-Santoro, Evan; Kipnis, Valerie (22 March 2019). "Oat Milk Is Coming To Your Town". VICE News Tonight. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  7. ^ Sugar, Rachel (14 August 2019). "Oatly and the quest for the perfect alt-milk". Vox. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  8. ^ Whitehead, Richard (29 May 2019). "Oatly has sights set on great march into China". Dairy Reporter. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  9. ^ Link, Peter; Petersson, Toni (12 August 2019). "Oatly: "We're Seeing a Post Milk Generation Taking Shape"". Vegconomist: The vegan business magazine (Interview). Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  10. ^ Kibbe, Kayla (5 December 2019). "Sweden Is Waging a War on Oat Milk". InsideHook. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Oatly ice cream: Swedish plant-milk company launches UK offering". Verdict Retail. 12 December 2019. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  12. ^ a b c Garcia, Tonya (21 April 2021). "Oatly IPO: 5 things to know about the plant-based dairy company before it goes public". MarketWatch. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  13. ^ Lewitschnik, Liv (15 August 2019). "Against the grain". Monocle. No. 126.
  14. ^ "How Oat Milk Could Change the Way You Drink Coffee". Time. 8 March 2018.
  15. ^ Lagnevik, Magnus (1 January 2003). The Dynamics of Innovation Clusters: A Study of the Food Industry. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78100-861-4.
  16. ^ "Rickard Öste". Food's Future Global. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  17. ^ Bakst, Danny (26 June 2019). "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.
  18. ^ Koenigs, Mike (12 September 2019). "How the Co-Founder of Oatly Is Shaking Up the Beverage Industry". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  19. ^ Dummett, Ben; Gottfried, Miriam; Chung, 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.
  20. ^ Goldman, M. Corey (20 April 2021). "Oatly Group Reveals $60 Million Loss in IPO Filing". TheStreet. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  21. ^ Chiorando, Maria (6 February 2018). "Plant Based Brand Oatly Addresses Controversy Over Selling Oat Residue To Pig Farm". Plant Based News. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  22. ^ Grim, Ryan (27 August 2019). "A Top Financier of Trump and McConnell Is a Driving Force Behind Amazon Deforestation". The Intercept. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
  23. ^ Helmore, Edward (2 September 2020). "Activists sour on Oatly vegan milk after stake sold to Trump-linked Blackstone". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  24. ^ Nagarajan, Shalini (3 September 2020). "Oatly vegan milk faces activist anger after Trump-supporting billionaire Schwarzman's Blackstone acquired a stake". Business Insider. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  25. ^ "Swedish oat milk producer Oatly eyes $10 billion IPO". France 24. Stockholm. Agence France-Presse. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  26. ^ Kilgore, Tomi (11 May 2021). "Oatly sets IPO terms, to value the company at up to $10.1 billion". MarketWatch. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  27. ^ Balu, Nivedita; Syamnath, Devika (11 May 2021). "Oprah-backed Oatly seeks $10 billion valuation in U.S. IPO". Reuters. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  28. ^ Blankenhorn, Dana (21 May 2021). "Oatly Stock Is Flying off the Shelves After its Initial Public Offering". nasdaq.com. InvestorPlace. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  29. ^ Sorvino, Chloe (15 July 2021). "Wild Oats? Inside Spruce Point's 124-Page Attack Alleging Mismanagement And False Claims At Oatly". Forbes. Retrieved 21 July 2021. Spruce Point's 124-slide presentation largely questions both management's execution as well as the businesses' broader sustainability claims — and even includes some documents and data uncovered through Freedom of Information Act requests. Here are the highlights.
  30. ^ Lucas, Amelia (14 July 2021). "Oatly accused of overstating revenue and greenwashing by activist short Spruce Point". CNBC. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  31. ^ Sorvino, Chloe. "Inside Spruce Point's 124-Page Attack Alleging Mismanagement And False Claims At Oatly". Forbes. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  32. ^ Sampath, Uday; Carew, Sinead; Dasgupta, Shounak (14 July 2021). "Oatly shares fall after short seller Spruce Point claims overstated revenue". Reuters. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  33. ^ Blankenhorn, Dana (30 July 2021). "Speculation Turns to Consternation With Oatly Stock". NASDAQ. InvestorPlace. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  34. ^ Watson, Elaine (28 July 2021). "And now the lawsuits… Oatly hit with shareholder class actions following short seller report, such suits becoming more common, says attorney". Food Navigator. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  35. ^ Ackerman, Naomi (6 August 2021). "Oatly loses trademark fight against British family firm Glebe Farm". The Standard. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  36. ^ Chiorando, Maria (28 May 2019). "Oatly reveals plans to open factory in the UK to meet rapidly growing demand". Vegan Food & Living. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  37. ^ Shanker, Deena; Rolander, Niclas (31 July 2019). "Oatly's Path to Alt-Milk World Domination Starts in New Jersey". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  38. ^ a b c "Products". Oatly.com. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  39. ^ a b c "Frequently Asked Questions". OATLY!. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  40. ^ a b "Frequently Asked Questions". Oatly.com. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  41. ^ a b c "Products". OATLY!. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  42. ^ "Oatgurt Plain- 24oz". OATLY!. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  43. ^ Goldberg, Jacob (4 December 2019). "Sweden's 'Milk War' is getting udderly vicious". The Outline. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  44. ^ Lundstrom, Kathryn (7 February 2021). "Oatly's CEO Wrote That Song in the Brand's First Super Bowl Ad". Adweek. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  45. ^ Wohl, Jessica (7 February 2021). "See Oatly bring a 2014 ad banned in Sweden to the U.S. for its Super Bowl debut". Ad Age.
  46. ^ a b c d e Briggs, Fiona (15 February 2021). "Oatly launches first European-wide creative in UK: Are You Stupid?". Retail Times. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  47. ^ a b c d e "Oatly: Are You Stupid?". The Drum. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  48. ^ a b c McGonagle, Emmet (15 February 2021). "Oatly takes on European Parliament with 'Are you stupid?' campaign". Campaign. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  49. ^ a b c d e Bonadio, Enrico; Borghini, Andrea (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.
  50. ^ 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.
  51. ^ Barry, Sinead (28 May 2021). "Cheesed off? Controversial bill withdrawn from EU". euronews. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  52. ^ Sweney, Mark (27 January 2022). "Oatly ads banned by UK watchdog over 'misleading' green claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  53. ^ "Oatly ads banned over 'misleading' environmental claims". BBC News. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022. However the ASA did not uphold complaints against a further claim that "If everyone in the world adopted a vegan diet, it would reduce food's annual greenhouse emissions by 6.6bn metric tons (a 49% reduction)", which the advertising regulator said was substantiated by Mr Poore's analysis and by a report from the Institute for Climate Economics.
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