Environmentally-concerned Brits who only want to drink locally sourced alt-milk will soon have another option.
The world leader in oat milk, Oatly has announced plans to build a UK factory in Peterborough. The site will go live in early 2023 and generate at least 200 new jobs.
Not surprisingly amid the ever growing UK demand for oat milk – with sales of non-dairy milk up 20 per cent in 2020, according to Kantar – the factory will be on one of the world’s largest plant-based dairy production sites capable of outputting 300 million litres of Oatly per year.
Ishen Paran, the general manager at Oatly UK, said:.
“The UK is a really important driver of the global plant-based movement, with growing demand for Oatly across the country, and we’re excited to supply this increased demand.”
Oatly currently sells half of the oat milk in the UK. Its major rivals included London-based Minor Figures and Belgian company Alpro.
It has been an interesting few months for the Swedish milk brand. It launched a series of controversial ads, has been the subject of a push back from some activists over investment partners and most recently it announced its intention to launch on the NYSE.
Johan Rabe, the group’s chief supply chain officer, said the brand’s “sustainable” ethos will continue even as the industry grows.
“Everything, from the sourcing of our oats, to the production of our product range specifically designed for humans, has sustainability at the heart of it,” he said.
“Even as we strive to grow one of the biggest plant-based dairy factories to its full capacity, this will still be our top priority”.
