Oatly who?

If you have found yourself wondering what sets Oatly apart from other companies, and you’ve arrived at this very webpage for answers, then we are delighted to tell you—but we should probably warn you that we are not going to be able to do so in just a few succinct sentences. Which is why we made an entire website for you. At least it’s a good one.

So, let’s get started. (That was just a suggestion. You can start whenever you are ready.) 

If you haven’t noticed yet, we are a company that has some pretty strong opinions, whether about how we can shift consumption of animals to plants in order to help secure the longevity of our planet, or about whether the Seattle Mariners will ever play in a World Series.

Most companies think that having a strong opinion means scaring away customers who think differently. We think it’s a good way to make some new friends. So, for the record, we believe we should grow stuff to eat instead of growing stuff to feed animals that we then eat.

Everybody—regardless of spiritual beliefs, birth country, race, gender, sexual orientation, or color of their nail polish—is of equal worth. The reckless pursuit of profits without any consideration for the well-being of the planet and the humans that live here should be considered a crime. Companies have as much responsibility as politicians do for building a society that every one of us living in this world can admire.

Why Oats?

There are a million reasons, but to hold your interest, here is the highlight reel.

Also, we do oats because we don’t know anything about almonds or soy or cows. All we know is oats: how to grow them, harvest them, and turn them into refreshing products that you can take home and treat your body to.

Actually—and this is not something that we spend a lot of time claiming—it was our original idea in the early 1990s to create a plant-based drink that was in tune with the needs of both humans and the planet. Today we continue to make the most amazing liquid oats that you will find anywhere. Hope you’re okay with that.

The Full History of Oat Drink

How did oat drink come to be and more importantly, why? That’s what this section should cover, and in doing so it should allude to our history as the originator of oat drink while pulling important milestones from our past so that the reader fully understands that oat drink took more than three decades to make and perfect before it became an overnight sensation. Well an overnight sensation is a bit of an overstatement actually. In some regions growth was built steadily over time, but that’s not what is important in this section. We need to make the oat drink story interesting enough that people don’t fall asleep while reading!

There is a risk that this section will either be too short and shallow to tell the entire history of oat drink, or in fact consume an entire website in itself to reveal the unabridged encyclopaedic endeavor that it is so enticing for a writer, so a suggestion would be to find some medium ground where history is shared but not too much history. Of course, a recommendation could be made for people to google our history, but that would mean they would have to leave this website and well, we want them to stay here forever, or at least until dinner.

So, when do you think a copywriter will be able to finish this off? Yesterday? Next week? Never?

BACK IN THE DAY, 30 OR SO YEARS AGO THERE WAS NO OATLY—JUST SOME RESEARCHERS AT A FAMOUS UNIVERSITY IN A COUNTRYImage MISTAKENLY KNOWN FOR POLAR BEARS ROAMING THE STREETS. THEY NERDED OUT ON WAYS TO TURN OATS INTO MILK AND CREATED A PRODUCTION PROCESS Image TO KEEP THE BETA-GLUCANS (BIG, SCIENTIFIC WORD FOR “SOLUBLE FIBER”) INTACT SO THAT WE AT OATLY COULD GO CRAZY MAKING ALL KINDS OF OAT DRINKS AND OAT CREAMS AND OAT SPREADS Image AND A BARISTA-EDITION OAT DRINK AND THEN SHARE ALL OF THIS OAT Image HISTORY ON OUR WEBSITE IN THE HOPES THAT ONE DAY YOU MIGHT HAPPEN TO READ Image HOW THE FIRST OAT DRINK IN THE WORLD WAS INVENTED AND PERFECTED AND WANT TO GIVE IT A TRY—WHICH, IN THE HUMBLE OPINION OF THE GUY WRITING THIS EXCESSIVELY LONG SENTENCE, WOULD BE RATHER AWESOME.

Here's our promise to you

We would like to be crystal clear about one thing. We’re not a perfect company—not even close. However, our intentions are true. Which is why we ask that you judge us on our actions—the things we do to contribute to humanity and the planet—and not solely on all the pretty words crafted to make this website sound cool.

Our goal is to always deliver products that have maximum nutritional value and minimal environmental impact. We promise that our drive to help people enhance their lives and contribute to the long-term future of the planet will always come before the reckless pursuit of profit.

We strive to produce the most sustainable, responsible products on the market and are continually looking for ways to make our products even better. If you have any ideas, we’d love to hear them here.

So What's Next?

There is an outside chance that at some point in your life, you’ve given serious or casual thought to the following: Is Oatly ever going to make a vegan pizza cheese? When will they understand that the market would die for a non-ice-cream ice-cream bar dipped in chocolate? Will they ever do another Super Bowl ad? Is this fight with the dairy industry going to last forever?

If there is one thing that is consistent about what we do, it’s that we are very inconsistent in the choices we make for the simple reason that we like to keep our brand and products flexible and ever-changing. We know that what’s most interesting is not necessarily predictable or even logical. Take oat drink, for example. In 2012, who expected it to become one of the most important contributors to a supercharged plant-based movement that is radically changing our relationship to food and the planet ? That’s right, no one.

Regarding the questions above, we prefer to leave them unanswered but will leave you with this thought: From day one, Oatly has been committed to finding new ways to make it easy for people to eat better and live healthier lives without recklesslyImage taxing the planet’s resources in the process—and no matter what we do in the future, that is never going to change.

Change isn't easy

My name is Marcus and I have spent the better part of the past two years working on this website. Every day actually. And I have been promised that this section would be finished months ago, yet it is not. I have also been promised that this particular section is going to be the best section of all, because it is going to outline how difficult it is to create change, yet how vital it is for the human race if we are going to continue to live on a planet that is healthy for generations to come.

Still, the writers give me nothing. Yes, I am a little annoyed, but I will focus on getting the other sections in shape and hope this comes in due time. If not, you will know that my frustration levels have exceeded where they are now, and if you never get a chance to read this line of copy, you will know that the writers finally delivered…I am pretty sure you will read it.

Asheley's to-do-list

For those of you who have never met Ashley, perhaps we should introduce her as the person in the company with the longest to-do list. No, she is not slow. She’s the person in charge of ensuring that Oatly performs well on sustainability issues. It’s one thing to claim you are sustainable; it’s another to be transparent about what you aim to do and why you aim to do it and work to demonstrate your commitment through actions instead of well-structured sentences. Do we source the most sustainable oats? What happens to our oat residue? What energy source is powering our Utah plant? Are our delivery trucks electric? Ask Ashley the next time you see her, or have a look here for some answers.

See the to-do list

Welcome to
the Post-Milk
Generation

This section needs to clearly outline our focus on removing the burden milk has on the planet in the next 10 years. It also needs to suggest that the Post-milk Generation is a movement that you can be part of, either by actively choosing to swap cow’s milk for oat drink or by taking a stand in the best way you know how to work for a more sustainable approach to what we consume as a society. Or preferably both.

Unfortunately, the copywriter is running late on this section, and so he asks that you show some understanding for his current workload and return at a later date, in the not too far future, for a better, more persuasive explanation of the Post-milk Generation. He also says to tell you thank you. I think the thank you is sincere and that he really means it, but I can’t be 100% sure because he can be sarcastic at times, but I am going to keep things optimistic and positive.