Oatly expands US oat milk portfolio for the first time in five years with two new varieties

09 Jan 2024 --- Oatly Group has announced a US launch of two regional beverage innovations: Unsweetened Oatmilk and Super Basic Oatmilk. According to the brand, both products are formulated to check different nutritional boxes while still delivering the same delicious Oatly taste consumers are familiar with.

Designed to enhance smoothies, coffee and cereals, the Unsweetened and Super Basic varieties join a portfolio of Oatly’s oat milks, including the number one velocity oat mill SKU in the US.

The new duo
Oatly Unsweetened Oatmilk features a brand-new proprietary oat base specially developed to deliver 0 g of sugar. Oatly Unsweetened is “a delightfully light and smooth beverage at just 40 calories per serving,” says the company. 

Oatly Super Basic Oatmilk has just four ingredients: water, oats, sea salt, and citrus zest fiber, an upcycled byproduct of the juice industry that provides great texturizing and stabilization capabilities. 

Oatly Super Basic boasts all the creamy, deliciousness oat milk can offer with a simpler formulation.

“Launching these innovations gives consumers even more choice as we continue to encourage the switch to oat milk and drive Oatly’s ultimate mission,” says Leah Hoxie, SVP of Innovation, Oatly North America. 

“As oat milk continues to move into the mainstream, we see people unwilling to sacrifice great taste for dietary preferences — they’re looking for both. Our US R&D team spent a year perfecting these oatmilks to strike this balance and complement the rest of our portfolio. We’re confident these new products will live up to what people are looking for.”

A shift in consumer behaviors
Oatly Unsweetened and Super Basic build upon Oatly’s existing US lineup of non-dairy milk alternatives, including Oatly Original, Full Fat, Low Fat, Chocolate and Barista Edition oat milks, all of which have the same creamy taste, frothy feel, and functionality as cow’s milk, while also having a lower environmental impact.

“Products should serve both people and the planet well. With this in mind, changing the food system requires a mass shift away from dairy,” notes Mike Messersmith, president of Oatly North America.

“That’s why our new oat milks were crafted to cater to different consumer preferences, like less calories, no sugar or fewer ingredients. Ultimately, the biggest impact we can have as a business is to convert cow’s milk drinkers into oat milk buyers. The introduction of Unsweetened and Super Basic continue to help us do that.”

A recent Oatly flash poll on US consumer milk preferences illustrates that interest in dairy milk is waning and that plant-based alternatives are increasingly preferred. More than half (54%) of Gen Z and almost half (49%) of Millennials polled prefer plant-based milk to cow’s milk.

Oatly Unsweetened and Super Basic, produced in the US, are sold in 64 oz. chilled cartons and can be found in the refrigerated aisle with a suggested retail price of US$5.99. 

All Oatly oat milks produced in the US are free of the nine major allergens and vegan, glyphosate-free, non-GMO Project Verified, gluten-free and kosher Certified.

Edited by Elizabeth Green