'Customers are seeking more plant-based choices...' Starbucks adds Oatly oatmilk to menus nationwide
Starting tomorrow (March 2), Starbucks customers across the US will be offered Oatly oatmilk alongside the coffee giant's new spring menu.
The move follows regional roll-outs of Oatly oatmilk across the Mid-West and California, said Starbucks, which started offering soymilk in 1997, followed by coconutmilk in 2015 and almondmilk in 2016.
Its new beverage menu also features two new non-dairy beverages: Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso; and Iced Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso.
Also new to the permanent menu is the Chickpea Bites & Avocado Protein Box, a plant-based portable box offering 15g protein, featuring chickpea bites, snap peas, mini carrots, dried cranberry and nut mix, and avocado spread.
The rise and rise of Oatly
Oatly - which is based in Malmö, Sweden and has operations in 20 countries - launched in the US in coffee shops in late 2016 with a 3% fat barista edition, and now supplies thousands of stores with a range of oatmilks, frozen desserts and 'oatgurt.'
It initially struggled to keep up with explosive demand (oatmilk recently overtook soymilk to become the #2 player in the US plant-based milk category behind almondmilk, and generated triple digit growth last year), but has since opened production facilities in New Jersey and Utah, and works with a network of co-packers.
The brand - which generated a lot of buzz with its polarizing Super Bowl commercial featuring its CEO singing 'Wow, No Cow' in a field - revealed last month that it had confidentially submitted a filing with the SEC on a proposed IPO.
The number of shares to be offered and the price range have not yet been determined, although people close to the matter told Reuters it could be valued at “more than $5bn, possibly up to $10bn.”
