Oatly, the Swedish oat milk giant, saw its shares fall by almost 20% tPrevious sales predictions were of $690 million, while the more recent sales are projected to come in at around $635 million for the year. According to Bloomberg data, the Swedish oat milk brand recorded just over $171 million in Q3 revenues, missing the consensus target of $185 million.
Oatly stated that the missed targets and reduced sales are due to supply chain and logistics-related issues. The company says that container rates are going up, and also cited pandemic-driven disruptions in Asia, as well as a potential “quality issue” that could mean throwing out significant stock in its US production plant in Utah.
The issues in its US facility were responsible for a $3 million impact on sales, which added to its delayed delivery problems from driver shortages and Covid-related foodservice closures.
“In EMEA, we are starting to build supply to meet consumer demand, but the pace at which we expected to increase revenue in new and existing retailers and to open new markets is slower than we anticipated as we navigate a dynamic COVID operating environment,” stated the Blackstone-backed firm in its latest earnings report.
The company believes this was “primarily a timing issue” and expects a recovery on retail shelves “in the first half of 2022”.
Although Oatly is credited for being the brand that popularized oat milk, it faces strong competition from long-time vegan milk makers such as Alpro and Silk, along with dozens of other dairy-free milk players. According to data from Euromonitor International, Alpro takes up around 25% of market share in Western Europe, while Swedish oat milk maker makes up around 9%. Big conglomerates like Nestlé are also launching new brands like pea milk Wunda.
