Oatly, the world’s largest oat drink company, has recently announced the opening of its 1st production facility in China, just a few months after opening its 1st Asian factory in Singapore in July this year.
The new production facility in Ma’anshan, near Anhui Province, is part of a wider initiative by Oatly to build factories fit for the future, with efficient use of resources and minimal negative impact on the planet. The facility is one of its 6 facilities around the world, as Oatly expands to further its mission of growing the ‘healthy’ plant-based milk alternative category.
Toni Petersson, Oatly’s CEO said, “Oatly has grown to be the leader of the plant-based milk category in China and around the world, enabling people to switch from cow’s dairy to oat drink. To meet the demand and to be a leader in the shift to a more plant-based future, Oatly expects to continue to grow and expand our production capacity with factories closer to our consumers. The Chinese market is an important part of Oatly’s global expansion, and the Chinese people play a big part in shifting towards a more sustainable and mainstream plant-based consumption. We are confident in the continued growth of the Chinese market and that the new Chinese factory will accelerate our mission to drive a societal shift towards a plant-based food system for the benefit of people and the planet.”
The opening of the Chinese factory will add more capacity for Oatly, supporting robust growth in market demand for its products. Oatly’s Ma’anshan production facility has the capacity to produce up to 150 million litres of oat-based products annually.
Oatly’s commitment to oats has resulted in core technical advancements that enable it to unlock the breadth of the dairy portfolio, including alternatives to milks, ice cream, yogurt, cooking creams, and spreads. Headquartered in Sweden, the Oatly brand is available in more than 20 countries globally.
In a related development, Oatly has also engaged Swedish pulp and paper manufacturer BillerudKorsnä to develop an innovative secondary packaging solution aimed for products produced at its factory in Singapore.
The solution includes boxes for transports in demanding climate conditions. The solution is expected to reduce CO2 emissions from secondary packaging by up to 50% and reduce secondary packaging materials by as much as 35%, compared to conventional packaging solutions. This development involved the BillerudKorsnä BoxLab division.
