Professor Ian Givens of Reading University, warns non-dairy milk may lead consumers to develop a deficiency for vital nutrients. Here, experts compare animal and plant-based products.
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Oatly shares opened at $22.12 on the Nasdaq.Credit.Marta Lavandier/Associated Press
May 20, 2021, 12:42 p.m. ET
Shares of Oatly soared 30 percent on Thursday as investors jumped at the chance to take part in rapid changes in the food industry driven by consumer tastes shifting to plant-based products.
The company, which makes an alternative to dairy milk based on oats, priced its initial public offering Wednesday night on the high end of its range, giving the company a value of about $10 billion. Shares were priced at $17 and began trading at $22.12 on the Nasdaq under the ticker “OTLY.”
The offering comes as money is flooding into the food tech space, with investors eager to catch a ride on the next Beyond Meat the vegan food company valued at about $6.6 billion by public investors. And investors have put a heightened focus on companies like Oatly that say they meet environmental, social and governance standards.
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Private equity has a place at the table, and so do Oprah and Jay-Z. Food giants like Nestlé are scrambling to get a foot in the door. There are implications for the climate. There are even geopolitical rumblings.
The unlikely focus of this excitement is Oatly, producer of a milk substitute made from oats that can be poured on cereal or foamed for a cappuccino. Oatly, a Swedish company, will sell shares to the public for the first time this week in an offering that could value it at $US10 billion ($12.83 billion) and exemplify the changes in consumer preferences that are reshaping the food business.