The dairy-free milk alternative oat milk is fast becoming a cult favorite, and Swedish brand Oatly is among those leading the pack. Some big names are taking note — including Oprah, Jay-Z, and Howard Shultz, who are part of a group funneling more than $200 million into the brand.
This deal, which involves the sale of a 10 percent stake in the company, brings the valuation of Oatly to $2 billion. CEO of the company, Toni Petersson, told Cheddar in an exclusive interview that he plans to use the new funding to build on their momentum, and "continue the growth journey that we've been on for a few years now."
Oatly's rise in popularity has been a rapid one. Only 10 coffee shops in the United States featured the plant-based milk brand in 2017. By 2019, that number had grown to 3,500 coffee shops. Part of this new funding will be used to continue the company's expansion in reaction to its exponential growth.
"It's been crazy — completely crazy," Petersson told Cheddar. "We started off in 2018 with just one factory in Sweden, and mid next year we're going to have five factories on three continents, two of which will be in the U.S. And we don't think that's enough."
When Oatly's oat milk began gaining traction among the coffee shop patrons of the world, it quickly began selling out at grocery stores, and price gouging of the product began to skyrocket on e-commerce websites like Amazon.
If Petersson has his way, Oatly will soon be even bigger, and "more than just an oat milk brand, more like a generational brand."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
