Oatly has added two formats to its Barista range in a bid to target new usage occasions.
The dairy-free giant has launched the first chilled version of its one-litre Barista carton and a 500ml Barista Edition, nicknamed Mini Barista.
The Mini Barista SKU (rsp: £1.20) will be available in Tesco from 20 June before rolling out into Co-op and Sainsbury’s in September. The launch will be supported by ‘Start Small’ promotional signs in store.
Meanwhile, the new chilled variant launched in Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Ocado this week (rsp £2).
The two products were part of a push to make it “easier and more convenient” to consume its products, Oatly said.
UK MD Ishen Paran told The Grocer the expanded range was designed to cater for different consumer needs.
Mini Barista would cater for single people, who saw its traditional one-litre cartons as a “big format”, he said.
The chilled Barista format, meanwhile, would appeal to those visiting the chilled Dairy aisle, which is “where the new consumers are coming in,” said Paran.
“That’s where flexitarians are, the people who are used to buying milk. That’s where they go, so it is a really important category for retailers and for the UK.”
There was still a “huge amount of opportunity” in winning over consumers from dairy which was why placement in chiller cabinets near dairy counterparts was so important, Paran added.
“It is about offering choice and milk is a product which people are so used to and has been there for so many years, it is kind of ingrained. Dairy alternatives is a newer category and it requires that education but the more we are understanding about the nutritional benefits and the sustainability impact, the more the products are given more space,” he claimed. “They have to be located near where the consumer wants them.”
Both new formats are fortified with calcium, iodine, riboflavin, vitamins B12 and D and rich in unsaturated fats.
It comes amid big plans for the brand’s future in the UK, with Oatly’s first British factory in Peterborough due to open next year.
Paran said Oatly was “excited to have all the benefits of locally produced products, sourcing oats, what impact that has on sustainability, on brand perception, all of those things. It is really exciting for us, and for job creation as well”.
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