Oatly Riles Big Dairy

At the dozen or so companies he has run, Toni Petersson says he’s never been sued—until now. Oatly, the Swedish oat milk producer he runs, is being brought to court by Sweden’s dairy lobby, which represents companies that have combined sales 200 times greater than his own. The group, LRF Mjölk, argues that Oatly’s marketing disparages cow’s milk as unhealthy. After the lawsuit was filed last October, Petersson says, sales grew significantly. “My mistake,” he says. “Maybe I should have tried it before.”

Since he was hired as chief executive officer of Oatly in 2012, Petersson has relentlessly poked fun at the dairy industry. “Like milk, but made for humans” is how the company’s ads describe the blend of oats and water that is the basis for its line of creamers, yogurt, and frozen desserts. The cartons are emblazoned with slogans such as “No milk. No soy. No badness.” An ad for Oatly that aired on YouTube in October shows Petersson standing in a field of oats, playing a keyboard and singing a ditty called Wow No Cow!