Oatly Bets on Fiber Drinks to Revive Its North American Business

A single 250-milliliter oat latte made with Oatly's new fiber line delivers 5 to 6 grams of fiber — and the Swedish company is wagering that number, not oat-milk sentiment, restarts its North American growth. The functional milks launch in the U.S. and Canada in January; they're already on shelves in Europe.

The line has two products: a low-calorie, no-sugar option built for protein shakes, and a low-sugar barista version for coffee and similar drinks. The push targets two overlapping audiences — GLP-1 users and health-conscious consumers — both of whom are actively hunting functional ingredients.

COO Daniel Ordonez framed the move as identity, not experiment. "The fiber range is not simply innovation, it's a natural evolution of who we are," he said on an earnings call last week. "Oatly is built on over 30 years of oat research and innovation which provides unique legitimacy in the fiber space."

Why fiber, and why now?

The nutritional gap is real. More than 90% of women and 97% of men fail to meet U.S. fiber recommendations, according to the USDA. A survey from the International Food Information Council found virtually all participants wanted or needed more fiber in their diets. That's broad, self-declared demand — the kind brands rarely get handed for free.

The category context is less generous. The $2.7 billion plant-based milk segment declined as consumers drifted back to conventional dairy: plant-based dollar sales fell 2% in 2025, per the Good Food Institute, while traditional milk gained 2%. Roughly a four-point spread. Nobody builds a turnaround on that math without changing the question.

Oatly is changing it. Ordonez said the company is "moving away from this binary dairy versus plant-based debate" and positioning oat milks as a choice consumers make for flavor, texture and nutrition. He also said Oatly aims to be "among the leaders in reducing the fiber gap." Functional beverage, not milk substitute. That's the reposition, stated plainly.

What does this change for Oatly's turnaround?

Oatly has struggled with profitability for years and sold a majority of its U.S. manufacturing assets. The picture improved in 2025: the company posted its first year of profitable growth, driven by strength in Europe, and most recently reported a 9.1% third-quarter revenue increase over the prior year. North America remains the laggard.

The fiber line is the instrument meant to fix that. Ordonez called the company "really decisive and optimistic about what fibers and functionality can do in the U.S." and went further: "This could be the turning point that we're expecting for North America."

For marketers, the takeaway is category drift. When a decline of 2% meets near-universal fiber demand and accelerating GLP-1 use, the growth story moves from "alternative to dairy" to "delivery vehicle for nutrients." If January's launch converts that framing into velocity, expect the functional-oats shelf to get crowded fast.