In a new ruling, the UK Supreme Court has banned Oatly from using the word “milk” to market its oat products.
Britain’s highest court ruled unanimously on Wednesday February 11 that the Swedish company could no longer use the slogan “Post Milk Generation” because, according to Dairy UK, the term milk is limited to products of animal origin.
With this ruling, it is clear that vegan food producers cannot use any term like “oat milk”.
Instead, they will use “oat drink” or “herbal drink” on packaging and in marketing.
However, the move is being criticized by Bryan Caroll, Oatly’s UK and Ireland managing director, who said “the move creates unnecessary confusion and an uneven playing field for plant-based products that only benefits Big Dairy.”
He accused regulators of “stifling competition” to the detriment of the interests of the British public.
The case dates back to 2021, when Oatly began trademarking “Post Milk Generation.”
The proposal was opposed by Dairy UK, which argued the phrase flouted laws protecting dairy terms.
After a legal battle before the IPO, the High Court and the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court finally delivered its verdict.
The judges ruled that the term “milk” was used descriptively to refer to a food product and could not benefit from exceptions allowing terms denoting a “characteristic quality”.
They discovered that the slogan described the consumers and not the product itself.
Legal experts say the ruling creates increased risk for any plant-based brand borrowing dairy terminology.
