Oatly Told They Can No Longer Use Word "Milk" in Advertising by Supreme Court

Oatly has lost its final legal battle in the UK over its use of the word “milk” in its branding after the Supreme Court ruled that the company cannot trademark or use the slogan “Post Milk Generation” on its plant-based products.

The Swedish oat drink maker has been locked in a dispute with Dairy UK, which represents British dairy farmers, since trademarking the phrase in 2021. Dairy UK challenged Oatly’s use of the slogan, arguing that under the law, terms like “milk” are reserved for products that come from animals.

The conflict between Oatly and Dairy UK began when Oatly applied to register “Post Milk Generation” as a trademark in 2019 for use on items including oat-based drinks, yoghurt, custard, and clothing. The Intellectual Property Office initially approved it, but later declared it invalid after Dairy UK objected. Oatly briefly won a challenge in the High Court, before the Court of Appeal overturned that decision in 2024. The case then went to the Supreme Court.

And finally after years of going back-and-forth through the courts, five Supreme Court justices unanimously sided with Dairy UK on Wednesday.

The court found the phrase did not clearly explain a feature of the products and could instead be seen as referring to a group of consumers. Earlier judgments had also raised concerns that shoppers might be unsure whether the drinks were completely milk-free or simply contained less dairy.

In their ruling, Lords Hamblen and Burrows said: “Even if ‘post milk generation’ were to be regarded as referring to the milk-free characteristic of the contested products, that characteristic is not being described ‘clearly’.”

Dairy UK welcomed the final decision. Chief executive Judith Bryans said: “This ruling is an important decision for the sector as it finally provides clarity on how dairy terms can – and cannot – be used in branding and marketing. It brings greater certainty for businesses and helps ensure that long-established dairy terms continue to carry clear meaning for consumers, while allowing appropriate descriptors to be used where the law permits.”

Oatly said it was “deeply disappointed” by the outcome. Bryan Carroll, general manager for Oatly UK & Ireland, said: “This decision creates unnecessary confusion and an uneven playing field for plant-based products that solely benefits Big Dairy. In our view prohibiting the trademarking of the slogan ‘Post Milk Generation’ for use on our products in the UK is a way to stifle competition and is not in the interests of the British public.”

Trademark experts say the ruling reinforces a strict approach in the UK when it comes to protected food terms. Regulations limit words such as “milk” to specific animal-derived products, and courts found that Oatly’s slogan did not meet the clarity required to fall outside of those rules.

Although Oatly can no longer use the phrase to market its food and drink in the UK, the restriction does not apply in the same way to non-food items. The company has previously produced merchandise featuring the slogan and has said that it will continue engaging its community in other ways.

The case comes during a wider debate in Europe over how plant-based alternatives can be described. EU lawmakers have backed moves to restrict terms like “oat milk” and “veggie burger,” from being used to describe non-dairy and non-meat products, though those changes have not come into force yet.

For now, the Supreme Court’s decision draws a clear line in the UK: if it doesn’t come from an animal, it cannot be marketed using protected dairy terms like “milk.”