Food Ingredients First | Food Industry News and Analysis

The UK Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that Oatly cannot use its “Post Milk Generation” trademark on oat-based food and drink, handing a landmark victory to the dairy industry, as it contends with record-low farm numbers, falling retail volumes, and collapsing wholesale prices. The ruling, delivered yesterday, ends a four-year legal battle between the Swedish oat drink maker and Dairy UK, the trade association whose members include Arla Foods UK, Lactalis McLelland, Müller, and Saputo. The case was brought under an EU Regulation (1308/2013) retained in UK law post-Brexit, which reserves terms such as “milk,” “butter,” and “cheese” exclusively for animal-derived products. Additionally, major food companies Nestlé, Lactalis, and Danone are facing court action over an infant formula scandal, with criminal complaints being filed by foodwatch. Meanwhile, the food industry continues to face severe economic pressure from record-high cocoa costs, which have nearly halved earnings for companies like Mondelez and Hershey.