Finnish Dairy Brand Debuts Vegan Milk and Yogurt Line

Family-run Finnish food and beverage company Kaslink is shifting its dairy focus to vegan-friendly products with the launch of a new line of oat-based drinks, cooking products, and plant-based yogurts. The Kaslink Aito line—available in stores across Finland this fall—will include nearly 20 oat-based products, such as Organic Fresh Oat Drink, Blueberry Oat Drink, and Oatgurts. “The category of plant-based products is significantly increasing, and at the same time the dairy market is declining globally,” Juha-Petteri Kukkonen, Kaslink Vice President of Brand and Communications, tells VegNews. “It’s also a matter of what’s good for the environment: Kaslink is a family-owned business, and responsibility, sustainability, and the environment are very important to us. Producing plant-based products is more environmentally-friendly.” Next year, Kukkonen plans to have several new oat-based product launches and grow into new markets outside Finland. The company believes that in the coming years, most of the its revenue will come from its oat-based products. Several dairy companies have recently shifted their focus to plant-based products, including multinational brand Danone, which acquired WhiteWave Foods (the parent company of vegan brands Silk, So Delicious, Vega, and Alpro) in 2016 for $12.5 billion and is currently developing vegan versions of its Activia and Actimel yogurt lines.