FOOD & BEV

Investors Feeling Like a Kid in an Oat Milk Store

The humble oat has gotten a glow up from its days starring in grandma's porridge. Yesterday, shares in Oatly, the world's biggest oat milk maker, soared 19% in its IPO, valuing the company at a trenta-sized $12 billion. 

$12 billion for...oat milk?

If CEO Toni Petersson singing, "wow, no cow" at the Super Bowl was your Oatly introduction...we regret to inform you that you were behind on this one.

Oatly's story starts in 1994, when Swedish brothers Rickard and Bjorn Oeste began developing a milk alternative for the estimated two-thirds of people with lactose intolerance. But the company didn't become a household name until Petersson took over as CEO in 2014, refreshing Oatly's visual identity and reframing its marketing around oat milk's health and environmental benefits. 

• Petersson focused on the US market and built buzz by infiltrating corporate watering holes, i.e. NYC coffee shops. Oatly sent its product to specialty baristas, who introduced consumers to the new milk in a perfectly frothed form you'd never be able to replicate at home. 

Since then, Oatly's been keeping some A-list company. It raised money last year at a $2 billion valuation from names including Blackstone, Oprah, Natalie Portman, and Howard Schultz (whose former company, Starbucks, recently began using Oatly nationwide). Oatly's expanded to new products, including yogurt and ice cream, and now sells in 60k stores and 32k coffee shops worldwide.

The alternative milk market is steaming up

And plenty of brands are scrambling for a spot on the menu. In the oat department alone, Oatly's got competition from Califia Farms, Chobani, Planet Oat, Pacific, and Danone's legacy alternative milk brands, Alpro and Silk.

But oat milk is still second fiddle to almond milk. And a gander through your local grocery store’s dairy aisle will show you that companies are juicing every nut, grain, seed, and bean that can (even loosely) mimic the "real" thing.

Bottom line: Oatly and other alternative milk brands seized on consumer demand for more environmentally friendly and healthy products. Their bet is paying off. 

INVESTING

Robinhood Puts the Public in IPO

Robinhood wants to clear up any hard feelings left over from January and yesterday announced that it’s rolling out a feature that allows users to access exclusive “IPO shares.” It touts this new service as another step in its mission to increase regular folks’ access to the stock market. 

How IPO shares work: Big Wall Street banks and high-net-worth individuals are often able to buy shares of a company that’s going public before they hit an exchange like Robinhood. And once those stocks do hit an exchange, regular investors can miss out on early gains. Companies popped an average of 36% on their first day of trading in 2020, per Dealogic.

• The guinea pig: Figs, a maker of medical scrubs, became the first company to offer IPO shares on Robinhood when it went public yesterday, reserving 1% of its 22.5 million shares for Robinhood users.

Zoom out: SoFi, the fintech company that keeps asking if it can refinance your student loans, announced it would offer IPO shares in March. The main difference between SoFi’s and Robinhood’s offerings is that SoFi will be underwriting IPOs, while Robinhood is simply partnering with investment banks.

ARCHITECTURE

Little Island for the Big Apple

If you can't find us this weekend, check the 2.4-acre floating Little Island, which opens today on New York City's west side. Check the 687-seat amphitheater. Check everything else: 

• A packed schedule of 500 events from June 15 through September
• $6 million worth of poles that surround the island to prevent people from falling into the Hudson River below
• Ticketed entry

The $260 million park was mostly funded by Barry Diller, a billionaire media mogul who has been working on the project since 2013.

• Diller is protective of Little Island, promising that it will never host a wedding: "The island is not for rent!" his wife, designer Diane von Furstenburg, told the WSJ.
• Diller also promised to cover programming and upkeep for at least the next 10 years, so his family foundation could end up spending an estimated $380 million in total.

Big picture: The Little Island is one of several projects transforming the far west side of Manhattan. The relocation of the Whitney Museum in 2015, the High Line park, and an expansion of Big Tech companies' offices have dramatically changed the area in the last decade.

P.S. Doesn't it also kinda look like the Cracker Barrel peg game?

SPONSORED BY EI.VENTURES

The Future of Mental Health Is Psychedelic

For the millions of people suffering from anxiety, depression, or mental distress, chances are the drugs their doctor is prescribing will not do the trick.

See, many of the current treatments for mental health disorders are ineffective, as 50%–66% of patients on antidepressants never make a full recovery. 

Enter Ei.Ventures and the potential healing power of psychedelic therapies.

Psilocybin mushrooms (also known as “magic mushrooms”) and other psychedelic compounds like LSD and MDMA have the potential to go mainstream, creating what could become a $100 billion market. 

When you invest in Ei.Ventures, you’re funding treatments that have the potential to actually work. In fact, early research studies have shown that psychedelic therapies may help in a variety of mental health indications.

Invest In Ei.Ventures and help create a new era of mental wellness.

GRAB BAG

Key Performance Indicators

Stat: Luxury gym operator Equinox said new membership sales in NYC increased 55% the week following the CDC's relaxation of mask requirements. Equinox no longer requires its members to wear masks while exercising, but still insists on mirror selfies post-workout. 

Quote: "Technological advances also offer new possibilities to central banks—including the Fed."

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that his organization will explore issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), which rivals including China are actively developing. The Fed will release a report this summer on the viability of CBDCs.

Read: A thought-provoking letter from the founder of ByteDance about why he's stepping down as CEO. (ByteDance)

BLACK WALL STREET

Black Founders Need More Black Investors

Morning Brew’s series commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre rolls on with even more fresh perspectives on the current state of Black finance.

On our podcast, Business Casual, Jarrid Tingle told us about his VC firm's efforts to help close the funding gap to female and minority founders. Listen here.

Then, read this first-person essay from Sandrine Maurice, a public finance banker in SF who describes her experience working as a Black woman in the finance industry.

QUIZ

The feeling of getting a 5/5 on the Brew's Weekly News Quiz has been compared to finding a song you love and listening to it 8,000 times.

It's that satisfying. Ace the quiz.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Morgan Stanley shuffled its leadership and gave more clarity on who will succeed CEO James Gorman. Execs Ted Pick and Andy Saperstein are looking like strong contenders.
• The Biden administration outlined its plan to collect an additional $700 billion in revenue over the next decade from tax avoiders.
• JPMorgan is launching a new healthcare initiative just months after it shut down its previous healthcare venture with Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway.
• Josh Harris is stepping down from his day-to-day role as managing director of Apollo Global Management, the private equity firm he cofounded.
• Snap unveiled fourth-gen Spectacles and said it has more than 500 million monthly active users.
• The US government seized 68 big cats from the animal park featured on Netflix’s Tiger King. 

SPONSORED BY INSTACART

Yumminess, delivered. Skip the trip and order groceries directly to your house using Instacart. With same-day delivery and pickup in as fast as one hour, you can save time to focus on the fun part of shopping—being home and enjoying the yumminess together. Get free delivery on your first order when you download the Instacart app or visit Instacart.com. 

BREW'S BETS

Follow Friday: The reviews are in for iced coffee, ranch dressing, movies on Amazon, clothing hauls, and skincare.

Play a game: It's called Terms and Conditions, and it's absolutely chaotic.

Insider access: Our friends at Insider have a limited-time discount going on right now. To gain access to Insider's premium articles, a pitch deck library, exclusive live events, and more, pay just $1 for the first month then $1/week afterward. Check it out.

GAMES

Friday Puzzle

This puzzle is simple: Try to decipher the clues below, which contain a key number and the first letters of words.

Ex. 24 H in a D = 24 hours in a day

1. 64 S on C
2. 16 C in a G
3. 12 S of the Z
4. 90 D in a R A
5. 206 B in a B
6. 220 Y in a F

ANSWER

1. 64 squares on a chessboard
2. 16 cups in a gallon
3. 12 signs of the Zodiac
4. 90 degrees in a right angle
5. 206 bones in the body
6. 220 yards in a furlong

✳︎ A Note From Instacart

Offer valid on first $35+ order with one retailer. Alcohol products excluded. Fees, taxes, and/or tips may apply. Delivery subject to availability. Additional terms apply.