Singaporean plant-based milk brand Oatside more than doubled its revenue in 2024 but saw its net loss widen sharply as it poured money into new markets, manufacturing capacity, and marketing, regulatory filings show.
The alt milk brand’s revenue for 2024 nearly doubled to S$100 million ($78 million), from S$53.8 million ($41.95 million) in the previous year, driven by growth across its Asia-Pacific markets.
Its bill for expansion, however, came in much larger.
Heavier spending on brand building and product distribution bore on its bottom line, as selling expenses also more than doubled in 2024 to S$36.7 million from S$16.5 million a year ago. General & administrative costs also increased almost 40% to S$16.7 million.
As a result, Oatside’s net loss for the year came in at $9.04 million, more than four times the deficit seen in 2023 at S$2.2 million.
Looking at the company’s cash flow for the year, Oatside’s most significant capital outlay was in building out its manufacturing capacity. Purchases of plant and equipment soared to S$74.9 million in 2024, more than 3x from the S$20.5 million seen in 2023.
In 2023, the company had reduced its losses by 59% on the back of a threefold surge in revenue.
DealStreetAsia earlier reported earlier this week that Oatside issued 179,101 preference shares valued at S$55.3 million in a funding round involving 14 investors, according to filings with Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). Six of them were new to the cap table, while the rest were existing backers.
Oatside is backed by Temasek, Granite Asia (formerly GGV Capital), Proterra, AC Ventures, and TR Capital, among others.
According to DATA VANTAGE, its top shareholder is Benedict Lim, former CFO at Kraft Heinz Indonesia, who started the company in 2020.
Top shareholders of Oatside
Regional build-out
Oatside continued its regional build-out in 2024, expanding its subsidiary footprint to eight markets across Asia. Total investment in subsidiaries rose to S$45.6 million from S$28 million in 2023, reflecting heavier capital deployment into key growth markets.
Indonesia remained its largest outlay, with investment in its subsidiary in the country climbing to S$29.9 million from S$18.1 million a year earlier. Across its subsidiaries, only Indonesia has manufacturing activities as of 2024.
Its Thailand, operations saw the second-largest increase in capital allocation, receiving S$13.3 million in 2024, up from S$8.18 million the previous year.
Other mature markets such as Singapore, Japan, China, and Malaysia saw no change in investment levels.
The year also marked Oatside’s entry into Vietnam and the Philippines.
The company committed S$75,000 to set up Oatside Vietnam Company Ltd, fully owned at 100%, and S$660,619 to establish Oatside Philippines Corp, in which it holds a 99% stake. Both entities are focused on trading food and beverage products.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, the company had total assets of S$202.5 million, almost doubling from S$105.4 million a year earlier. Its total liabilities stood at S$53.4 million, compared with S$19.6 million on Dec. 31, 2024.
A growing vegan population and high prevalence of lactose intolerance have led to the high acceptance of plant-based milk in Asia. Oat milk also comes with GMO-free, low-fat, and allergen-free claims, providing consumers with more plant-based options to choose from to diversify their diets.
Oatside competes with Freedom Foods Group, Nestlé, Oatly, PureHarvest, Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing in the region.
