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Oat milk costs more to buy wholesale than dairy milk, so cafes pass that difference to customers - though some places absorb it as a selling point instead. The markup also reflects that oat milk requires different handling and spoils faster once opened.
The wholesale cost difference is real, but it's not the whole story - most cafes actually make a bigger profit margin on oat milk even after charging extra for it. Dairy milk is subsidized in many countries and has been commoditized for decades, so the markup is thin. Oat milk is still newer to the market and less price-competitive, which lets cafes charge 50 - 80 cents more while their actual cost increase might be half that. some places don't charge extra because they're either trying to build customer loyalty or they've negotiated better supplier deals, but plenty of places are definitely using the "specialty" angle as cover for healthier margins.
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