Oatly has launched a new 360 integrated campaign that will see the brand give away 20,000 free coffees made with its Barista Edition oat milk across the UK.
Throughout March and April, Oatly will tour major cities such as Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, and Glasgow, giving out Oatly flat whites to passersby who may not previously have had an opportunity to try the brand.
The campaign comes after a recent blind taste test* compared coffees made with oat and cow’s milk, finding that up to four times as many consumers prefer the taste of oat milk than currently purchase it. This could potentially amount to tens of millions of people UK-wide.
Cafe collaborations
In the cities visited by the taste test van, Oatly will also partner with local cafes to hand out hundreds of free coffees over a five-day period on a first-come-first-served basis. In London, Oatly has joined forces with coffee brand Grind to give away 200 free coffees at 14 participating stores on March 31. Furthermore, the NTS Saturday Breakfast Show, which is broadcast live from Grind’s Shoreditch café, will give people the opportunity to sample Oatly on March 29.
The tour will be accompanied by ads proclaiming that people love Oatly
“when they don’t know it’s Oatly”, which will run on social media, Spotify, ITVX, Channel 4, and across Netflix’s Food and Wellness genres. The campaign will also be supported via PR, Out of Home media, and influencer collaborations.
“First-class taste experience”
In January, Oatly announced a partnership with Nestlé Nespresso to launch a new limited-edition coffee blend tailored to oat milk drinkers. The blend is designed to complement the flavor and texture of Oatly and aims to cater to the growing number of consumers opting for plant-based milk alternatives.
Last month, Oatly published its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ending December 31 2024. The figures indicated a 5% increase in Q4 revenue compared to 2023, and the company said it expected to achieve its first full year of profitable growth in 2025.
“People love Oatly in their coffee, they just don’t know it yet!” said Filip Nilsson, Executive Creative Director at Oatly. “Our blind taste tests showed there are potentially millions of people missing out on a first-class taste experience, so we’re going on a journey to sample delicious Oatly coffees to people across the UK who may never have had the chance to try it before, proving what we know to be true — our oat drinks taste delicious.”
*Independent Blind Taste Test Conducted by Cambridge MR, Sample Size
of 509 in UK, Data collected December 2024
