Latest / Brand Storytelling with Fexingo: Narrative, Mission, and Stories That Sell / How Oatly Turned a Boring Ingredient Into a Cultural War
Transcript
- Lucas: Oat milk. A decade ago, it was something you'd only find in a Swedish health food co-op. Today, it's the center of a culture war. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Welcome back to Brand Storytelling with Fexingo. Today we're looking at Oatly — how a 30-year-old company from Sweden turned a boring beige liquid into a brand people love, hate, and fight over. Lucas: Right. Oatly was founded in 1994 by Rickard Öste, a food science professor at Lund University. He figured out how to make a milk-like drink from oats. But for nearly twenty years, it was just a niche product in Swedish supermarkets. It didn't have a brand — it had a recipe. Luna: So what changed? I remember when it first showed up in US coffee shops around 2017. It felt different. The cartons had that messy, handwritten typeface, the copy was weirdly honest. Lucas: That was the turning point. In 2012, Oatly hired a new creative director, John Schoolcraft. He basically tore up the old playbook. He said, 'Stop trying to look like health food. Start talking like a person who is slightly annoyed by the dairy industry.' Luna: Slightly annoyed. That's generous. Some of their ads were outright hostile. There was that campaign — 'It's like milk, but made for humans.' That line got them sued by the Swedish dairy lobby. Lucas: It did. In 2014, the Swedish dairy association took them to court for that exact slogan. Oatly lost. But they turned the lawsuit into a marketing event. They published the court documents online, ran ads saying 'the dairy industry is afraid of a 30-year-old company.' Luna: Brilliant. That's the kind of david versus goliath story every marketer dreams of. But the real genius, I think, is how they used packaging as a medium. Every Oatly carton is a mini-billboard. Lucas: Absolutely. The packaging is dense with copy. It tells you exactly what's inside, why it's good for the planet, and why you should feel okay about drinking it. There's this one carton that reads: 'No, we don't add calcium. Oats have calcium. But if you want extra, we add it.' It's disarmingly honest. Luna: That transparency builds trust. But it also makes the brand feel like a person — a slightly snarky, eco-conscious friend. And that persona extends to every touchpoint: social media, their website, even their investor presentations. Lucas: Let's talk about the 2021 IPO. Oatly went public at a valuation of $10 billion. That's a huge number for a company that sells oat milk. But the prospectus was written in Oatly's voice. It said things like, 'We are not experts at being a public company.' It was disarming. Luna: And controversial. Some investors hated the casual tone. They wanted a traditional document. But Oatly doubled down on who they were. That consistency is what makes a brand stick — even when it costs you. Lucas: Now here's the thing: Oatly's success also made them a target. There's a whole backlash against 'big oat milk' — people who think it's overpriced, over-processed, or just a hipster affectation. Oatly got dragged into the culture war over veganism. Luna: Yeah, I've seen memes making fun of oat milk lattes. But honestly, that's a sign of brand strength. When people are arguing about your product on the internet, you've made it into an identity marker. Lucas: Right. Oatly didn't just sell a milk alternative. They sold a worldview. And that worldview made enemies — the dairy industry, traditionalists, people who think oat milk is 'woke.' But it also created fiercely loyal fans. Luna: It reminds me of how Patagonia uses environmental activism, or how Tesla uses the mission to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. The product is secondary to the cause. Lucas: Exactly. But Oatly's approach is more playful, more confrontational. They're not just saying 'we're sustainable.' They're saying 'the dairy industry is lying to you.' That's a much sharper edge. Luna: Speaking of sharp edges, I want to talk about their ad that got banned in the UK. The one where people sing about how their farts don't smell as bad because they drink oat milk. Lucas: Oh, the 'Fart No More' campaign. Yeah, that was banned by the UK advertising regulator for being offensive. Oatly responded by running the ad on a big screen in London's Soho anyway, with the word 'banned' plastered over it. Luna: That's brilliant. They turned the ban into free publicity. And it fits the brand perfectly — irreverent, unapologetic, using humor to make a serious point about diet and digestion. Lucas: It's a masterclass in using controversy as oxygen. But it requires a very clear brand compass. If you don't know exactly who you are, being controversial just looks desperate. Oatly knows who they are. Luna: So what's the lesson for marketers? I think it's this: don't be afraid to have a point of view. Even if it alienates some people. Especially if it alienates some people. A brand that tries to please everyone ends up pleasing no one. Lucas: That's the core insight. Oatly could have played it safe. They could have made a generic plant milk and sold it on health claims. Instead, they picked a fight. They made enemies. And in doing so, they turned a commodity into a movement. Luna: By the way, if these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used — a way of thinking about your own brand, a tactic you tried — that's exactly why we do this show ad-free. If it was worth a coffee to you, that's the link: buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, it's the smallest thing, and it genuinely keeps us going. Back to Oatly — one of the most impressive things they did was how they scaled their brand globally without losing the weirdness. Most companies get more corporate as they grow. Oatly stayed weird. Luna: How did they manage that? I imagine the pressure from investors to tone it down must have been intense, especially after the IPO. Lucas: They institutionalized the weirdness. John Schoolcraft, the creative director, established a culture where anyone could challenge the brand voice. They have a 'brand book' that's more like a manifesto. It literally says 'we are not a marketing department.' Luna: That's a bold statement. What does it mean in practice? Lucas: It means every employee is empowered to be a brand guardian. When they launched in China, they adapted the voice without sanitizing it. The Chinese packaging has lines like 'I'm a Swedish oat drink that talks like a human.' It's playful in any language. Luna: I want to go back to the founder, Rickard Öste. He's a scientist, not a marketer. Did he ever have misgivings about the brand's direction? Lucas: Actually, he stepped back from day-to-day operations pretty early. But he's said in interviews that he was initially skeptical of the aggressive marketing. He wanted the product to speak for itself. But eventually he saw that the science alone wasn't enough to change consumer behavior. Luna: That's a common tension in mission-driven companies. The inventor wants to focus on the product; the marketer wants to focus on the story. Oatly's success came from marrying the two — the science-backed product with a provocative narrative. Lucas: And that narrative has real-world impact. Oatly's market entry in the US caused a shortage of oat milk in 2018. Baristas were hoarding it. That's demand driven entirely by brand desire, not by need. People didn't need oat milk. They wanted the Oatly experience. Luna: But the competition has caught up. Now there's Chobani oat milk, Planet Oat, Califia Farms. How does Oatly stay ahead? Lucas: By leaning even harder into the brand. They're not trying to be the cheapest or the most widely available. They're trying to be the most culturally relevant. They sponsor music festivals, collaborate with artists, and keep releasing limited-edition flavors like chocolate and vanilla. Luna: And they keep picking fights. Recently they went after the almond milk industry — pointing out the water usage. Every competitor is a foil for their narrative. Lucas: Right. The brand is built on a simple insight: people don't just buy a product. They buy a story about themselves. Oatly's story says: you're thoughtful, you're a little rebellious, you care about the planet but you don't take yourself too seriously. Luna: That's a powerful identity to sell. And it's why people will pay a premium for a carton of oat milk that costs twice as much as dairy. They're not paying for oats. They're paying for belonging. Lucas: So as we wrap up, the big question is: can Oatly keep up the momentum now that oat milk is mainstream? When the underdog becomes the establishment, the brand has to evolve. Luna: Maybe the next phase is about being the establishment that still acts like a rebel. That's a harder line to walk, but if any brand can do it, it's the one that built its whole identity on doing things differently. Lucas: I think that's the right note to end on. For Brand Storytelling with Fexingo, I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. See you next time.