Key Takeaways:
- Oatly is launching its biggest-ever U.K. sampling tour to promote its Barista Edition oat drink.
- The tour includes free oat-based coffees at local cafés and a special event with Grind and NTS Radio.
- Experiential marketing campaigns like this drive stronger brand awareness and market growth.
Oatly is bringing its biggest sampling tour to date across the U.K., inviting coffee lovers to discover the smooth, creamy taste of its Barista Edition oat drink.
With the help of local café partnerships and an on-the-go taste-test van, the oat drink brand is setting out to prove that oat milk is a superior dairy substitute.
The tour is stopping in major cities like Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, and Glasgow, giving passersby the chance to grab a free Oatly flat white.
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The sampling tour enables the brand to increase awareness and pull in new consumers, ultimately growing its market share.
The campaign is inspired by a blind taste test recently conducted by the brand, which revealed that significantly more consumers may prefer oat drinks in their coffee over dairy.
This is potentially four times more than those who currently buy oat milk, meaning millions could be overlooking a smoother, more flavorful coffee experience daily.
In a statement, Oatly Executive Creative Director Filip Nilsson shared how the blind taste test is instrumental in getting more consumers to actually try the brand:
"People love Oatly in their coffee, they just don’t know it yet!
Our blind taste test showed that millions of people could be missing out on a first-class coffee experience. So we're hitting the road to help them try it for themselves."
To get the message out, the campaign is running across Oatly's social media and Spotify, alongside ads on Netflix, ITVX, and Channel 4.
OOH placements, PR, and influencer partnerships are also in the mix, reinforcing Oatly’s playful approach to reaching new audiences.
Oatly is turning coffee drinkers into oat milk fans by letting them taste the difference firsthand.
This kind of real-world experiential marketing builds brand love in a way ads alone never could.
A New Oatly Experience
Beyond mobile sampling, Oatly is also partnering with local cafés, offering hundreds of free oat-based coffees for five days after each stop.
In London, coffee brand Grind will give away 200 free Oatly coffees at each of its 14 participating locations on March 31.
Meanwhile, Grind's Shoreditch café will host a special morning event on March 29 in collaboration with NTS Radio, offering guests a chance to enjoy Oatly while tuning in to "The NTS Saturday Breakfast Show" with Macca.
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Oatly's drinks are dairy- and soy-free, packed with vitamins and minerals like calcium, B12, and D, and have a lower climate impact than cow's milk.
They're also free from added sugars, sweeteners, emulsifiers, and stabilizers, relying on pure plant-based goodness.
The brand is working to boost awareness of its milk alternative, hyping up promotions and collaborations.
Last July, Oatly and Malibu sent a pineapple-shaped cement truck around London to promote a new beverage.
Meanwhile, in November, the brand collaborated with Giggs to launch limited edition dairy-free cake and custard kits.
