What You’ll Learn in This Video:
- The company’s bold and outspoken marketing strategy.
- Oatly’s approach to sustainability and advocacy against the dairy industry.
- Allegations of greenwashing against Oatly and examples of misleading claims.
- Key takeaways for marketers from Oatly’s branding and strategy.
In the YouTube video, I elaborate further on this greenwashing case:
Oatly is the funny and bold oat milk brand. You gotta love them.
I’ve been a fan of Oatly’s oat milk for years. Not just for the creamy, delicious taste but also for their strong environmental stance. But when your favorite oat milk brand finds itself in court over greenwashing claims, you have to wonder—are they really as good as they say?
Let’s get into it!
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Who is Oatly anyway?
Born in Skåne, Sweden 30 years ago, Oatly built its brand on the idea of change.
Their mission? Make it easy for people to eat better and live healthier without depleting the planet’s resources.
Now, they’re available in over 30 countries and lead the oat milk category in retail sales.
The Oatly marketing magic
Oatly’s marketing is as loud as it is clever.
If you’re into sustainable marketing, you’ve probably seen (or admired) their branding. Here’s why it stands out:
- Brave: They challenge the dairy industry, calling for transparency in carbon footprints.
- Sexy cool: Their campaigns are witty, fun, and unafraid to push boundaries.
- Values-driven: They connect with customers who care about sustainability.
- Culturally relevant: They collaborate with big names to bring awareness to dairy’s carbon footprint.
- Behavior-changing: They use marketing as a tool to encourage plant-based shifts. In 2020, they drove 49% of plant-based milk growth in the UK.
Oatly’s greenwashing problem
Even the most well-intentioned brands can slip into greenwashing. And Oatly’s been called out multiple times.
Statements like “Oatly generates 73% less CO2e than milk” and “Cutting dairy from your diet is the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact” have landed them in legal trouble for being misleading.
Why I still buy Oatly (And why marketers can learn from them)
Despite their greenwashing mishaps, I still support Oatly. Here’s why:
- They have a clear sustainability mission. Their strategy is ambitious, documented, and honest. They also engage in political advocacy to shift the narrative around dairy.
- They push the boundaries of sustainability communication. The rules around green marketing aren’t set in stone, and Oatly is helping define them. They have a strong focus on behavioral change.
- They’ve turned mistakes into learning opportunities. Over the last two years, they improved their transparency and reduced greenwashing claims.
Their marketing is a staple in the sustainable marketing playbook, and while they’re not perfect, they’re pushing the industry forward.
If you’d like to learn whether low-carbon content marketing is right for your team, review our packages or book a meeting.
If you liked reading this article, I recommend the following content:
- The Digital Carbon Footprint of the Internet
- Cleaning Up Your Digital House: Sustainable Content Marketing
- Green vs Sustainable Marketing: What’s The Difference?
Although I recorded the YouTube video and wrote the script myself, generative AI was used in writing this blog post. We don’t use this method for our clients and only do so for us to increase publication on our blog.
