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The success of Oatly is attributed to not only the ad-
vanced technology in their product, but also their clever
marketing strategies as a brand.
The world had been all over plant-based diet long
before Oatly entered the scene. Before the 1980s, being a
vegetarian or vegan was hardly by choice but a result of
one’s religion or health issues, such as high cholesterol
level and allergy. But now it is a type of identity.
The plant-based food market, according to Bloomberg
Intelligence, is worth over 64$29.4 billion in 2020 and is
expected to reach over US$162 billion by 2030. The rising
awareness of the endangered food system sustainability, the
negative effect of red meat, and the carbon footprint of
animal farming backs this global buzz solidly. An increasing
amount of people support this awareness and even more are
willing to pay a premium for plant-based products.
However, even with such a positive market environ-
ment, Oatly failed to grow into a brand and remained as an
oat milk producer before 2012. It was in 2012 when Oatly
started to look and sound like the Oatly that we are familiar
with today.

Remove, Rebuild, Reborn, Rebel

As a value-driven company, Oatly has a set of core
values from the very beginning when the founder, Professor
Rickard Öste, tried to create a dairy alternative that is good
for health but also minimizing the impact to the environment
in a lab. Today, these three values, sustainability, nutrition-
al health, and trust, are proudly listed on Oatly’s website.
Unfortunately, great products plus great values don’t
equal a great brand. In 2012, Toni Petersson was hired as

the CEO by the board, and his mission was to build a brand For the 20 odd years before Petersson joined, Oatly
that aligns with the original vision—to change the world. had been thinking and acting like every other big food
With a clear brand concept, everything else became company, which means endless meetings before reaching
easier. The prime target of the business is no longer surviving a decision, or one procedure after another before taking
in the market, but to strive to challenge the current food an action. So he and his creative head, John Schoolcraft
system. The marketing strategy would need to directly decided to remove the entire marketing department.
demonstrate the brand vision without pleasing everybody. Now, at the center of Oatly’s business sits creativity,
The target customers are not whoever pays but those who known as the Department of Mind Control. It decides on
Oatly’s target customers are not share the same values and dare to make a change with Oatly. the business strategies and creativity angles, which are
In a nutshell, from 2012 onwards, Oatly has been
then carried out by the rest of the company.
whoever pays but those who share leading a movement rather than running a business. In an That was a bold and radical move which paid off
the same values and dare to make interview with Vegconomist in 2019, Toni Petersson clear- soon. Oatly was finally able to focus on its original and
only mission. It was reborn to be a creative, responsive,
ly stated that “In five years, we hope to be acknowledged as
a change with Oatly. one of the global thought leaders of the change movement”. determined, and fearless activist brand who was ready to
make a change.
He started with changing the organization from the inside.

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