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The Specialty Coffee Barista All the above are a lot of us will unconsciously miss some information on a
some basic knowledge a good specialty coffee barista is required daily basis, this is, after all, a result of how our brain functions.
to have, apart from pulling great shots and doing great latte There’s nothing wrong with this feature of ours, and it
art. Therefore, in the ever so fashionable field of coffee, baris- is not a major issue for most of us. However, when it comes to
tas are the KOLs. marketing, it becomes vital.
That’s why the recommendation of Oatly would sound It simply means companies will need to create their
much more credible to the young generation if it comes from marketing content based on what their target customers are
the mouth of a barista. To convince the baristas to do that, able to see, in terms of which Oatly did a great job.
Oatly went extra miles to develop a version of oat milk for The Milk Wars When thinking of the type of messag-
them, Oatly’s Barista Edition, which quickly won their hearts. es that attract young people, it will need to be smart, uncon-
Not only does this oat milk, unlike soy or almond milk, have ventional, fun, and rebellious for a good reason. Oatly wrote
a neutral taste that doesn’t ruin the delicate flavors of coffee, many great tag lines with all of those characteristics, among
but also by increasing the amount of unsaturated fat in it, it them the most famous is probably “It’s like milk but made for
foams perfectly under the steam wand for latte art. humans”. Oatly conveys a clear message in it. Rather than
A Successful Case in the U.S. This strategy was competing with other dairy alternative brands, Oatly aims to
especially successful in the U.S. market. Back in 2016, Oatly change the food system by directly challenging the dairy in-
first worked with Intelligentsia, a big name in the specialty dustry. That was back in 2014, and the dairy industry did get
coffee industry, when entering the market. Choosing special- the message and took Oatly to court. Oatly lost the lawsuit to
ty coffee shops, and choosing Intelligentsia Coffee, are both the Swedish Dairy Association for being misleading and “scar-
smart moves, together they formed a great first impression ing them into thinking cow’s milk is dangerous”, and that
that quickly helped Oatly being recognised and accepted by slogan was then banned in Sweden.
the young generation in the US. To respond, Oatly published the text of the lawsuit on
Break the Ice, With Coffee A year later, Oatly’s Barista Edition conquered more than newspapers and its website. The whole story made the Swed-
650 coffee shops nationwide as published by CNBC. In fact, ish dairy industry look like a big bully who took advantage of
One of the most talked about global strategies Oatly ap- the growth in the US market was so fast that there was a short- a small independent food company.
plied to break into new geographic markets is its strong col- age of Oatly that made global headlines in 2018. By the end of This is so Oatly, a provocative message delivered with
laboration with specialty coffee shops. But, why coffee? 2023, Oatly will have 3 production sites in the U.S. to meet the fearless actions, all for the benefits of the human race and the
First of all, that’s where Oatly’s potential customers are. still upcoming local demand. earth. It quickly generated discussion and attention, as well as
In most countries Oatly operates, coffee is part of the local Going Forward With Coffee To strengthen its rela- a soaring profit.
lifestyle. To start with, Oatly favors small and trendy specialty tionship with coffee people, Oatly later started a project called This tag line has become a trademark of Oatly. Oatly has
coffee houses as that’s where the young generation spends Hey Barista!, aiming to display stories of those cool baristas, been reusing the controversial slogan in various countries,
their time and money. Besides, coffee shops are also the best roasters, and coffee shop owners. By digging and revealing including its 2 main markets, the UK and the US, to further
place for people to sample new products, as instead of paying other aspects of coffee people’s life, Oatly is deepening the fuel the debate of whether it is a fact or misleading provocation
for a whole carton, they only need to pay for a cup to try dif- bond with its customers who were introduced by baristas. of the dairy industry.
ferent types of dairy alternatives. To optimize the brand experience for its customers, A Real Creation in Language When Oatly enters
Secondly, those young potential customers won’t just do Oatly also developed a map called Oatfinder showing all the the Asia market, mainland China and Hong Kong markets are
as they are told to follow the suggestions from a stranger and coffee shops serving Oatly around the world. In the past decade, the first destinations. One challenge was the language. In
Companies need try something new. They are curious, but they are also rebel- the food and beverage industry has made many similar maps Chinese, the character milk is tightly connected with cow’s
lious. That said, at the same time, they will follow the words featuring interesting restaurants and drinking spots, such as milk. For most Chinese people, milk means cow’s milk, and it
to create their of someone they admire. Therefore, if Oatly could find the vegan diners and specialty coffee shops. That is to say, this is is only a short version of it. Therefore, even by adding the word
right someone, in theory it could secure at least half the success.
plant before milk, it is still difficult for the locals to associate
the way the younger generation is familiar with when they
marketing content As a result, Oatly thought of specialty coffee baristas. want to keep exploring something new and niche. it with plant-based milk.
Oatly dealt with this cultural and language barrier by
The Specialty Coffee Industry The rise of specialty
Both projects create a win-win situation for customers
based on what their coffee is another global phenomenon in the past decade. It was and the coffee industry with Oatly serving as the medium. Not inventing a new Chinese character for the whole category,
target customers so phenomenal that it has been recognised as a movement, the only do baristas and coffee shops have another channel to which is to add a semantic part meaning grass on top of the
so-called third wave of coffee. Under this wave, coffee has
original character milk.
advertise themselves, but also by working with Oatly, they
The eye-catching character quickly became a trendy
are able to see, in turned from a daily energy drink to a complex and fashionable display a certain attitude. topic in town. Oatly’s ambition of changing the world and
branch of knowledge, and it specifically got Gen Z and the
terms of which Oatly Millennials excited. In a specialty coffee shop, there could The Power of Content creating a category that the brand naturally leads. Instead of
easily be a lengthy coffee discussion between customers and
making up a word for itself, Oatly tried to pave the way for all
did a great job. the barista, covering the origin, the process, the roast level, nothing more than a scientifically proven fact. Unfortunately, its plant-based milk peers, with the intention “to revolutionize
Human beings only see what they want to see. This is
and even the method of brewing.
milk consumption in Hong Kong”.
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