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TL;DR

You don't need a brilliant idea. You need the guts to market a boring one like it's the start of a movement. If oat milk can do it, so can you.

The Billion-Dollar Oat Milk Playbook

Let's set the scene.

You're standing in the dairy aisle. It's early evening. The lights overhead are doing that too-bright grocery store thing. Your brain is half focused on dinner, half regretting your podcast queue (I feel like I'm exposing myself here...)

You're reaching for almond milk - not because you like it, but because you've given up on expecting better.

Then... you see it!

Gray carton.
Block letters.
Copy that's less "nutritional label" and more "existential crisis with a marketing degree."

It's weird. It's bold. And it's definitely trying to start something.

You pick it up.
You read the side.
It makes you laugh.
...and maybe even feel seen.

That's your first Oatly moment.

What you probably didn't realize is that the oat milk you're holding didn't come from a startup.

It came from a sleepy Swedish food company, founded in the '90s, that quietly existed for two decades before anyone cared.

And yet, by 2021, Oatly hit a $10B valuation.

Not because oat milk changed... because the story did.

1 / They Entered a Quiet Category - and Got Loud

Milk alternatives were old news by the time Oatly hit the U.S. market. Soy milk had gone beige. Almond milk was watered down in every way.

But oat milk? No one was talking about it. And that was exactly the opportunity.

Oatly snuck in through the coffee shop back door - specifically, third-wave baristas and quickly earned cultural credibility.

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Before long, oat milk was the option that baristas chose - and customers followed.

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2 / They Made Us Feel Smart for Choosing Weird

On paper, there's nothing revolutionary about oat milk. It's oats. And water.

But Oatly was selling an identity.

They gave people a reason that felt good:

Save the cows.
Save the planet.
Join the post-milk generation.

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And even though most customers weren't making protest signs in their kitchens, they liked the idea that their morning latte was part of something.

This is what strategists call plausible deniability: the narrative 'excuse' customers latch onto when they want to buy something bold.

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3 / They Turned Packaging into a Billboard

Oatly's best marketing asset was the carton. (Not a Superbowl Ad)

Every inch of packaging became a voice - quirky, direct, and hard to ignore. People photographed it. Shared it. Argued with it.

And once they had attention? They doubled down with real-world billboards, guerrilla ads, and provocative headlines like:

"It's like milk, but made for humans."
"Wow, no cow."

They marketed a point of view.

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4 / They Weren't for Everyone - On Purpose

Oatly's tone was weird. Their founder sang in a field on national television. They called out the dairy industry by name.

Some people rolled their eyes. Others clapped.

But the point wasn't universal appeal - it was magnetic clarity.

They were okay with being the oat milk brand for people who rolled their jeans and composted their coffee grounds.

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Oatly found a saturated category...
...realized that no one was truly leading it...
...and was brave enough to take the mic.

Your product might not be a carton of oat milk.

But I bet you have something you think people "aren't asking for."

Something that feels a little weird. A little risky. A little too niche.

AI Exercise: The Contrarian Positioning Sprint

Goal: Use AI to reframe your “normal” product as a cultural statement - not a commodity.

Outcome: Discover unexpected angles, sharp POVs, and bold narrative hooks that cut through a tired category.

Step-by-Step Prompt

Copy this into ChatGPT (or your AI tool of choice) and customize the variables in brackets.

You're a brand strategist for a company that sells [product/service].

Your mission is to create a bold, opinionated brand POV that:

1. Challenges assumptions in the category
2. Makes a cultural or emotional statement
3. Turns a quiet offering into something people talk about.

First, analyze the current category norms:

1. What does everyone in this category say/do the same
2. What are the safe, expected messages?
3. What's "over-believed" or rarely questioned?

Then, generate:

1. 3–5 contrarian angles we could lean into
   (Example: “Dairy is for babies” — Oatly)
2. 3 category clichés we could reject publicly
   (Example: “You need protein to be strong” → challenge for a vegan brand)
3. 2–3 emotional or cultural tensions our product could speak to

Finally, combine these into:

1. 1 strong brand belief (like a manifesto headline)
2. 1 sample ad line in our new tone of voice
3. 1 metaphor or visual device that could make it stick

So, here's the real takeaway:

Find the version of your brand that's been playing it safe... and decide what you're really here to say.

Maybe it's not the market that's boring. Maybe it's the message.

Find the tension. Pick a side, Say it louder.

And that's a wrap :)

Dani

​ Your competitive edge isn't better AI prompts - it's having a brand strategy your AI can actually execute. Most companies are throwing random prompts at generic tools - feeding them scattered docs and hoping for something "on brand." We do it differently: we build your brand foundation first - codifying your positioning, messaging, story, and voice into a living system your AI understands. The result? Your AI stops acting like an intern and starts performing like your most reliable marketing teammate. Your team creates content that sounds more like you, moves 3x faster, and never needs another "does this feel on-brand?" review. Because when AI knows your brand as well as you do, consistency stops being a struggle - and starts becoming your unfair advantage. → Apply to work with us here.

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