Swedish oat milk brand, Oatly, recently started selling its products in five-star hotels in China to expand its sales to new segments. Oatly produces dairy alternatives products using research from Lund University in Sweden. The brand is well aware of the Chinese consumers’ lactose intolerance and their huge demand for plant-based milk alternatives.
Oatly’s approach in China has set an example in the F&B industry as the brand is gaining popularity and its products satisfy the growing Chinese consumer’s demand for healthy products.
How did Oatly enter the Chinese market?
Many F&B brands find distributors in China to sell their products in different groceries and supermarkets; Oatly chose a different path and started its business in China by collaborating with coffee shops. Given the surge in Chinese growth of coffee drinkers and the increasing number of coffee shops, Oatly used this opportunity to introduce its barista edition. The move proved itself to be very successful. The brand’s barista edition works very well with expresso and makes coffee latte and cappuccino taste good.
After this successful introduction to the market, the brand used Chinese social media such as WeChat, Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and others to promote its products. In 2019, Oatly launched a collaboration with Heytea, the leading brand in China for the popular bubble tea. in 2020, Starbucks added Oalty to its plant-based lunch menu.
In 2022, Oatly started its co-branding with Conard hotel in Guangdong province of south China to use Oatly’s products during afternoon tea. On the menu, there are Oatly chocolate-flavored oat milk with mango porridge, pumpkin oat milk smoothie, oat milk with coffee pudding, earl grey tea oat milk mousse, and oat milk cheesecake.
Nan Fung Lang Ham Hotel in Guangdong province is another hotel that Oatly is cooperating with. Oatly offers the hotel special coffee and three particular cakes-white chocolate passionfruit mousse, Lang Ham cheesecake, and coconut-pineapple mousse.
Oatly’s products are also served during afternoon tea in JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen Bao’an, also located in Guangdong province. Oatly’s oat milk with strawberries, oat milk caramel cheesecake, and Oatly American almond pudding are all available on the menu.
As one of the leading brands in the plant-based industry, Oatly always brings new experiences to consumers. We will follow up on related news and share it with our readers.
