Copy Experiment #3: What If Oatly Started Selling Almond Drink?

Would it expand their influence… or unravel their credibility? Let’s find out.

A brand built on oats

I have deeply admired the Oatly brand and tone of voice for years now and regularly reference them in tone of voice workshops as the copy gold standard.

Because few brands have redefined a category like Oatly.

With packaging that talks like your witty best friend and billboards that read like manifestos, the brand has created a loyal following.

This isn’t by accident. The Oatly brand is held tightly and perfectly together by a purposeful brand platform.

• Vision: A more sustainable, plant-based future.
• Mission: To make it easy for people to eat better and live healthier lives without recklessly taxing the planet’s resources in the process.
• Values: Sustainability, innovation, transparency, and quality.
• Positioning: The sustainable choice for consumers who want a plant-based option without compromising taste.
• Messaging example: “Wow no cow”

Which is why this copy experiment feels borderline heretical. Dare I break apart the gold standard for my own sick amusement?

Fine.

Almond drink: the complicated cousin

Before sploshing around in the heretical almond drink, let’s talk about why it was once the dairy-free darling and why it’s now… not.

1. A Thirsty Nut

• Each almond takes ~3.2 gallons (12 litres) of water.
• One glass of almond drink= ~74 litres of water.
• 80% of the world’s almonds are grown in drought-prone California’s Central Valley.
• Oats grow in Northern Europe rainwater. Humble.

2. The Bee Problem

• 70% of U.S. commercial bee colonies are shipped in to pollinate almond orchards.
• Beekeepers lose ~30% of colonies every season from stress, pesticides, and disease.
• That sucks.

3. Carbon & Land

• Almond milk’s CO₂ footprint beats dairy but is on par with soy and oat.
• Land use: higher than oats, lower than dairy.
• Definitely not oat’s “climate hero” status.

4. Nutrition (or lack of it)

• Store-bought almond drink often contains less than 2% almonds.
• Most of the fibre, protein, and pulp is wasted.
• Fortification does the heavy lifting nutritionally, not the almonds themselves.
• Feels a bit yucky, doesn’t it?

So, almond drink is: resource-hungry, bee-stressing, low-nutrition. Not the most natural fit for a brand that’s built its identity on being the sustainable outsider.

But surely if anyone was going to change the almond industry for the better, it’s Oatly? The rebellious, climate-conscious, dairy-free challenger brand that seemingly does the right thing.

Imagine Oatly starts selling almond

From a brand perspective, here’s just a few of the things they might consider.

1. From oat hero to almond fixer

Oatly would have to reposition almond drink as a broken system they’re here to fix.

Imaginary carton headline: “We didn’t want to make almond drink. We wanted to change almond drink.”

2. Radical accountability (not just transparency)

Instead of hiding almond’s flaws, Oatly could throw them on the carton.

• Publishing water usage.
• Partnering with regenerative almond farms.
• Funding pollinator protection.

3. Tone of voice shift: irreverent + investigative

Oatly would need to mix wit with reporting:

Imaginary side panel line: “Yes, almonds drink too much. So we made one that’s on a hydration diet.”

4. Packaging as proof

Oatly cartons already act like portable billboards. Almond cartons would need to become more than that — almost like receipts that highlight their sustainability efforts: QR codes linking to audits, farm videos, and water data.

5. Marketing: the plot twist nobody asked for

Instead of pretending almond drink is cool again, Oatly would have to really own the decision to get into almond and communicate the why behind the plot twist. This would be the backbone of the marketing strategy.

Example: Almond Copy

Here’s a few ideas of what the Oatly almond drink copy could look like:

Front of Pack:

Almond milk. From the oat people.

Side panel:

We didn’t want to make almond drink. We wanted to change almond drink.

We didn’t wake up one morning and think, “Let’s make almond drink because the world clearly needs another type of beige carton.” No. We made this because almonds are… kind of broken. The water thing? True. The bees? Struggling. The reputation? Not great. So, instead of ignoring all that, we decided to fix it. This carton represents traceable farms, serious water-saving goals, and actual programs to keep bees buzzing (because no bees = no almonds = no us). And yes, our CEO had to sign off on this entire paragraph.

Social copy:

Almond milk by Oatly. The sequel nobody wanted, but we couldn’t resist rising to the challenge.

OOH advertising:

Brand risks and rewards

If you squint hard enough, this might all sound clever.

But would it work?

Risks:

• Dilutes Oatly’s core identity as the oat brand.
• Could spark backlash from environmentally conscious customers who see almond milk as a regression.
• Potentially alienates fans who view Oatly’s rebellion as category-specific, not just plant-based.
• Feels hypocritical
• Energy spent “rehabilitating almonds” isn’t energy spent pushing oats, which are still the best sustainability story in plant milk.

Rewards:

• Captures a new audience segment while holding the sustainability torch high.
• Demonstrates brand agility and leadership in plant-based innovation.
• Could help reframe almond milk’s reputation if executed with transparency and wit.

Sure, Oatly could spin almond milk into a climate-friendly experiment. But it’s defensive, not disruptive. And Oatly’s magic has always come from its rebellious streak.

Conclusion: could Oatly really sell almond milk?

Technically, they could do it. They could source regeneratively, fund pollinator programs, and re-engineer almond supply chains. They could write painfully honest cartons and turn “almond guilt” into a campaign.

But every ounce of energy spent rehabilitating almond milk would be a brand distraction instead of the bold offense that made Oatly a cultural phenomenon.

It could break the brand.

Bending their mission to justify almond would feel like compromise, not disruption.

Copy experiment, over.