MALMÖ, Sweden – Oatly, the world’s original and largest oatmilk company, announces yet another corporate sponsorship innovation, bringing The Malmö Oat Milkers to Minor League Baseball (MiLB). The announcement of the league’s 121st team, made during MLB Tonight’s March 27 evening broadcast, is part of the oatmilk company’s ongoing multi-year partnership with the league as its first-ever national plant-based, non-dairy sponsor, and pays homage to Oatly’s home city of Malmö, Sweden.
Questions such as “the Malmö whats?” “how do I even pronounce that?” and/or “what is oatmilk?” as well as statements including “I don’t get it, and I just want to watch baseball” are appropriate and, frankly, not shocking. Luckily, the public relations department at Oatly is prepared to respond to these thoughtful and important questions with equally thoughtful, but perhaps slightly less important answers, which could bring either more clarity or more confusion to the situation.
Oatly: All teams get a chance to be Oat Milkers
All of MiLB’s already existing 120 teams will each play one game this season as the Oat Milkers – making the Oat Milkers more than just the 121st team of MiLB, but also an occasion for players to wear non-generic, but also non-outlandish pink accented jerseys for nine entire innings. Fans are under no obligation to wear Oat Milkers’ gear, but we – the corporate sponsors – would love that.
“Our first season of partnership with MiLB brought Oatly, an oatmilk company from Sweden that knows very little about baseball, further into Minor League Baseball hometowns – tapping into uncharted territory and new audiences for our brand. We’re very excited to continue on this path with the launch of The Malmö Oat Milkers, the only sports team of its kind (that we know of at least),” said Armando Turco, SVP Global Brand & Creative at Oatly.
“We’re not the type of brand to slap our logo on a jersey and walk away (cue the small minority of fans that will in fact want us to walk away). Instead, our goal was to do our small part to add something to the fan experience, and to rethink the very notion of ‘sponsorship’ by creating something entirely new and characteristically irreverent. We’re hopeful that MiLB fans will reward us by opening their hearts, minds, and fandom to the Oat Milkers, and cheer us on as we take to fields all across the USA.”
Spectators can expect unforgettable Oat Milker game experiences like a first-pitch ritual complete with oatmilk carton throwing, Oat Milkers trivia moments, a chance to “sign a contract to be an Oat Milker for a day,” and more. Oatly and Oat Milkers touchpoints will be featured throughout all 120 league stadiums, in addition to Oatly non-dairy frozen dessert concessions at select ballparks, expanding on the brand’s initial presence throughout the league last season which included sampling activations, a content series, and more.
“When Oatly asked us if they could create a new team, we initially just laughed and hoped they would give up on it,” said Uzma Rawn, Major League Baseball’s Senior Vice President, Global Corporate Partnerships. “Ultimately, we couldn’t say no to their Swedish charm and the convincing arguments they made for head-scratching antics and out-of-the-carton ideas — and the chance to introduce umlauts to baseball fans across the country. We know our MiLB fans will be more than entertained by the Malmö Oat Milkers this season, and we hope you’ll cheer them on when they arrive for a game in your home city.”
While now primarily known for “assuming the identity of a MiLB team,” Oatly also makes a delicious range of oat-based, non-dairy milk alternatives that offer the same creamy taste, frothy feel, and functionality as cow’s milk, while generally having a lower environmental impact1.
For more information on The Malmö Oat Milkers inaugural season and the team’s full schedule, please visit milb.com/oatmilkers, where if you’re ridiculous enough – apologies, uhm – if you’re adventurous enough, you can also enter for a chance to win season tickets*. That means, of course, you would have to visit all 120 MiLB team cities where you could follow the Malmö Oat Milkers season journey in-real-life and presumably claim the title of “#1 Oat Milkers Fan.”
