SuperCharging Oatly.com Shopify Subscriptions with Recharge

Many Americans have begun to shift away from their consumption of milk in search of more sustainable, environmentally responsible options. 

Enter Sweden-based Oatly. “Our founders just figured, OK, if vast majority of the world population are intolerant to milk why don’t we make something that is actually designed for human beings not baby cows?” Oatly CEO Toni Petersson previously told  CNBC Make It.

The company processes fiber-rich, sustainable oats into nutritious oat milk without taxing the planet’s resources. While the product had been successful in Sweden for decades, Oatly did not break into the American market until 2017. With a rebrand, a commissioned report highlighted on how Oatly is better for the environment than dairy, and a special barista blend of Oatly oat milk, the CEO Petersson successfully entered the market.

With newfound success, Oatly wanted to create a direct-to-consumer subscription model for its US customers. 

The project? Creating a checkout and customer portal that offered a holistic, user-friendly experience without sacrificing quality or merchant requirements.

Oatly partnered with Netalico as its eCommerce agency and Recharge, the leading subscription partner within Shopify.

Oatly partnered with Netalico as its eCommerce agency and Recharge as the subscription partner within Shopify. The teams collaborated to take a three-pronged approach that addressed each of the project’s challenges:

1. Increasing Public Awareness

Recharge leveraged its expertise in the subscription ecosystem to address a lack of public awareness by implementing a dedicated Oatly Subscriptions Page.

Oatly’s first challenge was public awareness of their eCommerce platform simply because recurring online oat milk subscriptions are not the most common subscription products. The American market is growing more comfortable with purchasing perishables online, but there is so much competition for attention across all verticals. There was no guarantee Oatly would be able to sell products online if they couldn’t raise brand and product awareness.

2. The Need for a New Customer Portal

The customer portal required a total overhaul. The Oatly team knew once people subscribed, they would want flexibility to manage their orders based on a variety of scenarios. This meant ensuring customers felt empowered to own this process while using an easy-to-navigate customer portal. Netalico overhauled Oatly’s customer portal to offer maximum flexibility so customers could manage their subscriptions and orders.

3. Creating a Value Proposition

Arguably the biggest challenge was that the team needed to create a value proposition that offered customers convenience and value outside of the traditional discount strategy. They had never looked at discounting as a hurdle or a challenge to overcome. Instead, the focus for the subscription program was the convenience and accessibility factor. The new customer portal included multiple subscription options, an off/on toggle for subscription pages, and clear FAQs that empowered customers to easily manage their subscriptions.

A Seamless Integration & Enhanced Experience

Oatly's partnership with Recharge and Netalico brought substantial improvements to their subscription model. By implementing a dedicated Oatly Subscriptions landing page, customers could build their own monthly subscription of four different varieties of oat milk, with an FAQ section to ease concerns of any first-time subscribers.

Through customer research, these three questions were deemed most important to Oatly’s current customer base. Creating a dedicated and easily accessible page to address these common inquiries allowed Oatly to alleviate a potential customer's concerns upfront before they committed to a subscription.

The FAQ page answered specific questions like:

• “How does a subscription order work?”
• “What if I decide I need to increase/decrease my order, or even cancel my subscription later on?”
• “What if I want my order delivered more or less frequently than once per month?”

At the same time, Oatly added an on/off toggle to their subscription product pages, meaning any shopper could become a subscriber with the flip of a switch. This approach, coupled with the thorough overhaul of the customer portal, empowered customers to manage their subscriptions easily, whether it was skipping a delivery, changing their delivery schedule, or buying additional products.

Building off the latest version of the Recharge Theme Engine , allowed subscribers to manage the timing of their subscription with ease. Implementing thoroughly researched features and best practices quickly paid off as customers took advantage of changing delivery dates throughout the month or pausing their subscription instead of outright cancelling.

Customers were empowered to manage their own subscriptions, causing a significant rise in lifetime value. Since launch, LTV has more than doubled compared to those that purchase one at a time.

Results that Speak for Themselves

Since launching these updates, Oatly has seen remarkable results:

188% increase 

in monthly recurring revenue

206% increase 

in new subscriptions since the launch of the landing page and subscription toggle on product pages

14x 

customer lifetime value for subscriptions compared to one-time purchases

Conclusion

The Oatly and Netalico partnership exemplifies the power of combining innovative eCommerce solutions with a customer-centric approach. By focusing on flexibility, convenience, and a seamless user experience, they have transformed the way customers interact with the Oatly brand. The success of this collaboration is evident in the significant increases in revenue, subscriptions, and customer lifetime value.

As more consumers seek sustainable and convenient alternatives, Oatly's subscription model, supported by Netalico and Recharge, stands as a testament to what is possible with the right strategy and execution. This case study not only highlights the effectiveness of a well-planned subscription model but also underscores the importance of choosing the right partners to bring such visions to life.

In a rapidly evolving market, Oatly's journey serves as an inspiration for other brands looking to innovate and expand their reach. By prioritizing the customer experience and leveraging the strengths of their eCommerce partners, Oatly has set a new standard for success in the industry.