Waitrose sampling

The Brief in Brief

For the launch of Oatly's Strawberry Matcha Latte, the brand wanted to challenge perceptions and show shoppers just how simple it is to create a great-tasting matcha drink at home. The activation needed to stop people mid-shop inside one of London's busiest retail environments, drive product trial, and communicate a clear message in seconds. Most importantly, it had to feel unmistakably Oatly: playful, unexpected and impossible to ignore.

What We Did

Working with Oatly, we designed and built a bespoke interactive sampling experience at Waitrose, John Lewis Oxford Street that transformed a simple product demonstration into a memorable retail moment. At the heart of the activation was a custom-built "How To Make Matcha" machine. Shoppers were invited to press a large illuminated button, triggering a theatrical mechanical hand that appeared from the wall holding a carton of Oatly Strawberry Matcha Latte before pouring a sample into a waiting cup.The installation combined bold Oatly branding, oversized messaging, playful engineering and live sampling to create a highly visual experience that encouraged curiosity, interaction and conversation. Designed specifically for the retail environment, the activation turned a routine shopping trip into an unexpected moment of discovery. From design development and production planning through to fabrication, logistics and installation, Positive Experience managed the full delivery of the experience.

Why It Worked

The activation transformed product sampling from a passive tasting moment into an interactive experience that shoppers actively wanted to engage with. By using humour, theatre and a simple physical interaction, the installation communicated the product benefit instantly while creating a memorable brand moment. The oversized button, animated pouring hand and bold visual identity generated curiosity from across the store, drawing shoppers in and encouraging trial. Most importantly, the experience perfectly captured Oatly's irreverent personality. Rather than explaining the product through traditional retail messaging, it demonstrated the proposition through play, proving that sometimes the most effective way to tell a product story is to make people smile first.