Dive Brief:

• Chobani, known for its Greek yogurt, has entered the metaverse with the “Chobani Oatmilk Cosmic Race” competition and promotion in support of its oat-based offerings, per information shared with Marketing Dive.
• The virtual experience, which is being hosted on Roblox, has users racing through a virtual galaxy delivering oat milk to planets. Those who finish are granted points and are eligible for in-experience rewards. Once a target goal of awarded points is reached, Chobani will donate $75,000 to Hunger Free America.
• The activation follows similar efforts by brands to capitalize on the popularity of Roblox with younger consumers. Additionally, the campaign serves as a way to promote the brand’s dairy-free products, a rapidly growing sector of the food industry.

Dive Insight:

Oat milk has seen its popularity increase significantly in the past few years, growing 50.3% year-over-year, per Chobani. As the marketer competes for market share with oat milk giant Oatly, which is currently valued at $10 billion, the “Chobani Oatmilk Cosmic Race” could drive familiarity with its offerings among young people.

The race was created in partnership with Thinkingbox, a global creative collective, and is intended to build on Chobani’s recent oat milk commercial, which shows the beverage as being key to several cultural moments, including a Roblox-style video game. Chobani has made several additional efforts to bring scenes from the commercial to life, including a custom song, “G.Oat,” and a nail art effort.

Chobani’s game follows similar efforts by other marketers who have embraced Roblox, including Chipotle, which set up a game allowing users to roll virtual burritos to earn in-game currency, which could then be exchanged for entree codes. Virtual experiences have become a marketing cornerstone when it comes to young consumers, especially as gaming becomes an increasingly popular pastime. As the metaverse grows in popularity, Roblox gives brands an easy way to experiment with the new technology on an established platform.

Roblox can be a place for brands to reach young consumers. Roblox’s core demographic is nine through 15, with the highest share of users being between the ages of nine and 12 as of 2020. Only 14% of Roblox users are 25 or older. However, the platform has been accused of not doing enough to safeguard young consumers from deceptive advertising in the past. A 2022 FTC complaint claimed that the use of “advergames” resulted in unwitting consumers granting brands access to their personal data and money. Roblox has stated it has strict rules and monitoring in place to prevent the exploitation of users.

The Roblox competition and related promotion are in line with Chobani’s broader push on social media. Previous initiatives by the brand include an Instagram swag-drop of children's clothing to promote a line of Greek yogurt snacks for kids and a flavor creation contest to promote its creamer line.