SMU Associate Professor of Marketing (Education) Seshan Ramaswami clarified that oat milk is termed "milk" even though it's not from animals because the naming aims to “help consumers instantly grasp the main benefit of using it”. He noted that calling plant-based drinks “milk” instead of “juice” or “drink” indicates their primary role as a milk substitute. He further mentioned that this naming strategy by plant-based product producers has led to legal disputes with traditional dairy manufacturers. However, he doesn't view this as misleading, assuming most consumers understand that oat milk differs from dairy milk.
