Quaker Oats to Launch Vegan Milk Line

Food conglomerate Quaker Oats will be joining the non-dairy milk industry with the launch of an oat-based beverage in January 2019. Quaker Oat Beverage, which is expected to be available nationwide by March, will come in three flavors: Original, Original Unsweetened, and Vanilla. According to research firm Mintel, sales of non-dairy milk products in the United States rose to more than $2 billion last year—up 61 percent from five years earlier. Quaker hopes to capitalize on the popularity of the dairy-free industry and distinguish its new product line by promoting the health benefits of oat-bran fiber. “Oats are good for you,” Robbert Rietbroek, Quaker Foods North America general manager, told The New York Times. “They’re good for your heart. They reduce cholesterol. They’re good for your gut, and they give you long-lasting energy.” Quaker’s main oat-based competitor is Swedish brand Oatly, a well-known vegan brand in Europe that sells its oat milk in the US at Wegmans, Whole Foods Market, ShopRite, and select cafés. Oatly recently began construction on its first US production facility, which will allow the company to maintain a constant supply of its products to retailers and coffee shops in North America.