New Zealand’s First Vegan Oat Milk Brand Aims to Disrupt the Country’s Reliance on Dairy

In August, vegan brand Oatis Oat M!lk will hit store shelves in New Zealand. The brand—which is distributed at local coffee shops—is the first vegan oat milk brand that is native to New Zealand and co-founder (and “Chief Oat Milker”) Tim Ryan aims to transition the country, which is heavily dependent on dairy products, to more sustainable consumption and production practices. “The plan is to build an overall New Zealand dairy alternative factory—we are calling it the Plant Plant,” Ryan told Foodnavigator-Asia. 

In addition to increasing manufacturing capacity, Ryan aims to expand to its first international market, neighboring country Australia, before heading to Singapore, Japan, and China. Once the company is thriving with its core product line, Ryan aims to develop new oat-based offerings at the Plant Plant, including chocolate milk, ice cream, and crème fraîche and more. “The plan is to use the oat milk as our Trojan horse of sorts to go large-scale and secure investments for the factory, then we’ll look even further,” Ryan said.