UK startup launches oat milk powder which cuts packaging by 90%

UK brand Overherd is launching oat milk powder, which uses 90 percent less packaging than store-bought plant milks.

The Yorkshire-based startup’s innovative product comes in a ‘super lightweight recyclable pouch’ – with one unit capable of producing eight litres of oat milk at home.

Oat milk powder – the benefits

Overherd says its ‘just add water’ solution reduces the need for bulky packaging, which also reduces carbon emissions throughout the supply chain.

Powdered milk is 10 times lighter than its pre-mixed counterpart, meaning fewer trucks and therefore lower transport emissions.

“Plant milk is a bit like blackcurrant squash; it wouldn’t make sense to buy squash pre-mixed,” said Overherd’s founder, Sandy Eyr.

“It would be super bulky and packaging intensive. We think the same applies to plant milk, which is why we focus on the oat concentrate, the part that provides the flavour and nutrition.”

Food waste

Overherd says its powdered oat milk also tackles food waste, as a staggering 490 million pints of milk are thrown away each year in the UK alone.

“Powdered oat milk naturally has a much longer shelf life than pre-mixed milks, and so off milk will no longer be a concern,” the company told Vegan Food & Living. 

“Customers will be able to mix the exact amount of milk needed at the point of use, which will also reduce the amount of unused milk going to waste.”

‘Eco-credentials’

Overherd isn’t the only company tapping into the oat milk powder market: dairy alternative brand Mighty is also making moves.

Its enzymatically treated oat flour product, which contains no preservatives or stabilisers, will debut on Amazon UK and Germany from February 6.

Priced at £6.59 for a 375g pouch, the oat milk powder will also be available from Mighty’s webstore, with a wider rollout planned in March.

“While the majority of plant milks offer customers a sustainable choice versus cows milk, there’s a huge opportunity to improve the alternative milks category’s eco-credentials even further,” said Mighty co-founder Tom Watkins.

“Oat milk is primarily made up of water – nearly 90 percent of each carton – and the majority of its environmental impact comes from water usage, transporting heavy liquids and needing a specific packaging format to sustain shelf life.”

According to Mighty, its product would boost stores’ shelf availability by 266 percent, with the equivalent of 16 litres of the product fitting in a space for six litres of liquid.

It’s the dairy alternative that’s taking the world by storm, but is oat milk good for you?