Overherd – a Yorkshire-based start-up – is launching an oat milk powder that uses a fraction of the packaging of liquid oat milk.
The brand has abandoned traditional cartons in favour of recyclable lightweight pouches that can each produce eight litres of on-demand and quick oat milk.
The product is the UK’s first powdered oat milk and is made using organic gluten-free oats (68 per cent), coconut MCT powder, chicory root fibre, calcium carbonate and vitamin B12.
Ten times lighter than liquid oat milk, less bulky to store and freight, and using 90 per cent less packaging than pre-mixed milks, Overherd says consumers can reduce their carbon impact by switching to powder.
“Plant milk is a bit like blackcurrant squash,” explains Sandy Eyre, founder of Overherd. “It wouldn’t make sense to buy squash pre-mixed. 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.”
Powdered oat milk also has a much longer shelf life than pre-mixed alt-milks. Consumers can make the exact amount of alt-milk they need, reducing the wastage of unused milk.
Overherd says more than 490 million pints of milk are thrown away each year in the UK alone, with both economic and environmental ramifications.
Overherd’s ultimate goal is to force brands to re-evaluate the full lifespan of products, not simply placing the main focus on the sustainability of the materials used.
To be launched on February 27, the oatmilk powder will be sold online at overherd.uk, the brand’s direct-to-consumer website.
