In case you missed it, oat milk is now available in sheet form.
milkadamia, a brand known for its dairy-free innovations like macadamia nut milk, debuted its first-of-its-kind Flat Pack Oat Milk sheets at the 2024 Newtopia Now trade show in August. The novel format contains eight sheets, allowing customers to make their oat milk from scratch in customized portion sizes.
Recently, The Food Institute sat down with Jim Richards, CEO of milkadamia, to learn more about this intriguing innovation.
What initially sparked the idea?
“A key factor driving the adoption of plant-based foods is eco-consciousness, and the development of the Flat Pack is rooted in both the projected growth of the alt-milk category and a commitment to addressing consumer concerns about packaging waste,” Richards told FI.
The eco-friendly product reportedly requires 94% less packaging than its dairy-free counterparts and decreases the packaging weight by 85%.
Billions of multi-layered milk cartons end up in landfills every year, according to Richards, who shared that milkadamia is addressing this problem by “reducing waste at the source (business and production) rather than consumer recycling efforts.”
Known as pre-cycling, the strategy shifts the focus from damage control on the back end to waste reduction and prevention, as 90% of corporate emissions come from the supply chain, according to Richards.
“Consumers are often overwhelmed by the burden of managing used packaging. Pre-cycling puts the onus on businesses to make proactive changes,” the CEO said.
“The Flat Pack embodies pre-cycling by significantly reducing ecological costs – minimizing transportation bulk and packaging,” Richards added.
What was the development process like?
“Initially, milkadamia sought to license 2D-printing technology but found the process required fillers,” the CEO told FI, elaborating that “after multiple experiments and the sampling of many cups of oat milk, milkadamia created a cleaner recipe and developed a more efficient method of manufacturing.”
Although oat milk is the only dairy-free milk that’s currently available in the Flat Pack format, plans are underway to expand milkadamia’s innovative approach to the production of its almond, macadamia, and other variants of dairy-free milk.
How does it compare to traditional oat milk?
Since all plant milks are made by blending solid ingredients with water, Richards says the Flat Pack offers the “same taste and texture” that consumers are used to once it’s been prepared.
“The difference lies in the preparation, which requires some assembly,” Richards said, adding that his company “likes to think of this little bit of extra effort as a personal, effective act of rebellion against excessive packaging waste while dramatically reducing supply-chain emissions.”
Since the Flat Pack sheets don’t require refrigeration, they also use less energy at every stage of the journey from the manufacturing facility to the distribution center to the retail stockroom.
“We’ve championed shelf-stable macadamia nut milk for more than ten years, so the Flat Pack aligns with our ethos of shaping a more sustainable trajectory for our planet,” Richards told FI.
According to milkadamia’s press release in August, the Flat Pack oat milk sheets are now available for retail distribution with a roll-out to both online and brick-and-mortar stores anticipated in January.
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