Our story

Hi, we’re Tim and Chris, a couple of friends raised on farms in the idyllic countryside of New Zealand. As with all New Zealanders, our connection to the land, the rivers and the mountains instilled a deep sense of guardianship or kaitiaki in our upbringing.

 

In 2010, Tim tried his first ‘flat oat’ in London and (knowing NZ grew world famous oats) realised immediately this tasty beverage had relevance for New Zealand. It was enough to plant the seed and over a few fizzy brews with Chris we began dreaming, ‘imagine if we started an oat milk company in a nation of dairy farmers!’

It wasn’t until driving across the Canterbury Plains and McKenzie Country back in 2015 and seeing the beautiful old heritage farms bulldozed flat so intensive dairy could take it’s place, that we knew we had to do something. This ain’t right, we thought. So in December 2017, Tim packed up his European life, left career and comfort behind and moved home to begin product development.

Fast forward to today and we couldn’t be prouder of what we and our team have built. Served in cafes and supermarkets nationwide and internationally, our vision is that our oat m!lk will sit firmly in the psyche of Kiwi culture as the new dairy. We’re a tiny team of hard working humans that turn up to work every day in love with the idea that we’re changing the agricultural landscape for the better, leaving our planet in a better place than we found it for future generations.

“The relationship and connection New Zealanders have with the environment goes well beyond the goods and services we receive from it, like food, fuel, and clean water. Our environment is where we stand, our tūrangawaewae – where we live, learn, work and earn a living, play, and socialise. It is our home and our identity, and the foundation of our national culture and tradition.”

- (Environment Aotearoa 2019 Summary. Ministry for the Environment).