Otis Oat Milk has launched the first organic oat milk made with 100% organic New Zealand oats.
The Organic One has been made with organic oats grown in the heart of oat-growing country in the South Island, at Lilybank Station at the top of Lake Tekapo and Avalon Farms in West Otago.
With only three ingredients – oats, water and salt – Otis’ focus has been on using “lighter touch, lighter on land” farming principles.
Co-founder Tim Ryan said the organic offering was intended to be part of the initial range.
“We first set out on our product development journey back in 2018 with grand intentions of an organic milk being part of our core range, however those intentions were quickly scuppered as there were a number of constraints.
“We have worked closely with experienced organic oat farmers, Allan Richardson from Avalon Farms and Johnny Wheeler from Lilybank Station in the Mackenzie Country, to put organic oat seed in the ground for our first organic milk. Allan and Johnny really stepped up and helped educate us on ways in which we could viably grow light-touch oat crops that still yielded well and produced a full nutritious milk,” Ryan said.
Otis completely redesigned its oat milk production process so it met international organic standards, to ensure their grain extraction process maintained maximum amounts of beta glucan, the healthy soluble fibre from the grain that helps the body maintain stable cholesterol levels.
