New Zealand brand Otis has announced the opening of a new oat milk facility described as the “first of its kind” in East Auckland. The purpose-built plant will produce Otis’ milk alternatives using premium South Island oats.
It took Otis almost five years to establish the facility, which is owned by beverage co-manufacturer Free Flow Manufacturing. This culminated in an 18-month project that used New Zealand, German, and Swedish food technology to create a world-class plant. Enzyme technology developed by Angie Triantafyllou, former Oatly owner and now Chairman of the Board at Cerealiq, is used to produce the oat milk to a “gold standard”.
Previously, Otis had to export New Zealand oats to Sweden for manufacturing due to a lack of suitable facilities locally. But the company has always aimed to return production to New Zealand, saying it will help the country become a leader in sustainable food innovation.
Last year, it was reported that the facility would have 2,500 square metres of production space and 4,000 square metres of warehousing. This is enough capacity to produce 50 million litres of milk alternatives per year. Otis said at the time that it was “thrilled” to have finally found a suitable manufacturing partner.
“We’ve raised the bar significantly”
Following the opening of the facility, Otis will work with the New Zealand Oat Industry Group to “[ensure] New Zealand-grown oats remain nutritionally superior to other varieties”. The oat milk will be produced to contain world-class levels of beta-glucan, said to help maintain stable cholesterol levels and gut health.
“New Zealand farmers grow some of the highest quality oats globally,” said Tim Ryan, co-founder of Otis. “And with this facility, we’re producing arguably the highest quality oat milk in the world. We invite all New Zealand oat milk drinkers to try our optimised recipe and taste the difference in freshness, quality and flavour. We’ve raised the bar significantly for oat milk made in New Zealand.”
The oat milk is now available at supermarkets across the country, sold in 1 litre cartons with updated packaging.
