Eugene Companies are Milking the Dairy Alternative Trend

Oats don’t have udders. But in a widening array of dairy alternatives such as soy, coconut and almond geared toward special diets and environmentally conscious consumers, oat milk and products made with it are among the fastest-growing, and a piece of this action starts in Eugene. 

Oat milk sales surged 636% in the 52 weeks ending Oct. 26, according to Nielsen data reported by CNBC. Amidst this, traditional dairy sales are slowing and America’s largest milk company, Dean Foods, filed for bankruptcy a month ago.

Oatly, a Swedish company credited with introducing oat milk, is expanding rapidly in the U.S. It opened a New Jersey plant this year and plans to open a second in Utah in early 2020 to meet its massive U.S. demand, reports Bloomberg. Greek yogurt giant Chobani, which holds a fifth of the traditional yogurt market according to Nielsen, recently announced a new line of oat milk, yogurt and coffee creamers that will hit shelves in January.

But more than nine months ago, a Eugene company was the first to nationally distribute oat yogurt. And many of the oat milk products now on the domestic market begin at a company that started in Eugene. Both Springfield Creamery, maker of Nancy’s oat milk yogurt, and Grain Millers, which supplies oat bases to leading brands including Oatly and Nancy’s, say they’re now riding the swell and planning for continued growth.

“The oat milk market has seen a big uptick. That volume has gone up tremendously in the past year,” said Darren Schubert, vice president of sales and marketing for western operations of Grain Millers.

*Story reported by The Register Guard