Looking for plant-based milk that’s not watery nor bland? Let’s go Oatside!
MANILA, Philippines — There’s wine sommelier, then there’s milk sommelier. Celebrity chef Erwan Heussaff is one, and he once had to create his own oat milk when he couldn’t find a plant-based milk that suited his taste.
But since early 2022, an oat milk brand started sweeping across Asia. Oatside was often spotted in cafes and supermarkets in Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia—and Erwan noticed it.
He and his family liked the milk’s full body, natural sweetness, rich palate and malty aftertaste—which blended perfectly with coffee, desserts and other cream-based recipes.
Finally, Oatside is now in the Philippines and what better way to celebrate the launch than incorporating the milk in fiesta desserts like halo-halo, taho and sorbetes, and with Erwan himself joining the toast (pun intended).
Sam YG hosted the milk-tasting event at Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila.
In partnership with Moment Group, guests enjoyed adobo on a fried oat milk bar along with other local delicacies that incorporate Oatside, showcasing its versatility beyond coffee and drinks.
Guests were treated to oat-crusted cheese-stuffed arancini on cauli-oat milk puree, chocolate oat milk coffee jelly shooters and South Cotabato crumbs with oatmilk latte dip.
Oatside Barista Blend’s creaminess gives body to coffees and teas, but is neutral enough to allow the coffee and tea notes to shine through. It also creates beautiful microfoam when steamed for latte art, making it a favorite among baristas.
This variant is free from sugar and other sweeteners, but still has that hint of sweetness—perfect for late-night sweet cravings, according to Erwan.
Oatside Chocolate, meanwhile, is a dark, rich chocolate oat drink made with a Rainforest Alliance-certified Indonesian-African cocoa blend. It has no added flavors and with less sugar than most chocolate milks.
Oatside’s beginnings
Singaporean founder and CEO Benedict Lim began the brand when he saw a gap in the market for a plant-based milk that offers a creamy and malty taste profile that is familiar to people who don’t typically drink plant milks.
“We know that taste is often a barrier for more people adopting sustainable milks, so our goal was to develop an oat milk that could overcome these perceptions. It was a challenge developing the right product with existing setups at contract manufacturers in the early days, so we took the longer approach of building our own production line that allowed us more customization and control over the oat extraction process,” Benedict says.
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Oatside is one of Asia’s few “full-stack” plant milk start-ups. It has retained full jurisdiction over its entire production process, from sourcing its Australian oats, to oat extraction to filling.
This allows customization in the production process of the delicious oat milk, and the ability to ensure that only sustainably sourced ingredients of the highest quality are used.
Oatside is plant-based, lactose-free, cholesterol-free and low in saturated fats.
Sustainability has been core to the mission of driving plant-based milks globally. Production of oat milk requires 90% less land and water and produces 70% less emissions as compared to the production of cow’s milk, which makes it much more sustainable.
Today, Oatside is available in partner cafes in the Philippines, including PickUp Coffee, FRNK and Bo’s Coffee.
Oatside Barista Blend and Chocolate are now available in Landers and Puregold, and on e-commerce platforms like Lazada and Shopee. — WITH MAY DEDICATORIA
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