Oat milk producer receives $6m boost to build facility

Southland-based oat milk producer New Zealand Functional Foods has received a $6 million investment from the NZ Government's Regional Strategic Partnership Fund to develop a dedicated low-emission plant-based beverage manufacturing facility.

At the announcement of the funding today (11 July 2022), Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash said Kiwis have almost tripled their consumption of plant-based milk alternatives from 2017–19, spending NZ$144 million in 2019, so there is definite demand for alt-milk products.

“We know that oats grow well in Southland, and being low in water use, land use and emissions, they are an excellent raw ingredient for an environmentally sustainable alternative-milk option. Producing oat milk locally is a lucrative way to diversify our strength as a quality food producer,” Nash said.

“As it stands, we just don’t have the appropriate processing facilities to domestically produce the volumes of oat milk required to make a splash in this burgeoning market. Our investment will help provide the capital needed by New Zealand Functional Foods to build a specialised, large-scale processing plant at Makarewa, with capacity for producing up to 80 million litres of plant-based milk a year.

“The investment is part of our wider government strategy to develop a low-emissions, highly skilled economy that responds to global demands. I am confident that this new facility will add to the reputation of Southland and New Zealand as a real player in the sustainable food and beverage sector.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Artem