In Conversation: How MYOM is Reimagining the Oat Milk Experience
- 23 hours ago
- 6 min read
MYOM x The Vegan Choice Awards
CEO to CEO Interview.
Louise Jane: Founder & CEO The Vegan Choice Awards
Mike Curtis: Founder & CEO, MYOM
We’ve all been there: staring at a heavy carton of oat milk and wondering why we’re paying big bucks for something that’s basically water. Enter MYOM, the clever UK brand that’s turning the dairy-free world on its head.
Instead of shipping heavy liquids around the country, MYOM gives you a super-concentrated, award-winning oat premix in a small, recyclable pouch - the ultimate travel-ready companion for any adventure. Just add water, shake, and enjoy fresh, silky oat milk in seconds.
Stick around to see how this swap can boost your health, cut your carbon footprint and exactly where to stock up!
LJ: Can you kick things off by sharing the MYOM origin story? Was there a specific “lightbulb moment”?
MC: The lightbulb moment came in 2020. I was listening to the CEO of Dubai Airports describe the Dubai milk supply as “a 747 from Belgium, every single day.” It genuinely stopped me in my tracks.
We’re flying what is essentially water, chilled, across thousands of miles, with a short shelf life. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.
The climate case for plant-based drinks was already clear, but the category itself hadn’t challenged the distribution system at a product level. Dairy built the system, and plant-based simply followed it. No one was questioning the core assumption: shipping 90% water around the world in a multi-layer carton.
It didn’t add up.
So I came back to the UK with a clear mission: don’t add water and build something better for both the planet and the shopper.
LJ: It’s an amazing mission, but it couldn’t have been easy! What did the journey actually look like from idea to finished product?
MC: Long. And at times, very humbling.
We started R&D in October 2022. What sounded simple “don’t add water and put a base blend in a pouch” turned into two years of serious food development science.
We brought together an exceptional team, including Sarah King (ex-Innocent), a registered nutritionist, and other plant-based specialists. The challenge was that no one had ever created an oat blend like this while keeping it stable, ambient, and great-tasting.
There was no playbook.
It became a proper test–fail–refine cycle. The goal was always clear: deliver something shelf-stable without compromising on taste, nutrition, or price.
The result delivers a fresher, creamier oat drink with far less waste in a 6g pouch versus roughly 35g for a standard carton.
LJ: Well, you’ve absolutely crushed your goal! But for a consumer looking at a crowded shelf, what are the other 'must-know' benefits that make MYOM the superior choice?
MC: Pretty much everything.
Most oat drinks are about 90% water, shipped in cartons that often weigh more than the oats inside. We flipped that model.
MYOM is a premix oat blend in a small, letterbox-friendly pack. You add water when you need it, so what ends up in your glass tastes freshly made.
That means:
- Clean taste
- No fridge space until you mix it
- Less waste and lower transport impact
And because we’re not adding water upfront, we don’t need additives often used to keep cartons stable for months.
LJ: Speaking of additives, you’ve won awards for that signature clean, creamy taste. How do you achieve such a silky texture without relying on the usual gums or thickeners?
MC: If you start with a properly built oat base, you don’t need gums or thickeners. The ingredients themselves provide the body. The challenge is stability. At that concentration, emulsions are genuinely difficult to hold. So instead of adding shortcuts, we engineered the process. High-shear blending creates a stable emulsion that holds naturally. That’s where the creaminess comes from: oats, properly processed.
LJ: How interesting, and as it should!...You’ve certainly kept your ingredient list incredibly clean. Why was that such a high priority for you?
MC: Because if you look at most oat cartons, you’ll find things like dipotassium phosphate, other acidity regulators or emulsifiers, and sometimes added sugar.
Most of that is there to make a water-heavy product survive long supply chains.
Take the water out and get the process right, and you simply don’t need it.
From day one, our rule was simple: simple clear ingredients, if we can’t justify it, it doesn’t go in.
So what’s left is what people expect: oats, rapeseed oil, salt, and fortification.
No thickeners. No phosphates. No added sugar.
LJ: Brilliant! And in terms of formulation, why did you choose a liquid concentrate over powder?
MC: We explored powder and deliberately avoided it.
Powder requires spray-drying, which is more energy-intensive than the transport impact savings. They often use MCT, typically corn fibre or maltodextrin, so oats can survive spray-drying and rehydrate. The carrier is there because the process requires it, not because the product does. It can also affect taste and texture, often leaving that slightly chalky or grainy feel.
A liquid blend keeps the oats closer to their natural extracted state. It therefore mixes cleanly and quickly with cold water, no blender needed, and no residue. The trade-off is complexity. Stabilising a liquid blend at ambient temperature in a small pouch is genuinely hard.
But solving that gives you something much closer to fresh oat milk, because you’re effectively making it on the spot.
LJ: Yes, and it really does mix so easily! Moving on…beyond the great taste, your sustainability efforts really stand out. What would you consider your biggest "win" for the environment so far?
MC: It depends which metric you look at.
The pouch weighs about 6g and is recyclable mono-material, compared to 35g for a multi-layer carton that’s harder to recycle.
Then there’s transport. Without water, we’re shipping a fraction of the volume, so fewer trucks, fewer emissions, no chilled supply chain.
And at home, you only make what you need, so there’s less waste.If I had to summarise it: we’ve turned a fridge product into a cupboard product without compromising what goes into your glass.
LJ: Perfectly summarised! An important question for you now, many people stick to dairy for the calcium. Can you tell us about the fortifications in MYOM and how they compare?
MC: This is an important one.
MYOM is fortified with calcium, vitamin D3, B12, and iodine, the key nutrients that come up when moving away from dairy.
We’ve actually gone slightly above dairy on calcium, which surprises people.
B12 is essential for plant-based diets, and iodine is often overlooked, particularly in the UK, where dairy has traditionally been a main source.
We worked closely with our nutritionist to ensure everything is properly bioavailable, not just a label declaration.
LJ: Once again you’ve raised the bar! Back to taste now…both your blends are obviously 10/10, but how would you describe the difference between the Original and the Barista?
MC: Original is your everyday oat drink, cleaner flavour, lower fat, perfect for tea, cereal, smoothies.
Barista is designed for coffee. It has a different fat profile and added fava bean protein for microfoam and heat stability.
Getting Barista right was one of the toughest parts of development.
If coffee matters to you, go Barista.
If you’re more tea-and-cereal, go Original.
A lot of people end up using both.
LJ: Yes, I am a big fan of both, while at home and on the road. Was portability a key part of your initial design, or a happy accident?
MC: Yes, completely intentional.
“Postable” was a design constraint from the start. We wanted something that fits through a letterbox, sits in a cupboard, or travels easily.
A 65g pouch makes 500ml. A 130g pouch makes a litre.
You’re carrying the blend, not the water and making it when you need it.
That flexibility is what people really connect with.
LJ: Absolutely! Finally, where can our readers go to grab a starter kit and try MYOM for themselves?
MC: The easiest place is myom.shop.
We’ve also put together two offers for Vegan Choice readers:
Use code MYOMXVC26 at checkout.
If you’re new, start with Original.
If you love coffee, go straight to Barista.
Either way, hope you love it.
We have no doubt anyone who tries either blend will love it. MYOM isn't just about offering a dairy alternative; it's about reimagining what’s possible when sustainability meets incredible taste. It was a privilege to sit down with their founder and hear the passion behind these oat-based innovations.
Beyond the flavour, the genius is in the design. These portable pouches are a total game-changer, making it easier than ever to enjoy a fresh oat blend whether you’re halfway across the world or just simplifying your morning routine at home. MYOM is truly a brand to get behind…and the perfect companion for wherever your day takes you!
Head over to their website to grab your pouches and don't forget to apply your discount code at checkout.
Thanks for reading,
VCA
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