our journey
Oato has grown from humble beginnings in the North-West to now supplying doorsteps and stores all across the UK.
We are committed to both reducing our environmental impact and to supporting traditional industry; from farmers, to bottle printers, to your local milk round!
From our raw British oats through to the final fresh bottled oat milk, we are proud to make every step of the Oato journey happen in the UK.
The Oato journey
Welcome to a short and sweet timeline of what's been happening on Planet Oato since our founder Carl started blending oats up in his kitchen back in 2019.
October 2019: repurposing the bathtub
Our founder Carl realised that there were no fresh oat milks on the market, only UHT, all packaged in long life cartons that couldn’t be recycled kerbside. So using his background in Chemistry he started experimenting with creating a barista-grade oat milk.
Fridge space soon ran out so his creations got a nice ice bath.
May 2020: a brand is born
Although Oato didn't yet have any concrete branding, we got our bottle stamp (still used today) to be able to sell our oat drink on the milk rounds. Carl knocked up a rudimentary logo and website, and cleverly added the letter 'o' onto the end of the word 'oat', thus creating Oato TM!
November 2020: still got it!
In the midst of lockdown some disused beer stills were repurposed so Oato could finally be produced en masse to the thousands needing doorstep deliveries. Modern Milkman took the plunge to become our first major distributor, and other milk rounds soon followed.
February 2021: shaping up a bit
Now we were on the national milk rounds, the brand needed a bit of TLC. We started producing our first branded bottles featuring the Oato logo we all know and love today, as well as a new website.
July 2021: 1,000,000 pints sold!
Once the milk rounds started getting interested, a really wild 12 months took us from having sold only a few thousand bottles to the million mark at a blistering pace.
Carl was chuffed to bits, and a little bit overworked!
November 2022: Hey Presto(n)
Realising that our set-up at the time was not going to be able to keep pace with rapidly increasing demand, we moved to our current site in Preston, which is able to create much, much more Oato, as well as handling bottle washing and refills.
Oh and the best thing? It's powered by solar energy, all from our roof.
March 2023: a flavourful occasion
Sometimes we all want a little treat, and why not?! You deserve it. So we set about expanding our oat milk range, with the first fresh chocolate oat milk in the UK soon followed by a juicy strawberry flavour.
May 2024: first national supermarket listing
We were absolutely thrilled to bits when we were able to announce our first national supermarket listing with Waitrose!
We are now stocked in over 200 stores across the country, in addition to dozens of Booths stores across the North-West.
Oct 2025: accelerating onto shop shelves
At the beginning of the year, we launched into Sainsbury's, where we have steadily been selling more and more. And in October, we also launched in Tesco on their Brand Accelerator Program.
Oat milk in the supermarkets has never looked so fresh!
30+
Million bottles of fresh Oato sold to date
96%
Of UK postcodes served by our milk round partners
1000
supermarkets stocking Oato across the UK
100%
Of our own electricity generated by solar energy
milk round delivery
The Great British milk round
To help reduce pollution and support local businesses, Oato is delivered using the existing British milk round network. The pint bottle has been an iconic symbol of the small British business and dedicated delivery service. By using the pint bottle we’re bringing back a tradition whilst moving forward with the times.
Conveniently order other daily essentials alongside your Oato, like fresh juice, bread, and yogurt, saving yourself the hassle of trekking to the shops!
Why not experience this unique blend of convenience, sustainability, and community support? Find a milk round in your area and join us on this journey.
packaging decisions
We've got so much oaty goodness to share with you
Oato is a precious substance, so we have taken great consideration what vessel ought to house it. Cartons are clever pieces of engineering, but their many layers can make the recycling part a touch trickier.
We've tried something a bit different.
Why glass bottles?
We use our original reusable glass bottles for their sustainability first and foremost: the bottles are brought back to our site where we clean and refill them, before handing them back over to the milk rounds, creating a loop whereby there is no package waste.
Why poly bottles?
In supermarkets, we have to package Oato differently. Glass isn't eco-friendly without reuse, and the alternative milk industry's cartons aren't widely recyclable in the UK. Our solution? Recycled plastic poly bottles, used in the dairy industry for decades, that can be reused up to 10 times.
