Oat-based milk brand Minor Figures shares how local Australian production strengthens quality, sustainability and its connection with the country’s coffee community.
From its early days in the UK, Minor Figures began as a cold brew coffee company, focusing on the aromatic flavours of coffee. With the barista in mind, the company set out to create oat milk that complemented coffee rather than overpowering it.
“Coffee is the hero; we are the ‘Minor Figure’ in your cup,” explains General Manager Henry Catts.
Henry has spent the last 15 years in the fast-moving consumer goods industry and has been in the plant-based milk game for nearly five years. During this time, he has had a box seat view of the rapid growth in popularity for plant-based milk both globally and here in Australia.
“Minor Figures launched its Barista Oat milk in Australia during the Melbourne International Coffee Expo in 2018, making it the first barista oat milk into the country,” he says.
“Since then, plant-based milks have become a permanent fixture in cafes and households particularly over the last five years.”
Minor Figures is an independently owned business started by a couple of Australians.
“We’re not a big corporate like most of our competitors,” Henry says. “We understand how tough this market can be for the little guys, which is why we are all about supporting local businesses and communities.
“Our ethos is to create quality products, while giving back as much as possible to the Australian market.”
The first Minor Figures products launched in Australia were imported from the UK. Since then, Henry and his team have worked tirelessly to bring production to Australia. While they succeeded, there were still difficulties in producing locally.
“At the time, there were no facilities for creating an oat base in Australia,” he adds. “We had to ship Aussie oats to Asia to be processed into a syrup which was then shipped back to our production facility near Ballarat.
“The environmental impact of shipping parts of our product across the globe didn’t sit well with us, which spurred us on to find a more sustainable solution.”
Local partnership
The big sustainability breakthrough for Minor Figures came in 2024 due to a three-way partnership with its manufacturer Slades Beverages and one of Australia’s leading plant-based ingredient providers Essantis.
Minor Figures became the foundation partner that paved the way for Essantis to setup an oat processing facility just outside of Ballarat in Victoria.
This helped establish domestic infrastructure for local processing, allowing oats grown in Australia to be processed and turned into oat milk within the same region. The output from this facility is an oat base rather than a highly processed syrup, aiming to enhance both taste and nutritional value while reducing production emissions.
In short, Essantis creates the oat milk base sourced from local and long-term oat grower partners. This is then sent to Slades for the final stages of production and bottling.
Essantis CEO Andrew May says the lack of local processing capability has long been a barrier for the category.
“Previously, products had to be manufactured, further concentrated, shipped around the world and then reconstituted,” he says. “With local processing, the supply chain is shorter, less carbon intensive and much more scalable for milk companies.”
Founded in the 1850s, drinks manufacturer Slades Beverages was predominantly a soft drinks and water business. The company invested in advanced machinery to expand into new beverage categories including plant-based milk.
Managing director George Tan says plant-based milk quickly emerged as an area of significant growth.
“We were seeing trends in supermarkets where people were moving away from dairy, and often a good beverage brand may not necessarily have the manufacturing capabilities,” he says.
Through its facility at Cottonwood Springs, Slades now supports Minor Figures in both manufacturing and supply chain management, creating a seamless process from raw oats to the final product. Essantis and Cottonwood Springs are approximately 20 mins apart, significantly reducing the end-to-end supply chain of Minor Figures products and further improving their sustainability credentials.
This partnership has created a local production ecosystem that has reduced the environmental impact of Minor Figures products and supports the entire value chain, from growers to manufacturers. This ecosystem has also created employment opportunities for a number of regional Victorians in the Ballarat region.
Supporting Australian growers
Minor Figures, in partnership with Essantis, works closely with more than 300 Australian oat growers across Victoria and New South Wales. Andrew says the benefits go beyond sustainability, with quality also improving when oats are freshly processed.
“The quality of the products using freshly produced oat-based milk is also much higher,” he says.
Sourcing locally ensures high standards, while giving back to the farming communities that support the brand. It also provides stability for growers facing increasing environmental challenges such as droughts and floods.
The partnership works to raise awareness among farmers about the rapid growth of plant-based milks and the demand for Australian oats.
“The growers buy into the desire for Australians to consume oat milk and they’ve been really supportive of the fast-growing plant-based milk category,” says Andrew.
“Supporting Australian farmers is not only about a strong supply chain but about fostering long term resilience in local agriculture. As the demand for plant-based products grows, the value of a secure domestic supply chain becomes even more critical.”
Andrew believes further growth in Australian manufacturing will rely on openness to partnerships between businesses, government and research organisations.
“In a country of our size, there are times when the market is not big enough to do everything by yourself,” he adds. “There’s a need to find partnerships to navigate growth.”
New formulation
The journey for Minor Figures to deliver these fully Australian made products wasn’t without its challenges.
“Plant-based milks aren’t the most straight forward products to make,” says Henry. “Any slight adjustment can have a huge impact on the products.”
He mentions that changing the base meant the company had to do a lot of work to ensure they were delivering the best possible product for the consumers. With countless trials during the past year, the company has now finalised the formula for Minor Figures Oat Barista.
“We are really happy with the new flavour profile and performance of this product and so are our partners in the coffee community,” Henry says.
“I’m getting weekly calls from people who are just trying our new formula for the first time and the feedback has been overwhelming. If you haven’t tried our oat barista in the last few months, I highly recommend giving it another go and tasting the difference for yourself.”
Minor Figures ensures sustainability and social responsibility are not compromised in the chase for success, despite the challenges of operating in a highly competitive market. Minor Figures holds B Corp certification outside of Australia and is in the process of achieving this certification in Australia as well. Every area of the business is evaluated to ensure it meets high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
“B Corp certification is a real statement by a brand that they care about more than just making money. We’re committed to achieving this and working with other B Corp certified companies to make our future world a world worth living in,” says Henry.
On top of all the recent sustainability improvements of the Minor Figures product ecosystem, there are other clear environmental benefits of oat milk. On average oat milk requires approximately 48 litres of water over the product lifecycle to make one litre of oat milk. This is compared to 628 litres for one litre of dairy milk, according to Statista. Oat milk also requires approximately 10 times less land per litre of milk than dairy.
The Minor Figures journey perhaps reflects a broader movement towards local, sustainable production. Sourcing from Australian farmers, with both processing and manufacturing localised near Ballarat. This local ecosystem aims to deliver fresher, higher quality products while reducing the brand’s environmental footprint. Henry explains the local vision extends to community as well.
“Whether it’s our farmers, your local café or one of the various charity organisations we support, Minor Figures are committed to doing things right and supporting everyday Australians,” says Henry.
“We want everyone to know that when you buy Minor Figures, you’re not only getting a quality product, but you are supporting independent Australian businesses from the farm right through to your latte.”
Henry is inviting cafes to grab a free sample of the new flavour profile Barista Oat by emailing hey@minorfigures.com.
For more information, visit minorfigures.com
This article appears in the December 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
