Singapore’s First Oat Milk Brand Closes $65.5 Million Series A

As Singapore continues its ascent to becoming Asia’s premier vegan destination, its first oat milk brand, Oatside, which launched its products earlier this year, has announced the closing of a $65.5 million Series A fundraise.

The new funding was co-led by Temasek Holdings and GGV Capital as well as Arabica International, and existing investors Wee Teng Wen and Proterra Investment Partners Asia. The funding will help Oatside expand its production and increase reach across Singapore and the greater Asia-Pacific region.

Founded by Benedict Lim, former CFO at Kraft Heinz Indonesia, Oatside was developed specifically for Asian palates, with a maltier taste than U.S. and European dairy-free milk.

Clean, natural oat milk

“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,” Lim said in a statement earlier this year.

“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 out our own production line that allowed us more customization and control over the oat extraction process.”

Oatside says it has eliminated non-natural ingredients as part of its clean label approach. The company says it only contains ingredients that “everyone can pronounce and understand.”

Full stack

The young company also says it’s operating as a full stack producer, controlling its supply chain—oats come from Australia—and its manufacturing. It currently offers three flavors: Chocolate, Barista Blends and Chocolate Hazelnut.

“We are excited to be a part of the Oatside journey,” Tai Lin, managing partner at Proterra ASia said in a earlier this year following the company’s pre-Series A raise. “Plant-based milk is the sustainable future of milk and we believe Oatside will be one of the key drivers of the category in Asia with best-in-class taste.”

Recent data found oat milk is driving growth in the dairy-free sector, with Oatly leading the charge. It expanded its presence in Asia last year with manufacturing plants coming online in China and Singapore.

Lead photo by Oatside.