In a new series, we aim to highlight some of the great work being done by companies to reduce their impact on the environment and make shopping consciously easier for consumers.
Beloved of mullet-donning baristas, Minor Figures is without a doubt considered to be the coolest alternative milk brand on the shelves right now. But there’s a lot more to the brand than slick branding and gold-plated cool credentials:
The Background: Founded by a group of baristas and coffee fanatics with roots in the speciality and independent coffee industry. Creators of music collaboration project MinorFigures.FM, browser games, and a range of merch from hats, to badges to t-shirts, everything the brand does is plant-based, barista standard, and 100% carbon neutral.
The Product: Opting for non-dairy milk, is much better for the environment than cow’s milk, in terms of land use, water and the generation of greenhouse gases, according to Sciencefocus.com. That same publication ranked oat milk as being the fourth least impactful of the most popular milk on the market right now, just behind Almond milk. Of all the oat milks on the market, I would say that Minor Figures is the best, not too sweet or synthetic in taste and thick enough to hold its own against a cup of tea or a bowl of porridge. Their signature Oat M*lk range, Barista Oat, wasn’t designed to replicate the taste of dairy, but to perfectly compliment speciality coffee from texture to taste.
The Packaging: With all the Minor Figures packaging you are getting a clean, succinct and well-branded product. It comes in a fully recyclable (and instantly recognisable) carton.
Plus-points: Minor Figures was the first plant-based M*lk company to go carbon neutral in 2018 and is one of less than 5,000 B Corp companies worldwide who are pioneering a new way to do business. They offset all carbon emissions they produce, from grinding their coffee beans to transporting their cartons.
Drawbacks: Like a lot of other oat milk brands it uses oats from around the EU and the UK, which considering the perfect oat-growing climate we have here is a little disappointing. Currently produced by our closest neighbour, the UK, which all considering isn’t too bad (especially when you consider where some of its competitors produce from).
Disposing of the packaging: Rinse it out and pop it in the recycling bin, or if you are so inclined hang on to it since it is a very aesthetically pleasing carton.
Stocklists: Now available online at minorfigures.com and in stockists nationwide including Tesco, Dunnes Stores, SuperValu, as well as Independent and Health Food stores such as Holland & Barrett, Nourish, Evergreen, Fresh, and Donnybrook Fair. You can also find Minor Figures being served up in speciality coffee shops all over the country.
Pricepoint: Oat beverages €2.49-€2.69, RTD Oat coffee cans €2.49
Likelihood of buying again: 100%, it’s the oat milk brand I’d snatch first from the shelf.
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