Plant-based milk company Malk Organics LLC has landed on the shelves in about 3,200 stores, including locations of Whole Foods Market Inc. and Sprouts Farmers Market Inc.
Malk, which was founded in 2015, prides itself on simple recipes containing three to five ingredients. One year ago, the Austin-based company had its products — which include almond milk and oat milk — available in 1,500 stores, CEO Jason Bronstad said.
By the end of this year, it plans to be in more than 4,000.
Its milk does not contain emulsifiers or gums, which are often used to stop plant-based milks from separating, and Bronstad believes Malk is opening up a premium space in the alternative milk sector by simplifying ingredients. The caveat is that a consumer has to shake up the bottle to bring the drink back to its milky consistency — but Bronstad said this has not been an issue with customers who want to limit their intake of gums and emulsifiers.
Beyond retail, Malk is expanding its reach by adding more products. For example, Austin-based Whole Foods recently picked up its vanilla oat milk for all 500-plus stores. Malk announced Aug. 9 its new latest flavor, chocolate oat milk, and is slowly introducing it in the Rocky Mountains, Southwest and Northeast regions.
Almond milk is the largest segment of plant-based milks, but oat milk is the fastest-growing. Almond milk accounts for 59% of the plant-based milk category, whereas oat milk makes up about 17% of sales but has grown its share more than 44 times in the past three years, according to SPINS, which tracks data on natural, organic and specialty products.
"So as we're working with retailers on the expansion, we want to make sure that we're meeting the needs of the customers and what their customers are currently buying in their stores," Bronstad said.
In addition to Sprouts and Whole Foods, Malk is expanding in smaller grocery chains such as Erewhon Market, Gelson’s, Mom’s, Nugget Markets, Harris Teeter and Acme Ohio, rolling out and continuing into the fall.
Bronstad said his team is bullish on its ability to grow sales, expecting revenue growth to hit 50% or more this year compared with last.
Malk has just over a dozen employees and expects to grow to 18 or 20 by this time next year, Bronstad said. He declined to disclose whether the company has raised outside capital.
