Regarding plant protein drinks, in addition to coffee blending, "Ouqi" oat milk also wants to bet on the tea track

Plant protein became a little popular in 2019. On the one hand, the listing of artificial meat company Beyond Meat triggered a new round of attention on "plant protein". On the other hand, large companies are also continuously increasing their investment in product research and development in this field.

Compared with animal protein, plant protein has many advantages: fewer artificial additives, gluten-free, low in cholesterol, and friendly to people who are health-conscious and lactose-intolerant; at the same time, the production of plant protein requires less water and carbon emissions, so it can be said to be "environmentally friendly."

Recently, 36Kr has contacted an emerging brand called "Ouqi", which is also optimistic about the potential of the plant protein market and focuses on oat milk products. Currently, Ouqi has two series: the Coffee Blending Master Series, which is used for B-end merchant customers to mix beverages (such as coffee, milk tea, bars, healthy dining, etc.), and the other is the direct drink series, which is used for direct retail and sold to C-end consumers.

Founder Wang Xin told 36Kr that in terms of product strategy, Ouqi also plans to first promote 2B and then 2C, which is similar to Oatly's promotion strategy, but there are several differences between the two:

• In terms of products, Ochi tried to make its oat milk products more in line with the Chinese market, making the original single oat milk taste richer and mellower. Secondly, it made some improvements based on the needs of the Chinese coffee market, such as increasing the appearance of grains and improving the formation of the latte art (focusing on the Chinese preference for latte-type coffee drinks).

• Similarly, in cooperating with the B-end, Ouqi's partners are not limited to the coffee industry. The company has also expanded its potential partners to the maternal and infant market, airline catering, elderly care, and the tea beverage market, which is more preferred by Chinese people and has a larger market size.

• In terms of price, imported oat milk brands do not have any cooperative factories in China, so the prices are relatively high. Ouqi has its own enzymatic technology team and cooperates with mature domestic factories, so its price is more suitable for mass consumption.

The Coffee Master series of products has just been launched, and has already started cooperation with some regional distributors. It has also been launched online on Youzan Mall and some community group buying platforms. The series of products for retail will be launched in the second half of this year.

In terms of the team, founder Wang Xin and the founding team have more than 10 years of experience in the food, beverage and financial industries, and have accumulated many years of experience in resource integration and product development capabilities. The team is currently seeking financing.

Regarding companies related to plant protein drinks, we have reported on the liquid nuts "Holoss" and the Swedish oat milk brand Oatly. In addition, Doubendou, Vitasoy Soy Milk, Weiyi Soy Milk, Coconut Milk, Lulu, Six Walnuts, Peanut Milk, etc. are all relatively well-known products in plant protein drinks.

In the international market, HP Hood, a dairy company with more than 170 years of history, also launched its oat milk series Planet Oat at the end of 2018, and plans to invest 16 billion in this emerging market; Halsa Foods launched its oat yogurt product (Oatgurt) in early 2018; Silk, a vegetarian brand under WhiteWave Foods, launched the oat milk drink Oat Yeah; American Greek yogurt brand Chobani also launched its oat product line Chobani Oat at the end of 2019, including oat drinks, oat mixed cups, barista-blended oat drinks and coffee creamer.