Morgan Maw is wild about oats. Having been in the business of homegrown oats for ten years, it comes as no surprise that the entrepreneur’s latest venture, Boring Oat Milk, would become a roaring success. Born and raised in Ngāmotu/New Plymouth, Maw recently made the move back from Auckland after sixteen years. With a commerce degree under her belt, the founder possessed an entrepreneurial spirit from early on. “I always knew I wanted to start my own business and being purpose-led was always top of mind,” she explains.

Having gained marketing experience overseas and working for leading coffee brands such as Supreme and Ozone, Maw returned to New Zealand from Scotland in 2013 to start her first oat-centric business, Bonnie. “I was initially drawn to oats because they’re good for you and they’re also a really sustainable grain that grows well in Aotearoa,” says Maw. “Bonnie had a loyal (read: small) fanbase but after a few years, I came to the realisation that my fancy $7 oat crackers were not going to increase the demand for locally-grown New Zealand oats in any massive way and in turn achieve my broader goal to make a positive impact on the land and environment.”

It was this realisation that led Maw to start developing Boring Oat Milk in 2018, with the hopes of creating an everyday staple that was capable of making a difference. Recognisable today for its simplistic packaging, Maw knew that branding was an important consideration when creating her business. Beginning with a wider look at the plant-based milk market, Maw surveyed what others were doing with their branding – and what they weren’t. “Then we did a deep dive into the product itself, asking big questions, such as ‘What is milk?’ ‘What is its function?’ and through this process we came to the not-so-ground-breaking epiphany that although milk is important, it’s not exactly exciting, and nor should it be,” she explains. “It’s coffee, granola, and smoothies that are interesting – they’re the lead singers of the breakfast line up while Boring Oat Milk is on the drums.”

While it’s common knowledge that Aotearoa is a huge producer of dairy, the effect it has on the environment is undeniable. “By pretty much any metric, plant-based milk has a lower environmental impact when compared to milk derived from animals,” says Maw. “With Boring Oat Milk we set out to create a locally made plant-based alternative to dairy using a locally grown primary ingredient that is gentle on the land, good for our soils and additionally, soaks up lots of nitrogen from the soil, which is essential for the health of our land.” Almost two years since its official launch in August 2021, Boring Oat Milk remains the only New Zealand-made oat milk available in supermarkets, as well as being the only plant-based milk brand whose bottles can be recycled via kerbside collections nationwide.