Almond and oat milk have been two of the key innovations driving the growth of plant-based milks in the U.S. But as consumers get comfortable with their dairy alternative of choice, is there room for one more?
Roxana Saidi, CEO of pistachio milk maker Táche, believes that her brand is poised to beat sizable competitors on flavor. The New York-based brand, which she co-founded with her father, launched this fall and is following a similar strategy as Oatly before it — targeting trendy cafes coupled with a focused social media approach.
Táche is available in two varieties — Original, with 6 grams of added sugar, and Unsweetened. The drinks are available in 32 oz. cartons for a suggested retail price of $7.99, and are available online in six-packs for $48 and will launch in cafes and independent retailers by the end of this year.
Earlier this year, Táche closed a $1.1 million pre-seed funding round, which included former Stoneyfield Farm CEO Gary Hirshberg as an angel investor. Saidi met Hirshberg after competing in the Hirshberg Entrepreneur Institute’s pitch slam, and he has since become a pivotal advisor whom she said has helped grow her network and streamlined the brand’s launch into brick-and-mortar stores.
Prior to Táche, Saidi was the founder of Rx Social, a brand strategy and social media marketing agency which she left last year. The idea for Táche however came in 2015 when she began making her own pistachio milk at home after being unable to find dairy alternatives during a stay in Europe.
“I just started tinkering around in my little kitchen and making all kinds of pistachio milk and I was giving to friends and getting their opinion,” Saidi said. “It was instantly a hit, and I thought why doesn’t this already exist?”
While developing the project, Saidi watched the rise of Oatly and other oat milks in the U.S.,, a development she believed legitimized her vision for a single-ingredient nut milk. She noted that much of the early feedback from consumers was that Táche tasted good enough to drink on its own, as well as to use as a coffee creamer. As well, the product does not contain any added oils making it an alternative to many leading plant-based milks, she added.
Though some pistachio milks have hit the market — Three Trees Organic is one brand using the nut in its non-dairy products — Táche is focusing its branding exclusively around the ingredient. Noting that pistachio is already a popular ice cream option, Saidi believes the brand can build an audience based on superior flavor.
“Seeing that there’s so much love for pistachios already among consumers really does help us,” she said. “We ask people to just taste it on its own and see for yourself, and ask are you getting more out of it from a flavor standpoint, from a pure deliciousness standpoint, than you’re getting out of your almond milk or your oat milk — and the overwhelming majority have have found that it is.”
As the product rolls out into stores, Saidi said the company is targeting specialty coffee and matcha bars in New York, as well as some retail stores. As of this month, the brand was in about 40 doors. Táche has also partnered with CLW Distributors to service cafe chains in the tri-state area. Prior to COVID-19, Saidi said Táche had planned a more aggressive food service-focused strategy, but has since pivoted to focusing on ecommerce first with restaurants as an eventual next step.
Further down the line, Tasche plans to add more products to its pistachio portfolio: a vanilla SKU has already been developed, and single-serve packaging formats are also in the pipeline. However, for the moment, partnering closely with coffee shops has been a means for Táche to grow immediate brand awareness even during the pandemic. The company partnered this month with Maman, a shop located in SoHo, to create a hot chocolate pop-up bar serving drinks made with pistachio milk.
“We’re working with our partners to develop specialty drinks for the holidays with Táche and even permanent specialty drinks for their menus,” she said. “I’m sure [our marketing is] going to evolve and become more focused on long standing things, especially our social media once we really start to ramp that up.”