Does the world need another oat milk? The founding team behind Ghost Town Oats, a new oat milk venture backed by specialty coffee experts Michelle Johnson, Ezra Baker and Eric J. Grimm, would argue that it depends on what you mean by ‘another.’ .
As a whole, plant-based milks have benefitted from ticking boxes across multiple areas of consumer interest, most notably through sustainability and allergen-friendly claims. Yet Ghost Town, which is currently aiming to raise $1 million via equity crowdfunding platform WeFunder, is aiming for something less straightforward; as Johnson explains, the Black-owned brand is a measured act of resistance against the pretentious, sometimes hostile energy that they witnessed over the course of decades working in the premium coffee industry.
As that space has evolved to become more vibrant and inclusive in recent years, the team at Ghost Town now sees an opportunity to reflect that change from a plant-based perspective.
“What we’re seeing in coffee is that it has now created a space where so many different types of people can come to the table and be a part of that, so we are trying to bring that to plant based milk,” said Johnson. “So what if we created something that doesn’t sound a certain way or use a ton of words and isn’t so focused on you know, being super hyper healthy? Because not everyone has the opportunities or the resources to be able to eat better and eat well, but we still make them feel like they’re part of something that is growing.”
The product reflects its co-founders’ deep experience within the specialty coffee industry, as it proudly calls out “made by baristas” on mock-up images of its 32 oz. carton. When product begins rolling out this summer, Ghost Town plans to lean into its team’s roots in hospitality and cafes by focusing on coffee shops in Los Angeles while chipping away at a waitlist of “over 100 coffee companies across the U.S. and Canada,” according to Grimm. The product, available at flea markets and select pop-up events in Los Angeles, will aim for a $4.99 MSRP when it formally launches.
But the group is also linked by their shared advocacy for BIPOC coffee professionals, a subject that Johnson has written extensively on the subject on her blog The Chocolate Barista and for various publications. The brand’s long term goal is to help introduce high quality oat milk to communities without many, if any, plant-based options. The company’s name is a reference to “places that have been abandoned,” Johnson said, adding that “one of the things that gets us going… is to get oat milk to those abandoned places.”
“We don’t have a lifestyle that we’re trying to sell to you,” he said. “Like when you think of an oat milk drinker, there’s some thoughts that come to mind about who those people are and what they do, and we’re not trying to push anything on anybody. We want to fit into your lifestyle already.”