Oatbox to manufacture an oat milk base for eastern Canada and Northeastern U.S.

MONTREAL — Canada-based startup Oatbox, closed a C$7.1 million financing round from financial partners including Desjardins Group, the Government of Quebec, through its representative Investissement Québec and Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED).

This funding will enable Oatbox to finalize the construction its own oat base manufacturing facility. Located in St-Damase, Quebec, the plant will allow Oatbox to develop a wide range of plant-based oat products, such as beverages, as well as partner with companies requiring oat base for their operations.

“This funding is a strong endorsement of our business plan and will allow us to have excess production capacity in order to sell oat base to other food processors in Eastern Canada or the Northeastern part of the United States,” said Marc-Antoine Bovet, co-founder and President, Oatbox. “There is a shortage of quality oat base on the market. However, it is a perishable product. Both food processors and consumers will benefit from a fresher product, as it is processed locally and transported over shorter distances.”

Oat base is the main ingredient in oat milk and its many oat-based derivatives: ice cream, yogurt, frozen desserts, cream cheese and any other product that uses milk and is looking for a plant-based alternative.

Oatbox has been working for two years on the development of its Canadian oat milk. The financial support will be used to finalize the construction of the production line. The new plant exceeds Oatbox’s needs for its own product lines.

Desjardins has been supporting Oatbox for several years. In this new round of financing, the cooperative provides financing for production equipment as well as an operating credit to the company.

The Government of Quebec, through its representative Investissement Québec, is also contributing to the project via its ESSOR program.

“This new plant will allow Oatbox to achieve two important goals for our government: innovate through product development and increase our exports. The market for oat-based products is growing, and Oatbox stands out,” said Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Minister responsible for Regional Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Metropolis and the Montréal Region.