Two products. One independent panel. Assessed on merit.
Both MYOM Original Oat and MYOM Barista Oat have earned the Vegan Choice Award stamp of approval for 2026.
The Vegan Choice Awards are not your typical food industry accolade. There is no “Best” or “Gold” categories, no paid entry, no awards calendar to win. Products are assessed year-round by an independent panel of nutritionists, chefs, industry experts and business professionals, with blind testing at the heart of the process. Recognition is earned purely on merit, continuously. That is exactly why the stamp carries weight with consumers. It is a signal of trust, not a signal of puff.
To mark the moment, Louise Jane, founder and CEO of The Vegan Choice Awards, sat down with our founder Mike Curtis for a proper CEO to CEO conversation. And because we know Louise's followers are exactly our kind of people, we've unlocked £8 off both bundles. More on that below.
What Louise had to say about MYOM
Before we get into the interview, a few words from Louise herself, taken from her full endorsement of MYOM.
“MYOM is easily one of my favourite finds ever. They are a brand that fills a gap in my life I didn't even realise existed.”
“As someone constantly on the go, their oat milk has made a world of difference. Because it's a concentrated premix, I can whip up a fresh bottle whenever and wherever just by adding water. Unlike other alternatives, it mixes effortlessly with zero bits or powdery texture. The biggest win is the convenience. It saves me from carrying heavy cartons around and frees up fridge space at home.”
“The quality of MYOM is leagues ahead of your standard supermarket oat drinks. You can see and taste the difference immediately. It's noticeably whiter, thicker, and far creamier than the watered-down versions we've grown used to. By ditching the usual ‘90% water' filler and focusing on a high oat content without added rubbish like dipotassium phosphate or unnecessary sugars, they've created the silkiest milk imaginable.”
“Beyond the taste, it's a brand that aligns perfectly with a conscious way of living. It's better for the planet and a lot more sustainable than your usual oat milks. I'm also incredibly impressed by the nutritional profile. It's thoughtfully fortified with Calcium, Vitamin D3, B12, and Iodine, even boasting more calcium than dairy.”
“Smart, sustainable, and seriously delicious. It is the upgrade you have been waiting for.”
Louise Jane, Founder and CEO, The Vegan Choice Awards.
Why a Vegan Choice Award actually means something
Most food awards follow a similar playbook. A brand pays an entry fee, submits a product within a specific category (“Best Oat Milk”, “Best Plant Based Drink”) during a fixed awards window, a judging round happens, and the winners are announced at a ceremony. It works, but the truth is that people are left trying to figure out whether a badge reflects quality or marketing puffery.
The Vegan Choice Awards are deliberately built the other way round. No entry fee. No categories. No awards night. Just rigorous, ongoing, independent assessment of products available to everyday shoppers. That matters because it means the stamp you see on a product is a genuine, helpful validation.
A few things in particular set the VCA apart.
- Not pay to play. There is no entry fee at any stage. Brands cannot buy their way in. Products are independently assessed by a panel of nutritionists, chefs, industry experts and business professionals, with blind testing used where relevant.
- Year-round assessment. Products are reviewed continuously, not within a fixed awards window. Recognition is earned on merit, not on timing or which PR cycle a brand happens to be in.
- A genuine stamp of approval. The award is designed to build trust with a growing, discerning consumer group. It acts as a shortcut for shoppers navigating a category that has become difficult to navigate on your own.
Both MYOM Original and MYOM Barista earned the stamp on their own merits. We're genuinely chuffed.
Louise Jane in conversation with Mike Curtis
Can you share the MYOM origin story? Was there a “lightbulb moment”?
MC: The lightbulb moment came in 2020. I was listening to the CEO of Dubai Airports describe the Dubai milk supply as “a 747 from Belgium, every single day.” It genuinely stopped me in my tracks.
We're flying what is essentially water, chilled, across thousands of miles, with a short shelf life. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.
The climate case for plant-based drinks was already clear, but the category itself hadn't challenged the distribution system at a product level. Dairy built the system, and plant-based simply followed it. No one was questioning the core assumption. Shipping 90% water around the world in a multi-layer carton.
It didn't add up. So, I came back to the UK with a clear mission. Don't add water and build something better for both the planet and the shopper.
What did the journey look like from idea to finished product?
MC: Long, and at times very humbling. We started R&D in October 2022. What sounded simple, “don't add water, put a base blend in a pouch”, turned into two years of serious food development science.
We brought together an exceptional team, including Sarah King (ex-Innocent), a registered nutritionist, and other plant-based specialists. The challenge was that no one had ever created an oat blend like this while keeping it stable, ambient and great tasting. There was no playbook.
It became a proper test, fail, refine cycle. The goal was always clear. Deliver something shelf-stable without compromising on taste, nutrition or price. The result is a fresher, creamier oat drink with far less waste, in a 130g pouch versus 1000g for a standard 1l carton.
What sets MYOM apart from other oat milks?
MC: Pretty much everything. Most oat drinks are about 90% water, shipped in carton packaging that in itself weighs more than the oats inside. We flipped that model.
MYOM is a premix oat blend in a small, letterbox friendly pack. You add water when you need it, so what ends up in your glass tastes freshly made. That means a clean taste, no fridge space until you mix it, and less waste and lower transport impact. And because we're not adding water upfront, we don't need the additives often used to keep cartons stable for months. It’s the water that creates the challenge.
You've won awards for taste. How do you achieve that without gums or thickeners?
MC: If you start with a properly built oat base, you don't need gums or thickeners. The ingredients themselves provide the body. The challenge is stability. At that concentration, emulsions are genuinely difficult to hold. So instead of adding shortcuts, we engineered the process. High shear blending creates a stable emulsion that holds naturally. That's where the creaminess comes from. Oats properly processed.
Why was keeping the ingredient list clean so important?
MC: Because if you look at most oat cartons, you'll find things like dipotassium phosphate, other acidity regulators or emulsifiers, and sometimes added sugar. Most of that is there to make a water heavy product survive long supply chains. Take the water out and get the process right, and you simply don't need to add anything beyond positive fortification. From day one, our rule was simple. If we can't justify an ingredient, it doesn't go in.
What's left is what people expect. Oats, rapeseed oil, salt, and fortification. No thickeners. No phosphates. No added sugar.
Why choose a liquid concentrate over a powder?
MC: We explored powder and deliberately avoided it. Powder requires spray drying, which is more energy intensive than the transport savings gained. Powders typically use carriers like maltodextrin or corn fibre so the oats can survive drying and rehydration. That carrier is there because the process requires it, not because the product does. It can also affect taste and texture, often leaving that slightly chalky feel.
A liquid blend keeps the oats closer to their natural extracted state. It mixes cleanly and quickly with cold water, with no blender needed and no residue. The trade-off is complexity. Stabilising a liquid blend at ambient temperature in a small pouch is genuinely hard. But solving that gives you something much closer to fresh oat milk, because you're effectively making it on the spot.
What's your biggest sustainability win so far?
MC: It depends which metric you look at. The pouch weighs about 6g and is recyclable mono-material, compared to roughly 35g for a multi-layer carton that's harder to recycle.
Then there's transport. Without water, we're shipping a fraction of the volume, so fewer trucks, fewer emissions, and no chilled supply chain. And at home, you only make what you need, so there's less waste.
We've turned a fridge product into a cupboard product without compromising what goes into your glass.
Were the small pouches designed for portability?
MC: Yes, completely intentional. “Postable” was a design constraint from the start. We wanted something that fits through a letterbox, sits in a cupboard, or travels easily. A 65g pouch makes 500ml. A 130g pouch makes a litre. You're carrying the blend, not the water, and making it when you need it. That flexibility is what people really connect with.
What about nutrition, especially calcium?
MC: This is an important one. MYOM is fortified with calcium, vitamin D3, B12 and iodine. The key nutrients that come up when moving away from dairy. We've gone slightly above dairy on calcium, which surprises people.
B12 is essential for plant-based diets, and iodine is often overlooked, particularly in the UK, where dairy has traditionally been a main source. We worked closely with our nutritionist to ensure everything is properly bioavailable, not just a label declaration.
What's the difference between Original and Barista?
MC: Original is your everyday oat drink. Cleaner flavour, lower fat, perfect for tea, cereal and smoothies.
Barista is designed for coffee. It has a different fat profile and adds fava bean protein for microfoam and heat stability. Getting Barista right was one of the toughest parts of development.
If coffee matters to you, go Barista. If you're more tea and cereal, go Original. A lot of people end up using both.
Two bundles. One code. £8 off either one.
To celebrate both MYOM Original Oat and MYOM Barista Oat earning the Vegan Choice Award stamp of approval for 2026, we've unlocked an exclusive launch offer. Use code MYOMXVC26 at checkout on either bundle below. The offer is valid until 31 May 2026.
MYOM 1L Original Oat Everyday Bundle
For tea, cereal, smoothies and your everyday oat milk.
- Was £20.99
- Now £12.99 with code MYOMXVC26
- You save £8. Around 38% off.
MYOM 1L Barista Oat Everyday Bundle
For flat whites, lattes, and anyone who takes their coffee seriously.
- Was £18.99
- Now £10.99 with code MYOMXVC26
- You save £8. Around 42% off.
One code. Two bundles. £8 off either one. Use MYOMXVC26 at checkout.
Thank you to Louise and the team at The Vegan Choice Awards. We're proud to wear the badge. And prouder still that readers like you are part of the shift.
Frequently asked questions
What is MYOM oat milk?
MYOM is a concentrated oat milk premix that you mix with water at home. Instead of shipping a carton that's mostly water, MYOM comes as a small, recyclable pouch of oat blend. A 65g pouch makes 500ml of oat milk. A 130g pouch makes a full litre. The result is a fresher, creamier drink that lives in your cupboard, not your fridge.
What's the difference between MYOM Original and MYOM Barista?
MYOM Original Oat is an everyday oat drink with a cleaner flavour and lower fat profile, ideal for tea, cereal and smoothies. MYOM Barista Oat has a different fat profile and added fava bean protein to deliver the microfoam, stretch and heat stability that coffee demands. Both earned the Vegan Choice Award stamp of approval for 2026.
What's in MYOM oat milk-free premix?
MYOM contains oats, rapeseed oil, salt and fortification (calcium, vitamin D3, vitamin B12 and iodine). There are no thickeners, no gums, no dipotassium phosphate and no added sugar. The Barista blend also includes fava bean protein for coffee performance.
How much oat milk does a MYOM pouch make?
A 65g MYOM pouch makes 500ml of oat milk. A 130g pouch makes 1 litre. Just add cold water and shake.
Is MYOM better for the environment than carton oat milk?
MYOM's pouch weighs around 6g and is made from recyclable mono-material. A standard multi-layer carton weighs roughly 35g and is harder to recycle. Because we ship the blend without the water, transport volumes drop dramatically and no chilled supply chain is needed. Less packaging, fewer trucks, no fridge until mixed.
Does MYOM need to be refrigerated?
Unmixed MYOM pouches are shelf-stable and belong in the cupboard. Once mixed with water, treat the finished oat drink like any fresh oat drink and keep it refrigerated.
How do you make oat milk with MYOM?
Add half the water and squeeze the pouch contents into a bottle or jug and shake. Top up to taste. No blender, no heating, no powdery residue. The full instructions are printed on each pouch.
Is MYOM suitable for vegans?
Yes. MYOM is fully plant-based, suitable for vegans, and carries the Vegan Choice Award 2026 stamp of approval for both Original and Barista variants. MYOM contains no animal-derived ingredients or by-products at any stage of production. Every ingredient, from the oats and rapeseed oil to the added vitamins and minerals, is plant-based and suitable for a vegan lifestyle. Unlike some fortified drinks that use animal-derived vitamin D₃, MYOM uses a vegan-certified source derived from lichen, ensuring both variants remain fully suitable for vegans while still providing the same nutritional benefits as fortified dairy milk.
Does MYOM have more calcium than dairy milk?
Yes. MYOM is fortified slightly above the calcium level of dairy milk, alongside vitamin D3, vitamin B12 and iodine, the four nutrients most cited when moving away from dairy.
How do I use the MYOMXVC26 discount code?
Add either the MYOM 1L Original Everyday Bundle or the MYOM 1L Barista Everyday Bundle to your basket at myom.shop, then enter MYOMXVC26 at checkout. You will save £8 on either bundle. The offer is valid until 31 May 2026.
Try the oat milk the Vegan Choice Awards approved
If you're new to MYOM, start with Original. If coffee is your thing, go straight to Barista. Either way, the code is MYOMXVC26 and the saving is £8.
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