Seeking to Make Plant-Based Milk More Affordable, PlantBaby Launches Kiki Butter for Spreading and Blending

Kids nutrition company PlantBaby is making its first foray into food with the launch of Kiki Butter, a multi-use spreadable and blendable oat and seed butter.

Founded in 2020, the Hawaii-based company launched its first product line, Kiki Milk organic non-dairy milk, online in December 2021. According to co-founders Lauren and Alex Abelin, the new butter is intended to “make Kiki Milk more affordable without compromising the quality of ingredients.” Available in Original flavor for $14 per 8 oz. jar. (yielding 75 oz. of milk), the oat and seed butter cuts the cost per ounce nearly in half when compared to the 12-pack of 8 oz. Kiki Milk. The line is set to expand with Mermaid and Unsweetened flavors in the coming months.

“After seeing if at-home kits would work, we realized we could blend all of the organic ingredients into an oat-and-seed butter and make milk with it,” the duo said in a press release.

Other competitors looking to the alt-based milk set include JOI, Goodmylk Co., SPIN and Planut Goods, also launching alternative dairy concentrates. Available in a range of formats including powders, pastes and frozen cube formats, brands claim these products offer consumers a more affordable, cleaner, fresher, more sustainable and more versatile alternative to traditional alt-dairy offerings.

According to a recent report by the Good Food Institute and the Plant Based Food Association, plant-based milk currently accounts for 15% of all dollar sales for retail milk in large part due to its move into the refrigerated milk set which was key in reaching a mainstream consumer base.

Last year, PlantBaby announced it had closed a $4 million seed round led by Big Adventures and The Fund LA. Big Idea Ventures – which has also invested in plant-based brands such as Uproot, No Evil Foods and The Mushroom Meat Co. among others – is poised to help connect the company to retailers and other potential partners, Abelin previously told NOSH.

Looking ahead, the company plans to continue its move into retail with small natural channel grocers in the Pacific Northwest before expanding into mass and club retailers down the line.