Danone UK and Ireland’s plant-based brand, Alpro, has announced a multi-million-pound investment in bringing 100% British oats to its oat beverages.

The alt-milk specialist has teamed up with the Navara oat mill in Kettering, UK, to source the oats locally and directly from British farmers. The oat mill is less than ten miles away from Alpro’s own factory, with most of the farmer suppliers within 80 miles of the mill.

These changes in oat sourcing and production process will significantly cut food miles while supporting local farmers by giving them new avenues for their crops, Alpro said.

According to Circana, sales of oat drinks have reached more than £275 million in the UK – up from £155 million five years ago, making up two-fifths of all plant-based drink sales this year. However, only 1% of the oat drinks sold in the UK have been guaranteed to be made from 100% British oats, Circana’s data reveals.

Alpro said its investment into British oats will significantly increase the percentage of oats sourced locally in the market. The investment has expanded Danone’s Alpro site in Kettering, where around 58 million litres of the British oat drink are planned to be produced annually, equating to a quarter of the site’s annual production of plant-based drinks.

Jon Ruberry, category marketing director for Danone UK and Ireland, said: “We continue to see a big appetite amongst consumers for healthy, plant-based products, with half of plant-based shoppers driven by health”.

“We are confident in the future of the plant-based category and this expansion is a key part of our ambition to bring greater choice to supermarket shelves, meeting the rising consumer demand in a way that benefits local communities and farmers.”

James Skidmore, managing director of Navara Oat Milling, commented: “The rise in the use of plant-based food ingredients has certainly brought changes to the farming industry – however, this exciting new investment by Danone has opened up more opportunities for oat famers to broaden the products they produce and markets that they grow for. When businesses back British agriculture, famers have more options for their crops, leading to increased resilience and potential for growth.”

The announcement builds on Alpro’s previous £41 million investment into the Kettering facility, which saw the installation of new equipment to reduce energy consumption and cut CO2 and water usage.