Bricco Blends

In pursuit of fresh, local oat milk

Dear Diary Coffee owner, Amalia Litsa has been actively working to bring fresh, locally made oat milk to Austin, TX. Her ultimate goal is to drive down the cost of oat milk for small coffee businesses like her own.

The margins on oat milk lattes is 300% lower than cow milk lattes. The high cost of plant milk is unsustainable for vegan coffee shops, and a reason why there are so few in America.

Oat milk rivals cow milk in Central Austin, so much so that the “vegan tax” doesn’t cut it. Coffee shops are imposing new up-charges such as to-go cup fees. Overall, the cost of making a good cup of coffee is outpacing consumer tolerance for increased prices. Small business is disproportionally affected since they lack the buying power of national chains.

Aside from its economic impact, the environmental impact of oat milk has room for improvement. Although oat milk is environmentally friendly product compared to its alternatives, it is almost always shipped across the country, and barista milk, at least, is packaged in cartons that cannot be recycled in most cities. Local oat milk would address these issues.

Where is Bricco Blends?

Litsa began developing Bricco Blends oat milk in October of 2020. She financed research and development out-of-pocket. The product made it all the way to Beta where it hit an impasse. Feedback was collected, data was gathered, but Litsa did not have the capital to invest in the next iteration. The product never saw general market launch.

Litsa is used to playing the long game. Dear Diary Coffee is a dream that came true after many years of planning and saving. In the meantime, she is open to partnerships that would accelerate the Bricco Blends project.