Meghan Markle got out of the palace, and into a startup. Before we talk more about that, a bit of lactose history.
‘Got Milk?’, the 1993 campaign that promoted milk drinking, went on to become an advertising and cultural lodestar over subsequent years. It featured celebrities and pop culture characters with a milk moustache over their lips, extolling the virtues of the calcium-building beverage.
But we are not in Kansas anymore. Today, if you ask someone if they’ve ‘Got Milk?’, they’re likely to say, “Which one?” In the era of veganism, there is alt-milk, which comprises soy, cashew, almond, hazelnut, rice, coconut and a few more, including this year’s hot new investment – oat milk.
On Monday, December 14, Markle, the actress and Duchess of Sussex, announced an investment in an instant oat milk latte startup named Clevr Brands. The company, led by CEO Hannah Mendoza, is just a year old, and says its products meet the three yardsticks of approval in the contemporary world – they are sustainable, ethically sourced and healthy.
From Markle’s statements, it seems her investments are driven by a product’s merits as well as ethics.
"This investment is in support of a passionate female entrepreneur who prioritises building community alongside her business," Markle said in a statement. "I'm proud to invest in Hannah's commitment to sourcing ethical ingredients and creating a product that I personally love and has a holistic approach to wellness."
In July, oat milk had received a high voltage profile boost when a starry collection of investors led by Blackstone Group, and including Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, Natalie Portman and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, invested in the Swedish brand Oatly. Their combined stake in the company was worth $200 million, and it took Oatly’s value to $2 billion.
The Guardian quoted Oatly CEO Toni Petersson saying that getting an investor such as Blackstone on board was proof that the world is heading in a “new, more sustainable direction”.“Investments from firms like Blackstone in companies like Oatly are a critical step in securing a future of focused green investment, and focuses on urgent, systemic efforts to address the climate crisis,” Petersson said.
Clevr Brands, which began as a pop-up coffee bar, has an equally conscientious image. According to the company website, it uses only organic or non-GMO (genetically modified organisms) ingredients. It also says that the company's shipping materials are 100 percent post consumer recycled and 100 percent recyclable. The company prioritises "working with smaller, family run ingredient suppliers or those with more transparent supply chains," according to the website.
Markle’s investment is another point in the favour of alt-milk. These days, it seems that uneasily lies the crown, and gut, that drinks traditional animal milk.
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