PORTLAND, Ore — A Portland company is producing a first-of-its-kind milk alternative that launched right as the pandemic hit.
You may have seen Take Two Barleymilk on the shelf at your local grocery store. It comes in four flavors -- original unsweetened, chef's blend, chocolate and vanilla.
The company's founders, Matt Olsofky and Sarah Pool, have been running the company together since last spring. Despite the pandemic, the new product has taken off.
According to Take Two's website, barley milk is an environmentally sustainable product that uses spent grain from beer brewing and turns it into food, thus tackling both food waste and dependence on animals for food.
“What traditionally was used as waste was the leftover that's the concentrated nutrition, concentrated barley protein and concentrated barley fiber, and that's what we take,” said Olsofsky.
Olsofky and Pool describe their product as smooth with a buttery touch and lightly toasted malty tone. They say it took them years to start making barley milk.
What makes their success all the more impressive is that the product launched at the start of the pandemic, which brought with it an economic downturn that hit businesses hard across the country.
“With what we’re seeing in terms of business and direct to consumer has really burgeoned and opened up and despite the challenges, we were able to raise capital," said Pool.
Over the last several months, they have been able to expand and are now in stores up and down the West Coast. You can find their barley milk at Whole Foods, Market of Choice and New Seasons.