Oak (flavoured milk) explained

Oak
Type:	Flavoured milk
Manufacturer:	Lactalis
Origin:	Australia
Introduced:	1967
Variants:	Full cream, light and strong flavours
Region:	New South Wales

Oak (stylised OAK) is an Australian pasteurised flavoured milk brand owned by a French multinational corporation, Lactalis. It was first established in 1967 in New South Wales, as the general dairy brand of the Raymond Terrace Co-operative and its successor the Hunter Valley Co-operative Dairy Company. The origin of the Oak brand goes back to 1903.^[1] Oak flavoured milk was launched in Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria in 1998. It was discontinued in Victoria in 2006 but relaunched in 2010. Oak launched in Western Australia in October 2013.^{[2] [3]}

Products

Oak flavoured milk comes in the following flavours:^[4]

• Chocolate (core product)
• Strawberry (core product)
• Banana (core product)
• Vanilla Malt (core product)
• Iced Coffee^[5]
• Egg Nog^[6] (available in South Australia)
• Gold Caramel White Chocolate^[7] (launched May 2020)

In collaboration with Allen's (a confectionery company owned by Nestlé) and Nestlé, Oak has also offered the following limited edition flavoured kinds of milk:^[8]

• Allen's Jaffas^[9] (launched October 2019 – no longer available)
• Allen's Red Skins^[10] (launched October 2019
• Allen's Chokito^[11] (launched October 2019
• Allen's Pineapples^[12] (launched April 2020)
• Nestle Peppermint Crisp^[13] (launched April 2020)
• Allen's Fantales^[14] (launched April 2020)

Oak limited edition flavours are no longer available:

• Cookies & Cream^[15] (launched September 2015)
• Strong Iced Coffee^[16] (launched March 2016)

• Mocha^[17] (launched October 2018)
• Cinnamon Donut^[18] (launched August 2019, exclusive to Woolworths)

In collaboration with 7-Eleven, Oak released the following limited edition flavours exclusively for their stores:

• Mocha^[19] (launched March 2015, re-released as non-exclusive in October 2018)
• Choc Peanut Butter^[20] (launched July 2015)
• Caramel Coffee^[21] (launched June 2016)
• Choc Malt^[22] (launched April 2017)
• Blue Heaven^[23] (launched October 2017)
• Lime Spider^[24] (launched March 2018)
• Caramel Popcorn^[25] (launched September 2018)
• Rocky Road^[26] (launched March 2019)
• Cola Spider^[27] (launched October 2019)

Oak also mocked up packaging for, but never produced, the following flavours:

• Vegan Carob^[28] (part of an advertising campaign that mocked vegan foods)^[29]
• Choc Hazelnut^[30] (proposed new 7-Eleven exclusive flavour that lost in selection competition to Blue Heaven flavour)
• Vanilla Crumble^[31] (proposed new 7-Eleven exclusive flavour that lost in selection competition to Blue Heaven flavour)

Oak has also been sold in frozen chocolate soft serve form (since January 2017) in limited locations seasonally.^[32] Oak also is available in UHT long life format, in strawberry and chocolate flavours.

In 2013, Oak released 'The Max' range, beginning with Cool Choc Mint in May 2013,^[33] Molten Caramel in October 2013^[34] (Oak's first shake to thicken drink), and the limited edition Chilly Choc Chilli in March 2015.^{[35] [36]} In November 2017, the Oak Thick range was also released, that thickens after shaking to give a thick-shake like mouthfeel. It launched in Death by Chocolate,^[37] Vanilla Killa,^[38] Choc Mint,^[39] and Salted Caramel^[40] flavours, at Woolworths. A similar product, Oak mini shake was released in October 2019 in chocolate and strawberry flavours. Oak mini shakes contain less sugar and are sold in 250ml.^[41]

In April 2017, Oak launched Oak Plus, a sports recovery flavoured milk drink, with added protein.^[42] It is available in vanilla,^[43] chocolate,^[44] banana & honey^[45] flavours.

The Oak brand has also stretched across a range of dairy foods in the past, such as ice cream, cottage cheese, butter, custard, cream, and frozen yoghurt.

Nutrition

The nutritional values vary by flavour, however, chocolate, strawberry, banana, vanilla malt, and iced coffee are similar. The Oak Max and Light Chocolate contain approximately 25% fewer calories and approximately half the fat of chocolate milk. In contrast, Egg Nog has approximately 25% more energy and 50% more fat than chocolate milk, and Oak Plus, which was launched in early 2017, contains around 30g more protein. The values for chocolate milk are:

Chocolate Milk	Per 300ml Serve	Per 100ml
Energy	1128kJ	376kJ
Protein	9.9g	3.5g
Fat	10.8g	3.4g
– Saturated	6.6g	2.2g
Carbohydrate	33.0g	11.0g
– Sugars	31.8g	10.6g
Sodium	150 mg	50 mg
Calcium (%RDI*)	345 mg (43%RDI*)	115 mg

Ownership

Since 2019, the Oak brand has been wholly owned by Lactalis – a multinational French dairy and food corporation. Lactalis acquired Parmalat in stages between 2011 and 2019, who in turn acquired the Oak brand from Dairy Farmers in July 2009, six months after Dairy Farmers was bought by National Foods.^[46]

Sponsorship

Oak was the naming rights sponsor of the National Rugby League team, the Penrith Panthers from 2012 until 2024.^{[47] [48]}

Oak has previously been sponsors of the Newcastle Jets, the Newcastle Knights, the Melbourne Stars, and the Port Adelaide Football Club.^{[49] [50] [51]}

Oak Milk Bars

Several Oak-branded milk bars have operated in the Hunter Valley in the past, in locations such as Newcastle, Hexham, and Peats Ridge,^[52] and Freemans Waterhole. Many of the milk bars were mapped out down the main route north of Sydney. There were also stores at Jesmond, Greenhills, Liverpool and Chatswood.

The Oak Milk Bar at Freemans Waterhole still operates as a milk bar.^[53] An Oak Milk Bar opened in Rutherford in September 2020.^[54]

Notes and References

1. News: The Hunter Valley Co-operative Dairy Co. Ltd.. The Muswellbrook Chronicle. 25 March 1947. 15 May 2020.
2. News: Thompson . Brad. 2 July 2014. Parmalat milks local supplies to grow Oak. The West Australian. 16 May 2020.
3. Web site: OAK launches in Western Australia. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
4. Web site: OAK. The Australian Effie Awards. 2014. 17 May 2020.
5. Web site: OAK Iced Coffee. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
6. Web site: OAK Egg Nog. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
7. Web site: OAK Gold. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
8. News: Oak flavoured milk launches lolly range with Allen's and Nestle. Perth Now. Perth. 29 April 2020. 15 May 2020.
9. Web site: OAK Allen's Jaffas. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
10. Web site: OAK Allen's Red Skins. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
11. Web site: OAK Allen's Chokito. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
12. Web site: OAK Allen's Pineapples. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
13. Web site: OAK Nestle Peppermint Crisp. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
14. Web site: OAK Allen's Fantales. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
15. Web site: OAK Cookies & Cream. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
16. Web site: OAK Strong Iced Coffee. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
17. Web site: OAK Mocha. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
18. Web site: OAK Cinnamon Donut. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
19. Web site: OAK Mocha. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
20. Web site: OAK Choc Peanut Butter. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
21. Web site: OAK Caramel Coffee. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
22. Web site: OAK Choc Malt. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
23. Web site: OAK Blue Heaven. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
24. Web site: OAK Lime Spider. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
25. Web site: OAK Caramel Popcorn. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
26. Web site: OAK Rocky Road. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
27. Web site: OAK Cola Spider. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
28. Web site: OAK Vegan Carob. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
29. News: Oak milk ad calling vegan sausages 'pathetic' upsets Aussie vegans. News.com.au. Sydney. 8 September 2016. 17 May 2020.
30. Web site: OAK Choc Hazelnut. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
31. Web site: OAK Vanilla Crumble. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
32. Web site: Frozen OAK Chocolate. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
33. Web site: OAK THE MAX Cool Choc Mint. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
34. Web site: OAK THE MAX Molten Caramel. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
35. Web site: OAK THE MAX Chilly Choc Chili. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
36. Web site: OAK THE MAX Range. Lactalis Australia Pty Ltd. 16 May 2020.
37. Web site: OAK Thick Death by Chocolate. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
38. Web site: OAK Thick Vanilla Killa. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
39. Web site: OAK Thick Choc Mint. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
40. Web site: OAK Salted Caramel. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
41. Web site: OAK mini shake. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
42. Web site: OAK Plus: the drink that makes going to the gym worth it – delicious.com.au. 27 April 2017. Delicious.com.au. 2 June 2017.
43. Web site: OAK Plus Vanilla. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
44. Web site: OAK Plus Chocolate. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
45. Web site: OAK Plus Banana & Honey. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
46. Web site: Parmalat completes purchase of Nat Foods assets | Australian Food News . Ausfoodnews.com.au . 2009-07-30 . 2012-03-11.
47. Web site: Penrith Panthers extend with shirt sponsor Oak. 26 September 2019. SportBusiness. 16 May 2020.
48. https://web.archive.org/web/20230629010726/https://westernweekender.com.au/2023/06/exclusive-sponsorship-shake-up-as-oak-exits-front-of-penriths-playing-strip-from-2024/ Sponsorship shake up as Oak exits front of Penrith's playing strip from 2024
49. Web site: Port Adelaide thanks Lactalis Australia for their outstanding support since 2015. 13 September 2019 . Port Adelaide Football Club. 16 May 2020.
50. Web site: OAK Plus to power Melbourne Stars as official hydration partner. Melbourne Stars. 17 May 2020.
51. Web site: OAK join Jets and Knights. 6 February 2012 . Newcastle Jets. 17 May 2020.
52. Web site: Peats Ridge. Mangrove Mountain . 11 March 2012.
53. Web site: OAK Milk Bar Freemans Waterhole. Facebook. 17 May 2020.
54. Web site: OAK Dairy Bar. Facebook. 4 December 2020.