Tucked away at the entrance of Nottingham Castle, Loose Ends is a modern, creative cocktail bar with a real eye for doing things differently. So when it became the 12th business to trial oat milk as default with Udderly Kind, we were excited to see how it would land. The verdict? It went incredibly well.

Oat Milk Is There to Stay 

A few weeks into the trial, we caught up with the team at Loose Ends to see for ourselves how things were going, from how customers had taken to oat milk to whether the switch was going to be permanent. Their answers were overwhelmingly positive, and they offer a great insight for any business thinking about making the change. We asked them three key questions on the day:

1. How has the trial gone at Loose Ends?

“I think it’s gone really well, to be honest. We’re primarily a cocktail bar, so we don’t serve a huge number of coffees, but when we do, roughly 75% are made with oat milk compared to about 25% with dairy milk.”

2. What have you learned from the trial, and what do your customers think?

“Younger customers, those in their mid to late twenties and under, really don’t mind, especially with our oat milk. They’re much more conscious of animal welfare, and most of them are asking for oat milk anyway. For the vegans we cater to, it’s a breath of fresh air. With the older generation, some are more willing to try it than others. Some just want what they’ve always had, and they’re happy sticking with that.”

3. So are you keeping oat as default, and would you recommend it to other businesses?

“Yes, we’re keeping oat as our default going forward. It’s something both our customers and our team really appreciate. I’d completely recommend it to other businesses. Personally, I think it makes a lovely coffee.”

Oat is the New Normal 

Coffee isn’t the main event at a cocktail bar, but when customers do order one, around three in every four were already choosing oat milk. So trialling oat as the default was the natural next step. Best of all, Loose Ends is keeping oat as default going forward. Both customers and staff have embraced it, and the team would wholeheartedly recommend it to other businesses.

Our Udderly Kind campaign has made great progress over the past few months, and we're excited to keep the momentum building by securing more trials. Don't forget, you can help us do so by giving cafés a nudge too.

Want your café to be part of the next round, or know one that should be? Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you.

As always,
For the Animals!