Oat of the Ordinary is a BC brand oatmeal blended with organic, gluten-free oats, superfoods, and vegan protein. Packed with health benefits to give “your health a boost and your breakfast a purpose”, we wanted to take a closer look at the story behind the brand and its products. We highlight these aspects and more in this week’s Vendor Story.

What do you produce at Oat of the Ordinary and what products do you offer?

Oat of the Ordinary is a single-serve, gluten-free, vegan, oatmeal made with real ingredients like freeze-dried berries and nutrient-dense cacao and cinnamon giving it a flavour like no other. Each serving offers consumers 11g of plant-based protein, 7g of fibre, and only 3g of sugar. It’s available in three flavours, Blueberry Cinnamon, Cacao Coconut, and Raspberry.

What do you and your company stand for?

Embracing your health journey while having fun in the process.

Through our own health journeys, we found that the day-to-day life left us feeling restricted and exhausted with little room for fun. With the Oat of the Ordinary brand, we want our community to feel supported in eating a healthy, nutritious breakfast (or snack) by being a brand that welcomes everyone, their 'flaws', and the ability to laugh at ourselves and our mistakes throughout our journeys.

We also believe when you start your day off with a healthy breakfast, your next meals will follow suit. Meaning, when you choose to fuel yourself with nutrient-dense ingredients, you're more inclined to stay on track for the rest of the day, and the day after that!

What's the story behind it all?

We don't believe anyone should have to choose between their busy lifestyle and eating clean food. For years we found ourselves on the go and having to compromise our clean eating habits for convenient food with unfavourable ingredients. Not everyone has time to meal prep for their busy days, so we wanted to create something that could keep consumers fuelled, focused, and feeling their best while maintaining their busy schedule.

How do you feel about the Fraser Valley and about supporting local businesses?

The amount of support we've felt through fellow local businesses and the community in the Lower Mainland has been outstanding. Hearing from our customers that they were giving out our oats as Christmas gifts was more than we ever could have imagined. The fact that we created an oatmeal people are excited to give to their loved ones says it all! Co-founder Vanessa grew up in Langley, so we are excited to be working with a local company based out of the valley, especially one that supports small local brands and farmers.

What does the future have in store?

The sky's the limit - truly!

Aside from our ideas for innovative products that aren't yet on the market, we are working hard at creating a variety of resources to support our community in their wellness journey. For example, from January 11th-25th, we are hosting a 2-week wellness challenge where participants are prompted daily with at-home workouts, journal prompts, and attainable nutrition challenges to keep them accountable when starting 2021 so they can feel their absolute best!

How has your relationship with your customers evolved over the years?

We've just launched in November so we are still expanding and building customer and consumer relationships, but we must say, the ones we have developed thus far have been incredible. Every day customers are tagging and posting about the special role our oats are playing in their healthy morning routine. We respond to every comment, direct message, tag, and post. If they've taken the time to shout out and support us, it is imperative to us that they know how much we appreciate it.

To learn more about Oat of the Ordinary, check out their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Shop multiple flavours of their gluten-free, vegan, oatmeal on DirectFood.store.