OMG Group secures funding with oat milk

Australian-listed food group OMG Group has raised A$1.5 million through a share placement. The funding round was anchored by a A$350,000 investment from Slades Beverages, the Victorian manufacturer set to produce its Oat Milk Goodness range.

The placement price was A$0.007 per share, representing a 12.5% discount to the last traded price. Directors plan to contribute a further A$170,000, pending shareholder approval. A share purchase plan offered to eligible shareholders aims to raise an additional A$250,000. This would bring the total new capital to approximately A$1.75 million. Settlement is expected to occur in tranches.

A strategic manufacturing partnership

Slades Beverages, a family-owned company producing beverages since the 1850s, is taking an equity stake in its customer. The manufacturer operates plants in Thomastown and Ballarat. Contract manufacturing now forms a substantial part of its business, and its existing capabilities include plant-based UHT milk production. Slades states this is its first equity investment in a brand it manufactures, a rare arrangement in the plant-based dairy sector where co-manufacturing deals are usually transactional.

OMG Group CEO Alex Aleksic highlighted the significance of the move. He said the investment enables closer coordination to reduce costs as production volumes increase. "Slades' $350,000 investment is particularly significant," Aleksic stated. "As our future oat milk manufacturing partner, Slades has direct insight into our products and the opportunity ahead, and its decision to make its first equity investment into a brand it manufactures is a strong endorsement of OMG and the growth of our Oat Milk Goodness portfolio."

Building a portfolio through acquisition

The Oat Milk Goodness brand was acquired in 2024 by then-Forbidden Foods for A$3.42 million. The acquirer renamed itself OMG Group in May 2025. The company's portfolio also includes the Blue Dinosaur snack brand. Its PrOATein ready-to-drink line competes in a segment of the milk alternatives market where protein content is a key selling point. Other brands, such as Earth’s Own in Canada and Carlsberg Britvic in the UK, have launched fortified oat drinks in the past year.

The company has flagged a proposed 10-for-one share consolidation but has not confirmed a timeline. Aleksic pointed to an expanded product range in Woolworths stores and the launch of Omura Matcha and Matcha Mode products as drivers of strong sales momentum. He said the new capital positions OMG to continue scaling the business and to achieve cashflow breakeven.