George Hajjar Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 Good afternoon, I am currently working on a story about how the U.S. oat shortage has impacted businesses and am looking for makers willing to share their experiences working in the space in the past year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Victoria J Ho Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 Hi George, I think some of the brands affected by the oat crunch may be too busy scrambling for suppliers to have seen your note. As a formulator and scale-up specialist who works directly with brands from benchtop development to commercial production, I'd be happy to share my insight on the spectrum of effects that my partners and I have seen, tackled, narrowly escaped and cried over this year. The pain with oats in particular is ongoing, as oats are a commodity crop with a huge crossover market in specialty markets like gluten free. Many emerging brands who weren't at the stage to make contract purchases of certified crop were forced to spot-buy pallet lots at an inflated price, widen supply chain searches to overseas (with Canadian and Ukranian oats also being affected by heat and drought). Brands who were relying on turnkey copackers to supply raw materials faced a uniquely frustrating battle as well, when unexpected spiked in the demand for their product (which should always be an awesome feeling) was met with an inability to fulfill those orders due to shortage. In production, I've also had cases where I need to do wrangle together a new process flow overnight to validate the cost increase when we prepare out own value-added oat products (like oat flour) out of more readily available whole oats; or when we make a switch in meaningful ingredient specifications (like baby oats vs chopped oats). Products affected: oat milk, oat milk ice cream and baby food, RTE granola, granola bars, crackers, cookies, baking mixes, oatmeal packets, bread, nutrition bars and bites, plant-based appetizers and patties. Feel free to reach out anytime for more stories from the front lines LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 George Hajjar Posted August 18, 2022 Author Share Posted August 18, 2022 Thank you so much for providing this context! This information will be very useful for the story. I will follow up soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 thomsanoliverr Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 On 8/10/2022 at 11:48 PM, ghajjar said: Good afternoon, I am currently working on a story about how the U.S. oat shortage has impacted businesses and am looking for makers willing to share their experiences working in the space in the past year. Could you please explain about your story? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 George Hajjar Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 Good afternoon, You can see the completed article here. https://feed.specialtyfood.com/2022/09/14/specialty-food-makers-persevere-despite-grain-oat-shortages/content.html Best, George Hajjar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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George Hajjar
Good afternoon, I am currently working on a story about how the U.S. oat shortage has impacted businesses and am looking for makers willing to share their experiences working in the space in the past year.
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