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]
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)
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.
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:[citation needed]
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]
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]
