SAN DIEGO — The power in a cup of coffee is one reason Michelle R. Johnson became a professional barista.

“This is my way of serving people and knowing, like, I have an opportunity to have a positive impact on somebody’s day,” she said.

Johnson and two other professional baristas channeled their espresso-slinging skills into creating a new brand of premium oat milk. Ghost Town Oats focuses on making plant-based alternatives accessible to everyone, especially people of color.

“Ghost Town is in reference to the communities that have been abandoned when it comes to plant-based milk marketing,” Johnson said. “So instead of abandoning those ghost towns, we’re serving them. They’re the ones that we love.”

Johnson said alternative milks can have a “hoity-toity” reputation, marketed toward more affluent communities, but now they’re bridging that gap while maintaining integrity of taste. She knows how important the taste is since she’s lactose intolerant herself.

“We make the experience with this as close to whole milk as possible,” Johnson said. “So it has that really nice velvety texture when you drink it. It’s like the perfect amount of thickness and it even has like just a touch of sweetness with it as well to make it really pleasant.”

In a letter proposing changes to nutritional programs, the Agriculture Department stated lactose intolerance is highest among minorities, with 75% of Black students in American unable to digest dairy milk without detrimental effects.

The Hamlett is a coffee and apothecary shop in Lemon Grove that focuses on helping local Black entrepreneurs. Shacole Hamlett said they were the first to place an order for Ghost Town Oat Milk.

“We found out that there was a Black, woman-owned oat milk company,” Hamlett said. “We were so excited because that is one of the things that we really want to do here is support Black-owned businesses and collectively work together to support one another.”

According to Pew research, Black Americans are three times more likely to adopt a plant-based diet. Hamlett said it was important that they offer options for everyone to enjoy.

“Everybody’s always asking us how they buy some their selves and when it’s going to be in grocery stores, so it’s been a big hit here in Lemon Grove,” she said.  

Johnson hopes Ghost Town will continue to broaden the audience for oat milk.

“This is our labor of love to the rest of the world,” she said.  

Ghost Town Oats is a Black, female and queer-owned oat milk company that celebrated its first birthday and one millionth carton produced in August.

Ghost Town Oats is in the process of scaling up and securing more manufacturing. Their WeFunder is available here.