Oak (flavoured milk)
| Company type | Brand |
|---|---|
| Industry | Dairy |
| Founded | 1967 in New South Wales, Australia |
| Founder | Raymond Terrace Co-operative (later Hunter Valley Co-operative Dairy Company) |
| Headquarters | New South Wales , Australia |
Area served | Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia) |
| Owner | Lactalis |
Oak (presented as OAK) is an Australian brand specializing in pasteurised flavoured milk, currently owned by the French multinational company Lactalis. Originating in 1967 in New South Wales, Oak began as the dairy label for the Raymond Terrace Co-operative, which later became the Hunter Valley Co-operative Dairy Company. The brand's roots extend back to 1903. Oak flavoured milk broadened its market to include Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria in 1998, withdrew from Victoria in 2006, and then re-entered that market in 2010. Its introduction to Western Australia occurred in October 2013.
Products
The primary flavours offered by Oak flavoured milk encompass:
- Chocolate
- Strawberry
- Banana
- Vanilla Malt
- Iced Coffee
- Egg Nog (available in South Australia)
- Gold Caramel White Chocolate (introduced May 2020)
In collaboration with Allen's, a confectionery brand under Nestlé, and Nestlé itself, Oak released several limited edition flavours:
- Allen's Jaffas (October 2019, now discontinued)
- Allen's Red Skins (October 2019)
- Allen's Chokito (October 2019)
- Allen's Pineapples (April 2020)
- Nestlé Peppermint Crisp (April 2020)
- Allen's Fantales (April 2020)
Past limited edition varieties have included Cookies & Cream, Strong Iced Coffee, Mocha, and Cinnamon Donut, with the latter exclusively available at Woolworths.
Exclusive partnerships with 7-Eleven resulted in unique flavours such as Mocha, Choc Peanut Butter, Caramel Coffee, Choc Malt, Blue Heaven, Lime Spider, Caramel Popcorn, Rocky Road, and Cola Spider.
Oak also formulated but did not launch Vegan Carob, Choc Hazelnut, and Vanilla Crumble flavour variants.
Since January 2017, Oak has seasonally offered frozen chocolate soft serve at select outlets and provides UHT long-life strawberry and chocolate options.
In 2013, Oak unveiled 'The Max' range featuring rich shakes like Cool Choc Mint and Molten Caramel. The Oak Thick line was introduced in November 2017 at Woolworths with flavours including Death by Chocolate and Salted Caramel. October 2019 saw the release of Oak mini shake as a reduced-sugar alternative available in chocolate and strawberry.
April 2017 marked the launch of Oak Plus—a protein-fortified sports recovery beverage available in vanilla, chocolate, and banana & honey.
Historically, the Oak brand extended beyond flavoured milk into dairy products such as ice cream, cottage cheese, butter, custard, cream, and frozen yoghurt.
Nutrition
Nutritional content varies among flavours; chocolate, strawberry, banana, vanilla malt, and iced coffee share similar profiles. Both Oak Max and Light Chocolate provide approximately 25% fewer calories and half the fat compared to standard chocolate milk. The Egg Nog flavour contains roughly 25% more energy and double the fat content. Launched in early 2017, Oak Plus supplies around 30 grams additional protein per serving. Nutritional information for a 300ml portion of chocolate milk includes:
| Nutrient | Amount per 300ml | Amount per 100ml |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 1128 kJ | 376 kJ |
| Protein | 9.9 g | 3.5 g |
| Fat | 10.8 g | 3.4 g |
| – Saturated Fat | 6.6 g | 2.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 33.0 g | 11.0 g |
| – Sugars | 31.8 g | 10.6 g |
| Sodium | 150 mg | 50 mg |
| Calcium (%RDI*) | 345 mg (43% RDI*) | 115 mg |
Ownership
Since 2019, Lactalis, a global French dairy and food enterprise, has held full ownership of Oak. Between 2011 and 2019, Lactalis took over Parmalat, which had acquired the Oak brand from Dairy Farmers in July 2009, shortly after Dairy Farmers was itself purchased by National Foods.
Sponsorship
From 2012 through to the conclusion of the 2024 season, Oak served as the naming rights sponsor for the Penrith Panthers, a team competing in the National Rugby League.
In earlier years, Oak supported various Australian sports franchises, including the Newcastle Jets (A-League), Newcastle Knights (NRL), Melbourne Stars (Big Bash League), and Port Adelaide Football Club (AFL).
Oak Milk Bars
Multiple milk bars bearing the Oak name have operated across the Hunter Valley, with outlets situated in Newcastle, Hexham, Peats Ridge, and Freemans Waterhole. These establishments were purposefully positioned along the primary northern route from Sydney, accompanied by additional locations in Jesmond, Greenhills, Liverpool, and Chatswood.
The Oak Milk Bar located at Freemans Waterhole continues to function, while a new outlet was launched in Rutherford in September 2020.