Oat & Mill: A Decade Leading the Way in Non-Dairy Ice Cream
Over the past 10 years, Canada’s ice cream industry has faced many challenges with the growing changes of wanting ice cream but without the effects of heavy sugar and dairy.
Many trends including health consciousness, environmental sustainability, and veganism have grown in momentum, creating a landscape in the industry for more ice cream alternatives. However major events like COVID wreaked havoc on supply chains and disposable incomes. Each shift in public sentiment or economic landscape has significantly impacted Canadian consumption habits and the ability of ice cream providers to sell.
Nevertheless, the ice cream industry has continued to be a major force, with a market volume expected to reach $2.74 billion (CAD) by 2030, reflecting a growth rate of 3.35% (Statista).
Through all these years, Oat & Mill, a company from Carp Ontario, has gone from humble beginnings to scaling growth on a national level. The company stakes its claim by making artisanal vegan ice cream that pushes the boundaries of what non-dairy can taste like. Led by CEO and founder, Candace Tierney, Oat & Mill has met the changing tides of ice cream consumption moment by moment, leaving bigger chains and competitors looking to catch up.
Innovation in Ice Cream
Oat & Mill’s story is one of refusing to accept the status quo, developing an oat-based ice cream that rivals any dairy ice cream on the shelves. By staying true to her mission, Candace has built up her ice cream company into a massively successful enterprise, selling across Canada in over 600 locations, and scaling production capacity to over 500 litres of ice cream per hour.
These scaleup efforts have coincided with a 50% spike in sales in 2024, a number projected to continue in the years to come. But getting to this point was not a straight path. Going from made-to-order sales to a national commodity required several fundamental pivots and a strong vision of Oat & Mill’s market fit as a leader for non-dairy ice cream.
A 10 Year Road to Quality Scaled Growth
Candace founded Oat & Mill in 2015, lovingly referring to its beginning years as the company’s Farmers’ Market Era. At this time there was already a demand for non-dairy ice cream, but the only major alternatives used coconut and soy milk. Seeing the opportunity, Candace spent her time perfecting her oat-based ice cream recipe by making batches to order and selling Oat & Mill at local markets.
“In the early days, selling at farmers’ markets was both exciting and humbling. People were curious but skeptical, oat-based ice cream wasn’t something they had seen before. I’d scoop samples, watch their faces light up, and suddenly, they got it. That’s when I knew we were onto something.”
Her product was a major hit for those looking for a vegan and lactose-free ice cream that didn’t compromise that creamy texture. The resulting growth was fast, leading Candace to sign a co-packing deal with a dairy manufacturer plant in 2017, increasing production and enabling the sale of Oat & Mill nationwide. During this time, the major ice cream players started to catch on to the market potential of oat-based ice cream and began building their own versions of the product.
As with all innovative spaces, as Oat & Mill grew in popularity and the market for oat-based ice cream expanded, so did the competition, but Candace’s belief in her product and unwillingness to compromise on quality set the company apart. She knew her recipe and expertise developed at the early stages of the business gave Oat & Mill the edge over competitors that primarily offered dairy products. This led to pivoting away from outsourcing Oat & Mill’s manufacturing.
“Our product’s texture and taste were always its strength,” recalled Candace. “Joining a co-packer may have grown our production capacity, but entrusting a manufacturer whose equipment and staff expertise was in dairy products, meant our oat-based ice cream never came out tasting the exact way it should have.”
In December 2019, Candace decided to end her partnership with the co-packer and build her own manufacturing line, enabling Oat & Mill to remain in complete control of the production process and guarantee the quality her customers expected. This marked a scale-down to ensure the company remained on the right track and at the forefront of non-dairy ice cream. Over the next few years, Oat & Mill got back to what it did best, making its ice cream with artisanal expertise, and before long sales and development increased, with Oat & Mill raising production to 700 litres a day in 2023 and most recently growing capacity to a whopping 500 litres an hour.
“Looking back, every challenge we faced was a step toward where we are today, stronger, smarter, and more committed than ever. Scaling our own production was a pivotal moment, allowing us to stay true to our craft while growing at a pace that makes sense. Now, with the ability to produce 500 litres an hour, we’re not just keeping up, we’re leading the way in non-dairy ice cream. The momentum we’ve built over the past year is just the beginning, and we’re excited for what’s ahead.”
Leveraging Manufacturing Expertise to Expand Growth
In-house production held the key to major success for Oat & Mill. As an innovator in ice cream, Candace’s ownership of the manufacturing process ensures quality control. Beyond this, manufacturing independence has also allowed the company to experiment with new recipes, flavours and products, like venturing into stick ice cream and “Gelato bars”, the company’s take on vegan gelato.
As word of Oat & Mill’s expertise in oat-based ice cream production continues to spread through the market, another scaling opportunity has presented itself. Many outside companies have approached their team for manufacturing services to help develop oat-based products.
This has been a major lesson for the company on what being uncompromising with what makes your product great can do for your success. By downscaling production to manufacture in-house, Oat & Mill maintained their authenticity and are now a leader sought out by other producers for their oat-based manufacturing expertise.
With Success Comes the Need for Controlled Scaling
Candace has gained a wealth of experience in entrepreneurship from her journey running Oat & Mill over the past 10 years. One of the major learning curves was how to scale the organization as it became more successful.
“Growth isn’t just about increasing production capacity—it’s about building the right team to support that growth. As we built our team, the business evolved with greater efficiency, fresh perspectives, and a stronger foundation for the future. We refined our processes, developed strategic partnerships, and documented everything along the way. We’ve learned that success comes from making every detail count while limiting the number of details and focusing on what will make a difference.”
Candace also puts a major emphasis on Oat & Mill's responsibility to strengthen its surrounding community, ensuring as it scales that its production adopts practices that limit food waste, buy Canadian, and lower reliance on plastics in packaging. The company has also connected with Eastern Ontario’s EARN program which enables the hiring of people with disabilities in the region.
Growing with Confidence
Although Candace has managed Oat & Mill with a small team over the past ten years, she is quick to bring up the support she has received from her mentors and startup-supporting organizations. In fact, Candace became a client of Launch Lab in the early stages of Oat & Mill, leveraging the regional innovation centre’s mentorship and peer-to-peer support programs.
“As an entrepreneur, you can’t build something great alone—you need a strong network of support and people who challenge your thinking. Launch Lab has been invaluable in that way, providing mentorship, advisory services, and IP guidance that have helped us protect our brand and scale with confidence. Their diverse expertise has pushed us to see opportunities from new perspectives, and their support has played a key role in securing funding that aligns with our sustainability goals. Surrounding yourself with the right people makes all the difference in turning vision into reality.”
Most recently, Candace has worked with Launch Lab to build Oat & Mill’s IP strategy which focused on preparation and filing word trademarks in multiple countries.
Launch Lab was also integral to Oat & Mill becoming a successful applicant in the i.d.e.a. Fund, a program that supports companies committed to developing new green products, services, processes, and technologies that reduce environmental impact. Funded by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, the i.d.e.a. Fund provides up to 30 hours of mentorship and a matching $20,000 grant that will help Oat & Mill enhance their manufacturing process through the purchase of new machinery, continue research and development on formulations and recipes, and help develop new market opportunities.
A Word of Advice to Fellow Entrepreneurs
As a small fish in a big pond, entrepreneurs have to be purposeful with their growth, knowing when to pivot and what parts of the business are non-negotiable. For Candace, taking a step back from mass production to ensure control over her product’s quality meant a short-term downsize that led to nationwide sales and the monetization of Oat & Mill’s expertise as a manufacturer.
With a dynamic 10 years behind her and a promising outlook of growth in the years ahead, Oat & Mill’s journey has provided Candace with the experience and lessons learned to navigate whatever the future holds with confidence. To any other aspiring entrepreneurs, Candace left this piece of advice:
“Growing a successful business isn’t about sticking to one path, it’s about knowing when to pivot with confidence. I’ve learned that having complete trust in the right mentors allows you to make decisions soundly and with conviction. When you surround yourself with experienced people who challenge and guide you, every pivot becomes an opportunity rather than a risk.
