Los Angeles, like many big cities, has its share of problems. One of them is access to healthy food. This is a serious socio-economic issue and, unfortunately, lower-income neighborhoods are especially vulnerable to it.
When former baristas Michelle Johnson and Ezra Baker, and their third co-founder, Eric J. Grimm, launched Ghost Town Oats in Los Angeles in June 2022, they weren’t only introducing another oat milk brand—they were addressing a crucial gap in the plant-based beverage market. Oat milk is typically served in wealthier parts of town, and available in the communities that want it, not necessarily in the communities that might have an unknown need for it. According to Harvard Medical School, 65% of Black people have some degree of lactose intolerance, whereas most Caucasians (80%) have a gene that preserves the ability to produce lactase into adulthood.
Starting with just two distributors in Los Angeles and one in Chicago, Ghost Town Oats proved there was pent-up demand for their product. What was meant to be six months of inventory sold out in just eight weeks. Within the first 10 months of business, the team reached $1 million in revenue, and today can be found in more than 500 coffee shops across the US and in Toronto, Canada.
Michelle and her cofounders knew they wanted Ghost Town Oats to show up in coffee shops first, so the community could try out their product in a setting where it could shine. From their years in the industry, the Ghost Town Oats team knew they could leverage their industry connections and expertise to build their brand ahead of marketing to broader retail channels.
Now, Ghost Town Oats is revolutionizing the plant-based milk industry with a community-first approach. Discover the formula for launching a mission-driven brand that’s fueled by community support.
Starting with an underserved market need
The idea for Ghost Town Oats emerged during a consulting project in 2020, when Michelle noticed a crucial oversight in the plant-based milk industry. “I don’t see anyone talking about how Black people and people of color are more lactose intolerant than anybody else. That is like, to me, such low hanging fruit for a demographic that you can sell to," Michelle explains. This insight, combined with Michelle’s childhood experiences of food insecurity in Washington DC, shaped the team’s mission to create an accessible, premium product. Ezra tapped into his years of experience as a barista and his industry knowledge as a certified Q Grader—a trained and licensed professional who can evaluate coffee on all sensory levels, to curate the best-tasting oat milk blend. The team ran taste tests by shipping the samples back and forth until landing on the perfect formula.
Recalling long walks to grocery stores from her childhood, Michelle makes sure Ghost Town Oats’ marketing strategy targets coffee shops near public transportation routes, making the product more accessible to those without personal vehicles. She suggests entrepreneurs pay attention to the needs in their community. Look for underserved markets, and find a niche where the problem isn’t consumer willingness to spend, but a lack of access to products.
Building authenticity through personal experience
Integrating personal experiences into your brand story can help you create a deeper connection with your community. Michelle’s background deeply influenced Ghost Town Oats’ mission. Growing up below the poverty line in DC, she experienced firsthand the challenges of food accessibility—walking long distances to grocery stores, along with relying on food boxes from church donations, and often having to shop at convenience stores with limited fresh options.
Because of these financial constraints, Michelle implemented a policy allowing smaller retailers to place lower quantity orders initially and offer flexible payment terms. This helps local stores stock Ghost Town Oats without facing upfront costs they can’t afford. She also personally scouts locations that remind her of the convenience stores she relied on as a child, ensuring their product reaches communities that need it most.
Since Michelle was unaware of the healthier alternatives as a child, she now spearheads community workshops and in-store demos. These opportunities educate consumers about the health benefits of plant-based milk and how to incorporate it into their diets, addressing the gap of information she experienced growing up.
Tapping into equity crowdfunding OR Creating community-centered financing
In late 2021, rather than pursuing traditional venture capital, Ghost Town Oats partnered with WeFunder to allow investments as low as $100. Their equity crowdfunding campaign democratized access to ownership of their company. It allowed other baristas or community members, who wouldn’t qualify as accredited investors, to invest in their company.
This strategy:
- Raised $250,000 in just four days
- Attracted high-profile investors, like NBA star Jimmy Butler
- Created a community of invested supporters, including baristas and coffee shop owners
“We wanted to build that community first because that community, especially early on pre-product, was the traction,” Michelle explains.
Leveraging industry expertise
The founders’ extensive experience as baristas in specialty coffee shops shaped their product development process. As a certified Q Grader, Ezra conducted exhaustive taste tests of every oat milk available. He notes, “It means more to our peers in the coffee industry that we made the milk versus like anyone else.”
These close knit relationships opened the door to conversations and they began stocking popular cafés like Sip and Sonder in Inglewood and Downtown LA. They weren’t afraid to lean on their connections and rely on their experience to build credibility.
Ghost Town Oats demonstrates that lifting up your community and building a successful business aren’t mutually exclusive. The team created a model other mission-driven entrepreneurs can follow that includes encouraging financial investment, authentic storytelling, and strategic growth.
When combining social impact with quality products and community-centered strategies, brands can connect deeply with their customers. Tune in to the full Shopify Masters episode on YouTube and hear how Michelle and Ezra are preparing for their next phase of growth—including plans for national distribution and retail expansion.
