Move aside, dairy milk. There’s a new contender in town – Snappea’s pea milk. The popularity of plant-based milk has grown over the years as more consumers seek dairy-free alternatives, be it for health or environmental reasons.
Made with 100% non-GMO Canadian yellow peas, Snappea comes in three delicious flavours – Utterly Original, Simply Unsweetened and Richly Chocolate, and they are certified Halal by Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM).
Free of artificial colouring and flavours, lovers of Snappea’s pea milk has described the taste as “unusual” before growing to love the taste later.
Founded by Justin Chan and Fibi Cheong, Snappea was launched in May 2020, offering a dairy, soy, and gluten-free alternative to the often watery and bland alternatives that plant-based milk drinkers are familiar with. As approximately 65% of the human population has a reduced ability to digest lactose after infancy – it is also lactose-free, which means everyone can enjoy Snappea, worry-free.
“Many of our customers would come to us and tell us that they don’t like the taste of our pea milk because it doesn’t taste like cow’s milk at all. But that’s the thing – it is not supposed to. We are so used to the taste of cow’s milk so we think that that’s how all milk is supposed to taste. However, once we explained this to them and they gave Snappea a second chance, most of them have become our most loyal customers!” says Justin, Snappea’s Founder and Director.
When it comes to how did the duo come up with the idea, Justin shared that he read a study from the University of Oxford in 2018 that showed that people are capable of cutting down their carbon footprint from food consumption by 75% and farmland use by 73% by leading a plant-based lifestyle. Inspired by what he read, he challenged himself to go on a plant-based diet for three months.
“Personally, I found that the hardest thing to do is not removing meat from the plate, but removing milk from the cup. There are many other options to replace meat, such as tempeh, which is nutritionally comparable, but the same can’t be said when it comes to milk,” Justin says.
For vegans and people who cannot consume dairy-based products, one of their biggest concerns is getting a sufficient amount of nutrition from each glass of milk. Every cup of Snappea packs a plant-based protein punch at 10 times more than almond milk and 20% more than dairy milk and contains 170mg plant-based calcium.
Pea milk is also less harmful to the environment, as pea has been found to be one of the most sustainable food sources in the world. Pound for pound, peas emit 500 times less carbon than beef.
Snappea is currently listed in Jaya Grocer, Village Grocer, Ben’s Independent Grocer, BMS Organics, Lazada & Shopee. It is also currently running a promotion for consumers to have their first taste of Snappea’s pea milk with the code SnapAtHome when purchasing on their website to get free shipping with no minimum spend.