Cow Who provides a healthy alternative to traditional milk
After going without his beloved Crunch Berries for over a year, local chef and cereal connoisseur Antonnio Rickard found a way to enjoy his favorite cereal while still staying away from all the preservatives and chemicals known to be in traditional cow’s milk, by making his own nut based milk.
“I stopped eating cereal after I figured out what the FDA was allowing in the cow milk to be OK for us to consume … I stopped eating cereal completely, but I’m a huge fan of cereal so I was having like withdrawals,” Rickard laughed while speaking with The Chronicle last week.
“I think I went maybe a year and a half, maybe two years without eating it because I didn’t want the cow’s milk.”
Rickard said push came to shove, he started doing his research on nut-based milk and one day he made a batch of almond milk. Rickard said his first batch wasn’t the best, but he kept practicing and eventually he perfected the process. After experimenting with walnuts, Rickard shared his creation on social media and the response was amazing.
Rickard started receiving dozens of messages from people wanting to buy the milk and Cow Who was born.
“I just kept making it and kept making it and eventually I tried walnuts to see if it was going to be anything different … so I had to create a different formula to use those type of nuts, but it all started with me not wanting to eat cereal with cow milk,” Rickard continued. “I was just making milk for myself and I just posted it on social media. I never knew the demand that it was in, a lot of people wanted it.”
Rickard, who has been in the food industry for 14 years, said once he saw the demand was there and with COVID-19 causing people to stock up on items like milk, he felt it was the perfect time to launch the business. Rickard said he saw it as an opportunity to make an honest living while also helping the community stay healthy.
Nut-based milks are similar to skim milk because they are designed to resemble cow’s milk without the dairy. A study completed by healthline.com shows almond milk has 110 less calories than whole milk and 60 less calories than 1 percent milk.
Basic almond milk is made by blending raw nuts with fresh water before straining the milk, using a milk bag or cheesecloth and adding flavor for taste. Rickard said what sets Cow Who products apart from others is the freshness and the passion he puts into it. Rickard, who said he started cooking in his grandmother’s kitchen at young age, says he’s a firm believer in putting passion and love into everything you do.
“I take my food personal,” Rickard said. “You’re mental, you’re energy and everything that you do goes into what you’re doing regardless of what industry you’re in. So if I’m in a positive mood, if I got great energy, if my vibration is high, then my food is going to come out how I’m feeling. If I’m in a bad mood, then my food is going to come out not so good because my mentality is not where it needs to be … so when I’m in the kitchen cooking or making milk, I try to always bring the positive energy because it will be reflected in the final product.”
Since the initial test run with classic vanilla almond and walnut milk, Rickard has also tried apple cinnamon walnut milk, strawberry macadamia milk, blueberry lavender Brazil nut milk, banana nut bread milk, and several others. Just last week, Rickard added pecan and strawberry almond to the menu. Within an hour of posting the pecan milk on social media, Rickard said he was sold out. The Cow Who hashtag is also taking off on social media platforms. Several customers have even posted videos encouraging others to try the milk. “It humbles me even more to know that I can give the community a healthy alternative,” Rickard said.
“I’m very humbled and shocked that it took off as fast as it did because I wasn’t expecting it at all. Like I said, I made it for me, but word got out and things just got crazy from there.”
When asked about the future of Cow Who, Rickard said his goal is to be sold in all major grocery stores and have the ability to create jobs for others.
“Five years from now, I definitely want to be in all the major grocery stores and if I can get to a point where I can create jobs, that would be phenomenal because I’ve always believed in giving back.”
For more information or to place an order, visit Cow Who on Facebook or CowWho_NC on Instagram.
