The Duo Delivering London’s Purest Almond Milk

Finding it increasingly difficult to trust supermarket labels, East London’s Natali Stajcic and Chi-San Wan decided that it was time to do something about it. With a deep passion and love for whole foods, Natali and Chi set out to create the purest form of almond milk. It would be a brand that Londoners could trust to deliver a delicious, homemade taste.

We sat down with the girls to chat about their holistic approach, an inspiring trip to Paris, and learn just how The Pressery was born.

How did you two come together to create The Pressery?

We have both always been food and drinks orientated, and eaten well. Our love of food and holistic approach is centred on the idea that ‘less is more’! We have been friends for a long time and wanted to do something together. Having often found ourselves talking about where we could go to find something healthy AND delicious (and not served on bread)… we considered opening a café, a cold-pressed juice bar, but finally settled on a range of unprocessed, cold-pressed almond milks. We both quit our jobs in January and launched The Pressery in March.

What inspired you to run with such a niche product?

Whilst discussing ideas one day early last year (before any cold-pressed juice bars had opened here in London), we decided to take a trip to Paris to see how the cold-pressed scene had evolved there, and to find inspiration. We met with the owner of a leading cold-pressed juice bar to talk through our ideas. Eventually, he said to us, ‘you sound like you’re way more excited about making nut milk’. It was an invaluable trip and it crystallised our vision. With the growing popularity of nut milks elsewhere globally, we realised we were ahead of the curve here… and so the journey began.

The response has been very positive, what is it that makes your products so special?

We have taken a lot of care in the creation of our product. Our Almond Milks are ‘natural’ in the truest sense (unlike a lot of other products on the market that claim to be natural). We use raw, organic Spanish almonds and know exactly where they come from. Production started small in a home kitchen and it was important to us, as food drinks enthusiasts, that it tasted amazing. Although our production has ramped up, we still make our Almond Milk by hand, two days a week (5am starts!). We don’t add any preservatives, additives or artificial sweeteners and that’s quite unique.

What has been the response toward The Pressery?

There has been widespread interest in our Almond Milks, from health-conscious people with dietary requirements or preferences, right through to high-end chefs and baristas looking to offer something different. Londoners are realising that a lot of ‘health products’ are actually highly processed, so they see our list of ingredients and know that they are getting exactly what it says on the tin. You can now enjoy a latte with The Pressery Almond Milk at MacIntyre Coffee, Pavilion Victoria Park and Curio Cabal in East London, or pick some up for your home fridge in Selfridges and Daylesford in the West End. We have a growing list of stockists. As demand grows, our distribution widens, and we have a pretty good idea of where we want to be and where we want to go with The Pressery.

What have been the main challenges so far?

Our Almond Milk has a shelf life of 4-5 days, because it’s all-natural and preservative-free. Distribution has been challenging; getting it to our customers as quickly and as cold as possible. Keeping up with growing demands has also kept us on our toes!

So, what next?

More flavours! Our range includes the ORIGINAL Almond Milk, a CACAO Almond Milk, and we’ve just launched BERRY and TURMERIC.

Obviously, we want to see our range become increasingly accessible across London, and we are also looking forward to seeing more coffee shops using Almond Milk as a dairy alternative.

Our passion is for educating people about what products are actually wholesome and natural. There will be more products, may be some workshops in the pipeline, and we’ll be using a better website to spread The Pressery love. We’re all about less is more!

If you want to see The Pressery Almond Milk available in your grocer – why not ask them to stock it?