The options for sweet deserts, such as ice cream, have always been off limits for those who are dairy-free; until now. Meet Matthew Billington, the CEO of OLelei’s. At the young age of 18, Matt is in charge of OLelei’s which is a dairy-free option company. OLelei currently offers dairy-free milk, yogurt, and ice cream. These products are all made with almond milk which doesn’t contain any trace of dairy.
Matt started this business back in 2015 through the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) program. YES is a program based solely out of New Zealand that offers 12-13 year students an opportunity to create a business venture and run it. Matt, along with his some of his classmates, participated in this program and created OLelei’s. They saw an opportunity in market for lactose intolerant people who were limited to a certain amount of dairy-free products. Matt emphasis the fact that OLelei’s main mission is to include everyone saying, “Inclusion is one of our core values. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you eat, where you’re from, what nationality you are, what race you are, what you’re allergic to, our products cater for everyone. We want to make sure everybody feels included” (You Unlimited).
YES allowed them to learn things that were unteachable in the classroom such as networking and managing. In 2017, Matt along with his team had won the Lion Foundation YES national award. OLelei is now currently stocked everywhere in New Zealand. Not only has Matt created a brand that offers a different type of tasty food, but has also helped solve problem for those who are live a dairy-free lifestyle.
It makes me so sad when people can’t have dairy, especially ice cream. I’m so happy that people who are lactose intolerant can have these treats thanks to this company. There’s definitely a need for this company because dairy allergies don’t seem to be going away anytime soon.
I love this idea. I think this is so great because people keep coming out with new types of ice cream that aren’t dairy free which is really hard for the people that are. I like how he took a problem he was experiencing and took charge on it which then benefited the rest of the people experiencing that same problem. I remember when I couldn’t eat dairy, and the one thing I think I missed the most was ice cream so this will be great for dairy free people.
Matt was smart to perceive this new dietary trend, and seize it early on. As more and more people are realizing the possibly harmful effects of dairy, it is amazing to give people options to still enjoy the things they love. There is definitely a market out there for this.