Sourced from a farm in West Africa, milk manufacturer Madame Tiger is introducing Australian consumers to tiger nuts, an ingredient that only requires rainwater to grow.
With tiger-like stripe markings and wrinkled shells, tiger nuts, though the name suggests otherwise, are not actually nuts. While they resemble nuts and have similar textural “crunch”, tiger nuts are small root vegetables that are packed with fibre, natural oils and nutrients. Building its identity around this little-known ingredient, Madame Tiger was born as an idea in 2020 with the ambition to create a creamy and sustainable alternative to other plant-based milks.
Founder Laura Hindson shared that her expert knowledge of tiger nuts dates back to her father-in-law’s staple diet growing up in Mali, West Africa. As he introduced it to the family as a healthy snack food, Hindson decided that the Australian market needed to be introduced to tiger nuts.
Hindson quenched her curiosity around tiger nuts through a documentary about Mousso Faso, a female farming collective in West Africa that had faced setbacks from unfair corporate dealings. Determined to support a fairer and more direct supply model, Hindson got in touch with the film’s director, who connected her with the farming collective, and bought the group’s first harvest after it regained independence, importing six tonnes of tiger nuts to Australia. With a longstanding partnership, Madame Tiger has purchased the farming collectives entire tiger nut harvests from 2020 to 2025.
Building a factory from scratch
Madame Tiger’s journey quickly revealed challenges that many start-ups face. Initially, Hindson planned to work with contract manufacturers, focusing her efforts on marketing, finance and strategy. But she soon discovered that contract manufacturers had their own limitations.
“Contract manufacturers in Australia are not equipped to handle bags of tiger nuts straight from the farms in West Africa,” said Hindson. “They are more used to dealing with highly processed liquids and powders.”
This led Hindson to establish a dedicated facility in Carrum Downs, southeast Melbourne. With no prior knowledge or background in milk manufacturing, setting up the factory took three and a half years, involving investment in equipment and time to refine the recipes.
So, what does manufacturing tiger nut milk involve? On a smaller scale, all that is required is to “soak it, whiz it up in a blender, and extract it using a nut milk bag”. On a larger scale it’s more complicated especially given Madame Tiger are making the milk from scratch using whole tiger nuts.
Washing, soaking, milling and filtering
As Hindson explained, there was no ready-made “tiger nut milk line” to purchase. Instead, the company had to adapt and combine technologies used across the plant-based sector, scaling up processes that had traditionally been carried out on a kitchen bench.
The tiger nuts are purchased annually and shipped to Australia, where they are stored in a dedicated warehouse. Once dried, tiger nuts remain shelf-stable without refrigeration, reducing the energy demands of storage and transportation.
The process begins with washing and soaking the tiger nuts, which helps soften and rehydrate them before grinding them in a mill. She described the milling and filtering processes as important in extracting natural fats and oils from the tiger nuts, adding the creamy texture of the milk.
“Tiger nuts behave differently to almonds as their fibre content is a lot higher, which makes it harder to break down,” said Hindson.
Using an “intense” grinding mill, the fibrous particles are then filtered out leaving a smooth creamy milk.
The milk is then transported to Cottonwood Springs, a Tetra Pak contract manufacturer in Victoria, for blending and bottling. This model allows Madame Tiger to retain control over the unique processing stages while collaborating with a larger-scale partner for the final packaging.
Meeting hygiene and sustainability goals
As all food and beverage businesses face stringent regulations and standards, Madame Tiger meets those requirements and has already established its operations to be aligned with them. Its facility is certified under FSSC 22000, requiring annual audits, routine allergen testing and rigorous hygiene standards. As part of its food safety and quality plan, each batch undergoes microbial and sensory testing before release.
When it comes to sustainability, Hindson explained that the selection of tiger nuts is at the core of the company’s commitment to sustainable practices.
“Tiger nuts are an incredibly sustainable crop from a water footprint perspective as it only requires rainwater to grow,” she said.
According to Water footprint calculator, to produce one kilogram of almonds, 16,120L of water is required. While oats and soybeans require lesser amounts of 2,500L and 2,134L respectively, tiger nuts use only 387L.
Together with the low water footprint of tiger nuts, the company also measures its climate impact through Carbon Cloud, a tool that calculates emissions across supply chains. The platform records all processes and steps from ingredients, power supplies, water usage, waste and kilometres travelled. Using these records, it provides a climate impact figure.
“Our Barista Tiger Nut Milk is 0.32kg of CO₂ equivalent per litre while the original tiger nut milk is 0.43kg of CO2e” said Hindson.
Local sourcing also plays a role in reducing the company’s environmental footprint, with the olive oil and faba bean protein produced in Australia.
The future of Madame Tiger
Madame Tiger’s immediate goal is to broaden its domestic reach, particularly in markets such as New South Wales where the brand is less established. One of the ways the company aims to grow its business is through its participation at industry events such as Fine Food Australia. The business also plans for international expansion in the future.
Hindson described the business as still being in its infancy. As a mother of six-year-old twins balancing parenting and running a business from scratch, she admitted it is a “constant juggle”. While there are hardships, Hindson relies on a support network of friends and family, including her brother, who was the company’s first employee. Building a business from the ground up and educating people about tiger nut milk has been a huge task, she credited her network of family and friends who had the “business’ best interests at heart and love helping spread awareness”.
From an African farming collective to a tiger nut milk factory in Melbourne, Hindson has cracked through the plant-based milk industry as a women-led business. With a commitment to aligning the growing demand for socially conscious food with nutritional value, she hopes to see more women in leadership roles in the food and beverage sector.
“Even though running a business with little six-year-old twins can be chaotic, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Hindson. “I wish to see more women performing leadership roles in the food and beverage space.”