HAYWARD, CALIF. — The plant-based milk sector has a new alternative entering the category — watermelon seed milk.

Forca Foods founder Guilherme Maia Silva said his goal for differentiation in a sea of plant-based milk alternatives was to provide consumers an “exciting new alternative” he named Milkish.

Maia Silva noticed almond milk has been a go-to alternative, but has seen consumers reaching for other options.

“I have a lot of family and friends that consume these plant-based milks, and I share a lot of frustrations that consumers are having with the existing plant-based milk alternatives that are very alternative specific,” he said. “I think the opportunity lies in connecting all these exciting attributes the plant-based market yearns for, which is sustainability, flavor, texture and also nutrition.”

While studying plant science and crop production at the University of California Davis, Maia Silva’s degree led him to pursue identifying ingredients that may be marketed as more sustainable. From there, he read a published paper on the global water footprints of various crops, inspiring him to pursue the industry.

“What you find is watermelon seeds have an incredibly low water footprint,” Maia Silva said. “It was eye-opening to witness the immense water footprint associated with certain crops.”

After researching and learning the benefits watermelon seeds provided from nutrition, taste and environmental perspectives, Maia Silva began formulating the company’s first product — energy bites formulated from watermelon seeds, dates, oats, strawberries and maple syrup.

“When you don’t have a food science background and you’re just getting started out, you don’t have much of a budget to start a company,” he said. “It’s a little hard to develop a product like that (plant-based milk). That (energy bites) was our bootstrap product line to run a proof-of-concept.

“As we grew, I recognized the need to pivot and focus our efforts on the plant-based milk market, where our strong differentiators truly shine. Our value-added innovation stands out in the milk alternative sector, allowing us to better align with the needs of our target consumers.”

Maia Silva was pleasantly surprised when he first blended the watermelon seeds with water to see how it would taste.

“It surprisingly had a nutty flavor,” he said. “The more I experimented with it, the closer it tasted to almond milk.”

After receiving angel funding from local investors, the company began developing the watermelon seed milk formulation, which took approximately a year and a half. In September, Milkish was launched.

Milkish is formulated with water and watermelon seeds, MCT oil, sunflower lecithin, natural flavors, calcium carbonate, pea protein, potassium phosphate, cellulose gel, cellulose gum, sea salt, vitamin A, vitamin E and vitamin D3.

“We use the MCT oil to help with the texture as a healthier fat alternative rather than using seed-based oils,” Maia Silva said. “The pea protein was interesting in our development, not necessarily to add more protein value to the product. In our ingredient statement it’s less than 2% of our product itself, but the pea protein helped us with a little bit of that flavor profiling. Oddly enough, it brought a little bit of natural sweetener flavor without having to use additional sugars or sweeteners in the recipe.”

Milkish has 50 calories per cup, 2 grams of protein and no sugar. It comes in original and vanilla flavors.

“The way we processed the milk it brings out a natural sweetness to the ingredients without having to use any sugar or any other artificial sweeteners,” he said.

The company has priced Milkish at $4.99 per 32-oz bottle, a price Maia Silva said represents a sharp discount to almond milk or oat milk.

“Especially being brand new to the market, we don’t want to price people out and kill their intrigue for seeing something new,” he said.

The watermelon seed milk also may be used as a froth for a latte, a baking ingredient or added to a bowl of cereal.

“It’s a really versatile product that can fit into your lifestyle without compromising on that flavor, texture or mouthfeel that you’re looking for in a plant-based milk,” he said.

With other innovations in the works, Maia Silva said he hopes Milkish will play against other name brand plant-based milk alternatives.

“I envision Milkish being the No. 1 plant-based milk alternative in the market,” he said. “Especially in retailers like Whole Foods, Sprouts and natural type of retailers. I envision us being in contention with that No. 1 spot of plant-based milks and being something nationwide that people can enjoy for an affordable price.”