These days, a trip to the grocery store to pick up milk can be a daunting task. Not only are there new spins on traditional cow’s milk — ultra-filtered? grass-fed? — but there are also a dizzying array of alternatives made from soy, rice, coconuts, almonds, cashews, hemp and even peas.

Now, Quaker Oats is muscling its way into the aisle with a version based on the grain that made it famous.

In January, the company plans to bring Quaker Oat Beverage — not “milk,” perhaps because of the debate over whether the word is appropriate for nondairy drinks — to the mass market. It will use the distribution might of its parent company, PepsiCo, in hopes of claiming a big piece of a fast-growing sector.