CoBank predicts continued double-digit growth in plant-based milk alternatives. 

July 02, 2018

      Niche dairy products adapt to changing consumer preferences but complicate costs and logistics. As consumers increasingly seek beverages made from soy, almonds, coconuts and rice — even peas and oats — the dairy industry is responding with niche products of its own, but more changes are ahead as the traditional gallon jug milk business struggles to compete with plant-based competition.

      A new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Division predicts continued double-digit growth in the plant-based milk alternatives market. Sales are up 61% over the past five years, with slower growth of 15-25% projected by 2022. Meanwhile, cow’s milk consumption continues a decades-long slump.

“The total volume of the alternative milk market is still relatively small and is not a major factor behind declining fluid milk sales,” CoBank senior dairy economist Ben Laine said. “However, plant-based milks are helping revolutionize how the dairy industry does business. Excitement  around plant-based milk alternatives has forced traditional milk to differentiate into a number of premium products in order to compete.”

Premium products buck trends

      Laine cited organic, grass-fed, ultra-filtered, lactose-free and a2 milk as niche products that buck the downward trend in milk consumption. These products command a higher price and compete more directly with plant-based alternatives. “Certain value-added dairy milk products will experience growth alongside plant-based beverages,” Laine said.

Source: https://www.supermarketnews.com/dairy/milk-alternatives-hastening-change-dairy-industry

 Real dairy still rules, but study shows more people are consuming both.

Michael Browne | Apr 03, 2018

     While dairy alternatives continue to grow in popularity, consumers are not quite ready yet to completely forego traditional dairy, according to the results of a new survey from agricultural and food giant Cargill. Two-thirds of survey respondents said they regularly consume real dairy products, while up to 50% of respondents said they either consume both dairy - and dairy - alternative products, or that they prefer dairy alternatives but will still also consume real-dairy products. Only 12% of respondents said they are true “dairy avoiders.” The global dairy alternatives market is expected to reach $35.06 billion by 2024, according to a report by Grand View Research. 

     The rising number of lactose-intolerance cases and increasing consumer awareness toward health are expected to drive the market growth over the forecast period.  Those factors also come into play in the Cargill report, in which respondents cited the following reasons for avoiding dairy: 35% indicated that the primary reason for avoiding  dairy products is lactose intolerance, followed by reasons such as “dairy sensitivity/allergy” (26%), “avoiding added growth hormones” (24%) and “to reduce my saturated fat consumption” (24%). 

On a positive note for the dairy segment, 63% of respondents said they prefer the taste of real dairy (only 7% of respondents said they avoid dairy because they don’t like its taste). Just over 20% said they have never tried dairy alternatives. The biggest downside for alternative dairy, according to Cargill, is the price. Nearly half (47%) of respondents agree that dairy alternatives are too expensive. 

Source:   https://www.supermarketnews.com/dairy/dairy-alternatives-rise

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