In the past year the volume of plant-based alternatives to milk sold in America has fallen by 5.4%, according to Circana, a market-research firm. Almond milk, the bestselling variety, dropped by 7.9%. In Britain volumes fell by 2.5% in the year to June; in France, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain growth slowed.
Popcorn-flavoured oat milk in your coffee? Or cinnamon roll? Or neither. Sales of dairy milk, though, are ticking up, after a long decline. Consumers are returning to it, seeing it as better for their wallets and their health.
Zoe Gardner, head of marketing in Britain for Alpro, Danone’s plant-based milk brand, says its growth strategy is to fortify its milks with calcium, protein, iodine and vitamins. The French firm’s new “Silk Protein” soya milks and yogurts in North America boast “50% less sugar than regular dairy milk”. Among smaller suppliers, MALK labels its cartons as “gum free”. To track the trends shaping commerce, industry and technology, sign up to “ The Bottom Line ”, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter on global business.
Alt-milk makers are also pushing hard on health.
