PLANT-BASED MILK

MILK FOR THE MASSES

Whether for health, the environment, or simply for taste, Australians are making the switch from dairy to plant-based milk in their droves, writes Rachel White.

Where once soy was dairy milk’s solitary competitor, now, there are a plethora of options like oat, almond, rice, coconut, macadamia, pea, potato and even hemp to satisfy a growing demand for dairy alternatives.

Perceived as healthier and greener, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) supports what many companies already know, that demand for animal-free alternatives across the board is growing by the minute.

Paul Atyeo, a health statistics spokesperson from the ABS, said the average apparent consumption of dairy and meat substitutes has risen 29 per cent since the 2018-19 financial year.

“About 17 grams of apparent consumption per person per day came from dairy milk substitutes like soy milk or almond milk. This is equivalent to about half a metric cup per week.

“Consumption of dairy milk substitutes rose four grams per day between 2018-19 and 2020-21, mirroring a four grams per day fall in dairy milk over the same two-year period.

“Almond milk had a particularly rapid increase in apparent consumption, up 31 per cent in the last two years. Soy milk increased by 16 per cent over the same period,” Atyeo said.

Lauren Chapman, Founder of h.alt, an innovative company bringing hemp milk to the market, says the take-up of dairy alternatives is multi-faceted, with consumers making the change for various reasons.

“Plant milk as a category is growing massively with a generational shift away from dairy. We know that public consciousness and the need for more sustainable options have led to more people choosing to drink plant-based milk.

“Another common and growing reason to believe people are making the switch to plant-based milk is due to allergens, lactose intolerance and digestive issues that often arise from dairy milk,” she said.

Andrew May, Co-CEO of Unigrain, a B2B oat milk supplier, agrees. He said the reason consumers are buying plantbased milk is varied dependent on the individual.

“Everyone’s decisions are slightly different. It could be lactose intolerance, it could be environmental sustainability, it could be that it just tastes good. I think there is a whole range of factors,” he said.

Oat on the rise

The newest kid on the block, oat milk, although not the most popular choice currently, is widely predicted to be the plant milk that will overtake other varieties within the next few years.

Appealing for its mild flavour and dairy milk-like qualities, including its pleasing pairing with coffee and ability to be frothed without splitting, many producers are adding oat milk products to their offering.

Sanitarium, manufacturer of Australia’s first dairy milk alternative, So Good, is jumping on the oat milk bandwagon with its newly launched Toatl range designed for the convenience channel.

Plant milk as a category is growing massively with a generational shift away from dairy. We know that public consciousness and the need for more sustainable options have led to more people choosing to drink plantbased milk.

– Lauren Chapman, Founder, h.alt

“Oat milk is the plant milk on the rise,” said a Sanitarium spokesperson. “Our local oat milk manufacturing capability and our successful oat milk launches in grocery and café, meant creating a great-tasting grab-and-go oat milk for convenience customers was a clear opportunity.”

Tim Clarke, Shopper Strategy Manager at Sanitarium, said the flavoured milk segment is an ever-evolving market that thrives on innovation.

“With more consumers at the fridge looking for a plantbased option, Toatl provides the opportunity to convert these shoppers with a great tasting offer. This will bring new consumers into the segment and drive incremental sales. It’s a must have,” he said.

May says at the core of demand for any food or beverage offering is taste, and despite health or environmental concerns, at the end of the day, for a consumer to make repeat purchases, a product has to taste good.

“We can’t forget the fundamentals of food and beverage demand, which is it has to taste good and that’s I think, ultimately where the market has really found its place.

“As a consumer, [a plant milk] has to fit those categories really well, so it tastes good and it works in all the applications you would expect dairy to,” he said.

Above all other plant-based milks, May said the rapid rise in the popularity of oat is because it is a familiar and wellreceived ingredient in Western countries like Australia.

“Oats are a really well-accepted ingredient in Western countries, and I think that makes a real difference in terms of take up of the product, relative to a product such as soy milk,” he said.

Where to next?

Associate Professor Nitika Garg, a researcher in consumer behaviour from the School of Marketing at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), said it’s possible that, in time, plant milk will take over dairy milk in popularity.

“Much of the growth to date appears to be consumer-driven, so I would expect the trend to continue to grow.

“As these brands continue to scale up their manufacturing and marketing efforts, there’s a huge opportunity for a true milk substitute to emerge and compete with dairy,” she said.

Everyone’s decisions are slightly different. It could be lactose intolerance, it could be environmental sustainability, it could be that it just tastes good. I think there is a whole range of factors.

– Andrew May, Co-CEO, Unigrain

One possible roadblock is cost, as plant-based milk is generally sold at a higher price point than regular dairy milk, making it unrealistic to assume it will take over completely any time soon.

“We do have an issue with making products such as plant-based milk accessible for everyone. They are more expensive, and some consumers who might want to switch can’t, especially with the cost of living right now where every dollar counts.

“It might be something governments need to explore, to help subsidise in the same way they subsidise the dairy industry,” said Associate Professor Garg.

Professor Johannes le Coutre from the School of Chemical Engineering at UNSW notes another challenge with plant-based products, including milk, comes from the manufacturing process.

“There are challenges when it comes to plant-based products in that they usually destroy a lot of nutritional goodness and require a lot of resources just to mimic a product [milk] that isn’t intended for human consumption in the first place,” he said.

May agrees and said there’s still progress to be made in the manufacturing process of plant-based milk to optimise taste and nutritional value.

“I certainly think there is a long way to go in terms of specific product development,” he said, especially regarding oat milk, which is highly geared towards creating the best experience possible for the coffee consumer.

“Innovation will also be important in terms of other kinds of plant-based mixes whether that be oats, or oat milk produced in combinations with other plant-based ingredients, so there’s certainly still a long way to go,” he said.

Taking things a step further, Professor le Coutre says plant-based milk is just the beginning of a new global food system that will give consumers a wider variety of choices than ever before.

“Plant-based products, existing animal-based materials and, someday soon, cell-based and blended products improve our food choices.

“As we expand our portfolio of products, it enriches the spectrum of offerings in the market to everybody’s benefit,” he said.