D
airy milk has
a serious
contender to
its throne. In
fact, it seems
to have a bevy of them and
the competition appears to
be growing in number by
the day. The $400bn dairy
industry, with more than
274 million cows worldwide,
has seen the popularity of
milk rapidly dropping in the
last few years as consumer
demand for alternative milks
(or ‘mylk’, if subject to EU
law dictating that ‘milk’ can
only be used for the product
produced by a lactating
mammal) has soared.
According to research from
Mintel, non-dairy milk sales
grew by 61 percent from
2012-17 in the US while
traditional milk sales dropped
by 15 percent.
Meanwhile, efforts to use up
surplus milk by turning it into
(previously) ever-popular
cheese are also coming up
against the reality of dairy
demand declining as a whole.
Combine this with ongoing
trade disputes between
Trump and countries such as
China, and reporting in late
December 2018 showed that
the stockpile of cheese had
hit its highest number since
recording began a century
ago. With consumer demand
shifting so signifi cantly, and
economic factors putting
a dent in other avenues, it
would appear that the dairy
industry is staring down the
barrel of a rough few years.
What may lie ahead?
DAIRY 2.0
ADAPTING THE DAIRY INDUSTRY
TO THE CHANGING MARKET
The competition: plant-
based milks eat into
dairy’s consumer base
One reality that the industry
must contend with is that
dairy milk consumption,
and narratives around it,
are largely Western-centric.
While we are naturally (on
the whole) able to break
down lactose at birth due
to the lactase enzyme,
production of that enzyme
declines in the majority
of humans after weaning.
The mutation that allows
Northern Europeans (along
with a handful of smaller
groups) to continue digesting
Drink Asia
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lactose into adulthood is
comparatively rare on a global
scale; in fact, two-thirds
of all adults worldwide are
considered lactose intolerant.
Even before considering the
rise of brands such as Oatly,
Alpro and the like, dairy
milk producers are placed at
the disadvantage of several
regional markets having
already invested in plant milks
such as soya for centuries.
Oatly, probably the most
notable oat milk brand,
announced last year that it
was increasing production
by 1,250 percent from the
March-April 2020
same time last year; in spring
of 2018 the entire US, along
with the UK and Sweden,
suffered shortages of the
brand as consumer demand
has rapidly outstripped
production capability.
Meanwhile, Mintel found
that although the UK has
seen plant-based milk sales
rise by a third from 2015-
17, the sale of traditional
milk had only increased
by 5 percent. Increasingly
popular in particular among
younger consumers, non-
dairy brands offer a product
that has potentially broader