While dairy alternative drinks account for a relatively limited 6% share of total global dairy launches recorded by Innova Market Insights in 2015, the market has seen ongoing penetration outside its more traditional Asian market. This is reflected in the static launch numbers for the region over the past five years, while rising activity in Europe has taken its global share up from 30% to 38%.
“The non-dairy milk drinks market has seen considerable development in recent years in the light of rising interest in lactose- and dairy-free options,” said Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova Market Insights. “Its initial spread from traditional markets in Asia to the West was via specialist health-food outlets, but in recent years it has moved more squarely into the mainstream and grown beyond its reliance on soy to a whole range of other plant-based foods, led by nuts and grains.”
Soy milks traditionally dominated the sector and are still featured in more than 60% of dairy alternative drinks launches globally in 2015, either as a main or secondary ingredient, although this has fallen from nearly three-quarters in 2011. Almond milks, which have seen dynamic growth in recent years, have increased their share to feature in more than 28% of launches, ahead of rice, coconut, and oat milks.
The other notable feature of market development has been the stronger move of dairy alternative drinks out of the white milks sub-category and into flavored variants, with increasingly upmarket and complex flavors and blends in line with the milk drinks market as a whole. Furthermore, there has been a strong move into fashionable milk-based coffee drinks.
