Dairy Milk Sales Plummet As Plant Milk Popularity Rises

There’s a good chance that you have tried once or drink of a daily basis plant-based milk. In recent years, its popularity has had a huge impact on the dairy industry, especially last year. The latest figures revealed the dairy industry plummeted by $1.1 billion in 2018! The Dairy Farmers of America released statistics and found the industry to be worth $13.6 billion in 2018 compared to $14.7 billion the year before. That’s equivalent to an eight percent drop for the industry. And, in truth, it seems like the industry will shrink considerably due to the rise in popularity of veganism and plant-based diets.

The Dairy Farmers of America played down the impact of veganism and complained that low milk prices are to blame. Plant-based milk brands are thriving as sales of alternative milk have grown by sixty-one percent in the past five years in the US alone. Companies such as Oatly have seen a huge rise in demand and even had shortages. The milk industry has reacted by trying to ban the name “milk” or “cheese” for dairy-free alternatives. Some senators have reintroduced legislation to implement the ban. One in five Americans say they are consuming less dairy for health reasons.  Megan Hambleton, Beverage Analyst at Mintel explained: “The healthy positioning and messaging leveraged by non-dairy brands has made an impression on consumers who purchase both dairy and non-dairy milk.”

Michele Simon—executive director of 130-member lobby group Plant-Based Food Association, told VegNews: “In an era of increasing innovation in the food industry, this legislation would send a chilling message to small and emerging businesses: The marketplace is rigged against you in favor of large and powerful special interests. “This mean-spirited bill would harm innovative plant-based food companies that are growing rapidly, providing new, great-tasting options for consumers. This bill would declare the free market dead with the promotion of protectionist policies pushed by dairy-state politicians and their lobbyists.” The dairy-alternative industry is estimated to be worth $17.3 billion globally and predicted to reach $29.6 billion by 2023.

You may also like