Barley, hemp, pistachio and buckwheat will probably be ones to look at – and never simply within the milk class, KeHE Distributors predicts in its 2022 macro tendencies report.
“Through the years, manufacturers have been in a position to reply to the non-dairy client shift by offering appropriate options reminiscent of nut, rice and soy, however as client wants proceed to evolve, so do a majority of these dairy options,” Josh Lopez, progress options supervisor at KeHE, advised FoodNavigator-USA.
The high-traffic dairy aisle, significantly refrigerated plant-based milks, nonetheless presents essentially the most potential within the long-term, he provides, however different classes like creamers, yogurts, butters, dips and spreads, cheeses and frozen desserts supply quick progress potential.
Vying for the highlight
“Oats are actually within the highlight as a result of they’ve a variety of well being and dietary advantages, are allergen-friendly, and are a sustainable and environmentally pleasant grain,” Lopez says.
In keeping with SPINS knowledge for the 52 weeks as much as Nov. 28, 2021, oat-based merchandise as dairy options had been up near 77%, driving progress throughout main classes. Lopez highlights the exponential progress of Endangered Species’ newer oat milk baking chips and chocolate bars and OATzarella’s plant-based cheeses and frozen cheesecakes throughout the identical interval.
To seize shelf house from extra established dairy options or bigger client packaged items, he says that competing firms should ship “a differentiated product that addresses a particular allergy or nutritional-related drawback and has a compelling story and mission.”
Final 12 months, dairy big Danone debuted its Silk Greek Type Coconutmilk Yogurt Alternate options and added So Scrumptious cheese slices and spreads to its shreds. This month, it plans to roll out Silk Nextmilk and So Scrumptious Wondermilk, made with coconut oil and cream, soy, oat and chicory root to style and carry out like dairy throughout functions.
Within the smaller vegan cheese class, startups like Grounded Meals – that ferments hemp seeds and cauliflower to create different goat cheese, cream cheese and cheese sauce – are competing with first movers Miyoko’s Creamery, Daiya, Observe Your Coronary heart and Kite Hill, that are already effectively established out there.
Breaking into the phase
New firms breaking into the phase promote model ethics, allergen options and dietary attributes throughout packaging and social media however are additionally specializing in mimicking the dairy expertise.
Chilean startup NotCo made a splash within the US with its NotMilk in 2020, utilizing synthetic intelligence to simulate animal-derived milk with a mix of cabbage, pineapple juice, pea protein, chicory root fiber, coconut oil and sunflower oil. It already has its sights set on assembly challenges in different dairy different classes.
“We’re solely starting so I’d say that in 5 years from now, we’re going to have a stretchy, melty, tacky cheese that isn’t cheese,” Matias Muchnick, CEO and founding father of NotCo shared within the October FoodNavigator-USA October Broadcast Series, hinting that buyers could also be shocked by the components.
Take Two Meals repurposes spent grain from the beer-brewing course of to create its dairy-free Barleymilk. Excessive in fiber and protein, it comprises extra calcium per serving than dairy milk and is enriched with vitamin D.
“Though nonetheless in its infancy, barley as a substitute has quite a lot of potential in years to come back and brings quite a lot of interesting elements – particularly for Gen Z consumers,” says Lopez, citing 2021 Mintel findings that these youthful customers are extremely influenced by environmental and animal welfare ethics.
Different Take Two merchandise within the pipeline: yogurts, ice cream, cheese and creamers.
