As reported last week, up to a quarter of British consumers are now purchasing plant-based milk, and globally consumers are willing to pay double for milks such as coconut, oat and almond. Latest figures from Mintel also describes the trends across age groups and shows that young people between 16-24 in the UK are steadily refusing dairy milk.
The Mintel insights into the changing milk market in the UK include the following:
- 26% of women prefer plant-based milk.
- A third (33%) of 16-24s opt for these varieties.
- Growth is largely fuelled by category entrants such as oat (sales grew by 71% 2017 to 2018), coconut (up 16% between 2017-18) and almond variants (up 10% between 2017-18).
- However, use of non dairy milks is shown to be limited for cooking and usage for hot drinks. Just 25% of plant-based milk consumers use these products in cooking. 65% of plant-based milk users would welcome advice on how to use dairy alternatives in cooking.
- Consumption of cow milk dropped from 79% in 2018 to 73% for 16-24-year-olds between 2017 – 2018. Usage of cow milk in the UK is now concentrated amongst older consumers, with 92% of over-45’s still consuming dairy options.
- In terms of motivation: 37% of 16-24s have reduced consumption of cow’s milk in the last 12 months for health reasons, and 16-24s were shown as the age group most likely (36%) to agree that the dairy industry is detrimental for the environment.
Click here to read the Good Food Institute’s comprehensive data on the US plant-based milk market.