Alpro new branding

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Manufacturing & Technology

France: Danone Completes Conversion of Dairy Yogurt Plant to Oat Milk Production

French multinational food corporation Danone has converted its dairy yogurt plant in Villecomtal-sur-Arros to oat milk production. The company announced it was planning the conversion in 2021, as the French market for plant-based products continued to increase. Jobs at the plant will be retained following the transition, which required two years of work and a €43 million investment. The facility will mostly produce oat milk for Danone’s plant-based brand, Alpro, which the company acquired in 2017. Initially, around 100,000 litres per day will be produced, but this could eventually rise to as much as 300,000. Around 90% of this will be exported, mainly to other European countries. Danone now has four plant-based milk facilities across Europe — the others are in Issenheim (France), Lunnarp (Sweden), …

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Supermarket shelves with alt milk courtesy ProVeg

Image courtesy ProVeg

Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

Plant-Based Brands Condemn “Discriminatory” Taxes on Milk Alternatives in Belgium

Plant-based brands are drawing attention to the disparities in taxes on milk alternatives in Belgium, which have been described as “discriminatory”. Like cow’s milk, rice and soy milks are exempt from taxes, but other types — such as almond, oat, and pea — are not legally considered to be alternative milk sources. This means they are taxed at a rate of 22 cents for sweetened drinks and 17 cents for unsweetened. Unexpected bill One company that has fallen victim to this disparity is Tiptoh, a Belgian pea milk producer. When the company first launched, the founders assumed their product fell within the milk alternative category. However, they then received a bill for €30,000 in excise duties, plus a €10,000 fine. “I had no idea we …

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Leading plant-based milk brands urge Swedish government to push for change in EU School Scheme Review

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Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

Oatly, Alpro, DUG, Planti, and More Urge Swedish Government to Push for Plant-Based Milk in EU School Scheme Review

Oatly, Alpro (Danone), DUG (Veg of Lund), Planti, Oddlygood, and Sproud, under the umbrella of Plant-based Sweden (Växtbaserat Sverige), have sent a letter to the Swedish government urging it to advocate for the inclusion of plant-based milk in the upcoming review of the EU School Scheme. Currently, the EU School Scheme aids over 20 million European children by providing them with milk, fruit, and vegetables. However, it does not encompass milk alternatives, even though numerous children are unable or unwilling to consume dairy due to medical, ethical, taste, or environmental concerns. Last year, ProVeg and The Vegan Society collected tens of thousands of signatures calling for the EU to add plant-based milk to the scheme. The Green REV Institute also issued an open letter calling for plant milk in schools, arguing that …

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Milk- and Dairy Alternatives

Danone Puts €2 Price Cap on Alpro Milk in Belgium to Boost Category

French multinational Danone announces a campaign in Belgium where it will cap prices for Alpro plant milks (Oat and Almond, with and without sugar), at €2, representing a reduction of between 20% and 40%, depending on the retailer. The manufacturer has signed a commercial deal with food distributors to agree on the price cap. “Of course, it is the retailers who set the selling prices, but they have all undertaken to take part in the action and not to charge consumers more than €2 for the next six weeks”, Olivier Rabartin, sales director at Danone Belux, explained to Belgium’s Retail Detail. “We have reached a commercial agreement with our customers. The discussions were not easy, especially at the beginning, but they are playing the game,” …

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Company News

The Protein Brewery Appoints Former Alpro CEO Sue Garfitt

The Protein Brewery of the Netherlands announces the appointment of Sue Garfitt as new CEO as it prepares to go to market. Garfitt was previously CEO at Alpro where she established the brand across Europe, delivering year-on-year double-digit growth, after serving at PepsiCo and bagel brand New York Bakery.   The Protein Brewery’s hero product is Fermotein®, a fungi-based ingredient for which it raised €22M in Series A in November 2020. The company built a pilot plant in Breda in the Netherlands in June of last year and announced ambitious upscaling the following October, stating: “To meet the soaring demand for proteins, we need a paradigm shift. A different solution than the ones we used that caused the problem. So we decided to brew proteins …

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Beverages

abillion Announces World’s Ten Best Vegan Milks 2022

abillion recently released the results its awards for the World’s Ten Best Vegan Milks for 2022, based on over 2 million consumer reviews of vegan products on the abillion app. The ten winning vegan milk products were determined by evaluating over 26,000 reviews of 3,500 plant-based milk products from abillion members in 86 countries, posted from July 2021 to June 2022. Amongst the 86 countries, abillion found that consumption of vegan milks was highest amongst members in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, South Africa, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In first place this year is Danone-owned Alpro, a leader in the plant-based food category for over 40 years. Alpro Barista Soya is named the people’s choice for the world’s best …

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Company News

Alpro Picks Ten Time World Champion Kitesurfer Gisela Pulido as Brand Ambassador

Plant-based drinks brand Alpro has chosen Gisela Pulido, ten-time world champion kitesurfer, as brand ambassador to present its new range of high-protein products. The sportswoman was chosen because she has been following a plant-based diet for 10 years, with the aim of dispelling the myths that plant protein is less effective than animal protein in achieving good sporting performance. In the new campaign, Alpro presents six products to be consumed at different times of the day. This launch includes its first vegetable protein pudding in chocolate and vanilla flavour, one-litre vegetable drinks in chocolate or natural flavour containing 50g of protein, and drinkable to go with 20g of protein in chocolate and caramel coffee flavour. As Maria Rodeja, Senior Brand Manager at Alpro explains, “For …

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NotCo NotMilk Alpro Not M*lk

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Food & Beverage

Got NotBeef? NotCo Bites Back after Alpro Launches Not M*LK

This January, Danone-owned brand Alpro launched a new non-dairy range to supermarket shelves in the UK, claiming to be the brand’s most convincing offering yet to cow’s milk yet, under the name of Not M*lk. A plant-based (not) beef has arisen, however, as that name was already taken by the Chilean food tech pioneer NotCo’s plant-based alternative NotMilk.  In response to this, NotCo has humorously suggested 100 original names for plant-based milk brands to use. Kiko Borger, Global Creative Director at NotCo, posted on social media: “What do you do when one of the biggest players of the food industry uses your name on their plant based milk brand? We decided to give a little creative help. And you can do it too: https://notco.com/us/100names,” with …

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Silk Launches NextMilk Dairy Lovers

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Products & Launches

The Future of Plant-Based Milk? Silk Launches “Revolutionary” Nextmilk to Win Over Dairy Lovers

Silk announces the introduction of Nextmilk to appeal to dairy consumers who still prefer the taste of cow’s milk over plant-based alternatives.  Nextmilk is Silk’s first launch of a plant-based beverage designed to deliver the exact taste and sensory experience of actual cow’s milk. Nextmilk is Non-GMO certified, lactose-free and contains 30% fewer calories than dairy. It also offers six key nutrients found in dairy: calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, B12, riboflavin and phosphorus. Available in Original and Reduced Fat varieties, the product retails for $4.99 per carton and can be found at Target, Kroger, Publix and HEB stores across the US.  Silk, a Danone North America brand, says Nextmilk’s creamy flavor and texture took painstaking analysis and testing to develop. Danone’s research and innovation …

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Alpro Not M*lk

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Products & Launches

Alpro Rolls Out Not M*lk Across UK, Claims to Be Closest Match to Dairy Yet

Alt dairy leader Alpro is bringing two new products to supermarket shelves in the UK. Claiming to be the brand’s most convincing offering yet to cow’s milk, Not M*lk will be available in semi-skimmed and whole fat varieties.  Keeping up with the conventional cow’s milk theme, Not M*lk – made from European-grown oats – will come in recyclable cartons featuring a glass milk bottle design. The products will be in Tesco stores as of next week, with a wider retail launch planned for later in the year, with an RRP of £1.90.  Following years of explosive growth, alt dairy is one of plant-based’s biggest success stories in the UK, with a third of adults now drinking plant-based milk. Oat milk dominates the market, with UK …

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Company News

Alpro Completes $23M Upgrade for UK Plant, Aims to Surpass $5Bn in Plant-Based Sales in 2025

Danone has invested $23m for a UK plant upgrade for its plant-based dairy brand Alpro to meet the increasing demand for plant-based dairy products in the UK and reach ambitious plant-based sales goals for 2025. Alpro‘s $23 million upgrade project in Kettering plant includes the installation of a new high-speed manufacturing line capable of processing 300 million litres of plant-based beverages per year, with further plans to increase its capacity to 400 million litres in 2022, as reported by The Grocer. According to Just Food, Alpro’s Kettering plant received a total of $56 million to increase capacity of its soy, oat, rice and coconut-based drinks for the UK market. The project added 25 new jobs to the existing staff of 200 employees. Going forward, Danone …

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Society

Plant-Based Food Alliance Launches to Help Make UK a Global Plant-Based Leader

A new coalition of companies, charities, and civil groups called the Plant-Based Food Alliance, with founding members Alpro, Oatly, ProVeg UK, Upfield, and The Vegan Society, has launched in the UK to provide a voice for the growing plant-based sector. The Alliance says its aim is to “help make the UK a global leader in plant-based food and drink”. The organisation will be developing a UK Plant-based Food Charter, which will enable businesses to collaborate with the UK government to promote the transition to a plant-based diet. The Alliance will campaign for policies such as: Public health campaigns informing people of the benefits of a plant-based diet. Labels on food packaging to show the environmental impact of plant-based versus animal-based products. Support to help farmers …

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Brand Equity Director Gaetan van de Populiere

Interviews

Danone: “We Plan to Triple Worldwide Plant-Based Sales From €1.7 Billion to Around €5 Billion by 2025”

Danone, one of the world’s leading suppliers of dairy products, recently announced that it intends to triple its sales of plant-based products by 2025. Last month, the CEO of Danone SA, predicted that the next decade will see consumers consistently moving away from animal proteins and towards plant-based products.

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