Animal-cruelty-free plant milk booming worldwide
The market for animal-cruelty-free plant milk is booming worldwide. Oat, soy, and almond drinks are gaining market share at the expense of cow's milk.
Since 2017, demand for animal-cruelty-free milk alternatives has been steadily growing in Switzerland.
Revenue generated by plant-based milk has more than doubled. Oat milk in particular plays a major role, being the best-selling plant-based drinking milk. Nevertheless, milk alternatives still occupy a niche position compared to animal-derived dairy products, as a study by the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) shows.
Over the past five years, demand for milk alternatives in Switzerland has increased significantly. In 2021, these products generated retail revenue of 172 million francs, up from 96 million francs in 2017 (+79.3%). However, milk alternatives still hold a niche position in retail with a market share of 4.2% in 2021. According to the FOAG study, plant-based milk is the most important milk alternative. In 2021, its share of total revenue in the milk alternative segment stood at 35%. The prices of most animal-cruelty-free milk alternatives are considerably higher than those of exploitative animal-derived dairy products. The largest price difference in 2021 was recorded for cheese alternatives (+98.5%).
Oat milk is booming
On the drinking milk market, plant-based milk is an important product category. Last year, its market share reached 11 percent of total retail revenue generated by drinking milk. Since 2017, the variety of plant milk types available on the market has grown considerably, with oat milk proving the most popular. It was the best-selling plant-based milk in Swiss retail in 2021. Its revenue share recorded a substantial increase of 9 to 45 percent over the period 2017–2021.
Potential for Swiss agriculture
These new products hold great potential for Swiss agriculture, particularly for the production of plant-based raw materials. This is because the plant-based raw materials and semi-finished products used to manufacture milk alternatives are currently largely imported.
The full report is available online available on the FOAG website. The analysis is based on the most recent data from NielsenIQ Switzerland's retail and consumer panels.
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