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There’s never been a better time to be a consumer of plant-based milks. Between the ever-growing list of ingredients used to create these beverages and the explosion of striking new flavors, this chunk of the dairy-alternatives market is booming. In fact, the dairy sector has become so concerned about the success of plant-based milks that it recently prompted 

. The letter, which requests the agency enforce against non-dairy beverages carrying the term 

 was meant to prevent dairy from losing further market share to plant-based alternatives.

No word yet on FDA’s response, but with each passing month the list of plant-based milks on the market only grows. To start with, pistachio and pecan emerged as two new primary ingredients for U.S. plant-based milks in the past year, says Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova Market Insights. In particular, she points to the new Dark Chocolate Pistachio Milk and Strawberry Pecan Milk from NÃ¼Moo, both of which launched in March of 2016. 

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Barley, hazelnuts, walnuts, chia, hemp, and other plant ingredients are now being used to make milks, with formulators even experimenting with plant-based blends. For instance, Williams notes, the new Dream Blends unsweetened beverage from Hain Celestial, which launched last August, combines coconut, almond, and chia. 

Another standout launch from 2016 is Ripple, a line of plant-based milks made from yellow peas. Neil Renninger, PhD, co-founder and co-CEO of Ripple Foods, says that while most alternative milks lack the protein content of dairy milk, Ripple offers 8 grams of protein per serving. Ripple is also suitable for uses besides straight drinking, including use in pancakes, soups, breads, scrambled eggs, and ice cream, according to Renninger.

Several milks made from macadamia nuts also made their debut in 2016, including beverages from Royal Hawaiian Orchards in both original and vanilla flavors. Caroline Didlake, assistant marketing manager for Royal Hawaiian Orchards, describes the brand’s macadamia milk as a “diverse dairy alternative” that can be used in baking applications, in smoothies, as a coffee creamer, and with hot cereal and oatmeal. 

Patons Macadamia re-launched its Suncoast Gold macadamia milk last year in order to replace maltodextrin and carrageenan with locust bean gum, sunflower lecithin, and gellan gum. (The milk first launched in December of 2014.) Although many plant-based milks lack the characteristic texture of dairy milk, macadamia milk is high in monounsaturated fats, providing the smooth, creamy texture that consumers are often looking for, explains Kirsten Kleinschmidt, brand manager for Patons Macadamia.

While established beverages like almond milk continue to be solid sellers, other emerging plant-based milks may be better suited for certain applications. Kari Davis, associate brand manager for Pacific Foods, explains that her brand’s hazelnut non-dairy beverage is a better choice to go with coffee than an almond-based beverage, as almond products may separate when combined with the acidity of coffee. And if baking is the goal, a hemp non-dairy beverage is a great choice, as hemp acts similarly to traditional dairy in many recipes.

But no matter what the intended use of a plant-based milk is, the wealth of options now available almost guarantees it’s possible to achieve without dairy.  

“The sheer number of varieties available-hemp, oat, coconut, and more-as well as the variations, like flavored with vanilla or unsweetened, make this an exciting time for the category,” says Pacific Foods. “What was formerly thought of as a replacement for dairy milk for those with sensitivities has become a must-have for health-conscious and specialty-diet consumers alike.” 

Would Banning Plant-Based Milks from Using the Word "Milk" Really Solve Dairy’s Problems?

Michael Crane is the former associate editor of Nutritional Outlook magazine.

Articles

From pistachios to peas, emerging ingredients for plant-based milks are opening the category up to additional applications and consumers. 

Plant-Based Milks Branching Out

Although healthfulness is not often a key factor shoppers consider when buying a snack-particularly snacks that are impulse or on-the-go purchases-snack makers nevertheless are trying to provide better-for-you options. According to Innova Market Insights data, over 40% of global snack launches recorded in the 52 weeks ending October 2016 were positioned as healthy, rising to over 73% in the U.S. 

The type of “healthy” claim used depends on the snack. The snacks market is highly diverse, and some snack types may focus on a different type of healthy claim or may make greater use of healthy claims overall. The snacks market, as defined by Innova Market Insights, includes not only traditional savory or salty snacks and snack nuts and seeds, but also products such as meat snacks, popcorn, and fruit-based snacks, as well as finger foods and hors d’oeuvres. 

In the United States, the highest number of new product launches tends to occur in the traditional salty snacks and snack nuts and seeds category (representing nearly 64% of total snack launches). Marketers selling these types of products do not seem to be as interested in making healthy claims compared to other types of products in the snacks market. Among those products that do make claims, fruit snacks and meat snacks lead, with 86% of launches making a healthy claim. Popcorn is the next most active category, with 80% of launches making healthy claims.

The fruit snacks market is now very diverse and generally covers a number of categories, including dried fruit, fruit bars, and processed fruit snacks. The intrinsically natural and healthy image of fruit has helped to drive this market forward, and companies in this space will find that clean-label claims are relatively easy to make. 

Half of the fruit snack launches recorded in the 12 months ending October 2016 used either a “natural” or “no additives/preservatives” claim. This rises to nearly 60% if organic claims are also included. Recent concerns over high sugar content in the diet have also resulted in the rising use of sugar content claims in fruit snacks, including “no added sugar,” “low sugar,” and “sugar free.” In fact, one-third of fruit snack launches carried these types of claims.

The U.S. meat snacks market is dominated by jerky-style products. Surprisingly, despite being relatively mature, this market has shown good growth in recent years as manufacturers have updated their product ranges to focus on a healthier image, more convenient packaging formats, and a greater choice of flavor options, particularly hot and spicy flavors.

A particular driver of the meat snacks market in the past few years has been the rising interest in protein content across the food and drinks spectrum as a whole. Meat snacks are well positioned to use protein content claims, with “high in” or “source of” protein claims featured in 60% of launches in the 12 months ending in October 2016 (up from less than 15% of launches five years previously).

The popcorn market is also relatively well developed in the U.S., although it remains one of the smallest sub-categories of the snacks market in terms of launch numbers, representing just under 9% of total snack launches. The good news is that popcorn has seen a faster growth rate than the snacks category as a whole in recent years. 

Popcorn marketers present a healthy image, focusing on popcorn’s natural, low-calorie, and high-fiber properties. Marketers are also drawing interest through a growing variety of ever bolder and more complex flavors, both sweet and salty. In the wake of rising interest in “free from” foods, popcorn has also been able to take advantage of its gluten-free positioning, and in fact this type of claim has soared in the U.S., from being used on 20% of launches in 2011 to over 60% of launches today.

Even in snacks sub-categories where the use of healthy claims is more modest, claims can still have a significant effect on market performance. The share of nuts in global snack food launches has risen in recent years, for example, as nuts have found increasing favor as convenient and nutritious snacks. Increasing awareness of the potential health benefits of snack nuts and seeds and a growing focus on their nutritional value have been key in driving the market forward, with 63% of U.S. launches featuring healthy claims in the 12 months ending October 2016, well ahead of the global figure of near 40%. 

A wide variety of healthy claims are used for these launches, with current interest in clean labeling and “free from” claims especially high. “Natural” and “no additives/ preservatives claims” are also popular claims for nuts and seeds; at least one of these claims were used on nearly 29% of nuts and seeds launches recorded last year, rising to nearly 39% if organic products are also included. Allergy and gluten-free claims also saw high levels of use in these products, each featuring in about 30% of launches. Other key claims are “high in/source of protein,” used for 21% of launches, as well as “high in/source of fiber,” used on over 16% of launches. There is also significant interest in “low cholesterol,” “low sodium,” “no trans fats,” and omega-3 fatty acid claims.

As the definition of snacking continues to broaden, high levels of new product and promotional activity are continuing to help drive sales and interest in snack products. And while offering a relatively healthy profile appears to continue to be important, it is perhaps still less of a driver in some instances than other factors, such as the current focus on premium and super-premium products, often with unusual flavors and ingredients; the development of existing brands; the use of new ingredients and formats; and the targeting of new usage occasions. 

 is your source for new-product data. The Innova Database (

) is the product of choice for the whole product-development team, offering excellent product pictures, search possibilities, and analysis. See what food manufacturers are doing around the world: track trends, competitors, ingredients, and flavors. In today’s fast-moving environment, this is a resource you cannot afford to be without.

Healthy Snacking

As plant food sales continue rising, competition between dairy milks and plant-based milks is heating up, and it all comes down to one word: 

 not to let plant-based milks like soy milk and almond milk use the term 

 to describe their products, some reacted with a bit of an eye roll.

One can understand why the dairy industry feels so threatened. Sales of cow’s milk are falling, to the dismay of dairies and representatives of dairy-producing states, while sales of plant-based milks are growing as more consumers buy dairy alternatives. In their December letter to FDA, the lawmakers said that by calling their products “milk,” plant-based milks mislead consumers into thinking that non-dairy and dairy milks are equivalent.

On the surface, it’s hard to believe that any reasonable consumer would confuse the origins of soy milk and cow’s milk, or, even when tasting the two, not be able to discern the organoleptic differences in taste, smell, and texture. The Good Food Institute (GFI), a nonprofit organization that promotes alternatives to animal agriculture, made these arguments in a petition the group filed on March 2. The petition asks FDA to make clear, in both law and guidance, that “new food” products in general that differ from the conventional standard of identity of a food-think gluten-free bread, almond butter, or, indeed, soy-derived milk-should be able to use the same identifying term as their counterparts (“bread,” “butter,” and “milk”.) Moreover, GFI argues, allowing this is far less confusing to consumers than, say, making a non-dairy vegan cheese call itself a “cultured nut product.”

“Products like soymilk should be called by the names consumers use and recognize,” says Emily Byrd, GFI’s senior communications specialist. “The goal of FDA’s labeling provisions and regulations is to ensure that consumers are not confused. Using common terms such as 

 is the least confusing way to label these products.”

 think dairy representatives have a point is when they argue that consumers could be under the impression that dairy milks and plant-based milks are 

 equivalent if both are called “milk.” In their letter to FDA, the Congressmen wrote, “Milk, produced by the mammary gland, also has a unique nutritional value, providing an excellent source of protein and a wide array of vitamins and minerals, including calcium, vitamins A and D, and potassium. Plant-based products clearly fail to meet this standard of identity. They are unable to match the nutritional makeup of the product they mimic, yet they continue to be marketed as milk.”

While I don’t think that consumers are dense enough to think that soy milk comes from a cow, I do believe they could, without examining labels, potentially believe that plant-based milks are nutritionally equivalent substitutes for dairy milk. In its petition, GFI points out that consumers do have a tool at hand with which to compare two products: the nutrition facts label. But, how many consumers actually look at the nutrition facts label?

La Toya Sutton, an attorney in the advertising, marketing, and media practice at law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, points out that the issue isn’t so much whether plant-based milks are called “milk;” the issue is whether plant-based milks are being 

to imply that they are equivalent to milk and dairy products. GFI argues that this is not the case because by using a qualifying descriptor like “almond” or “soy,” almond and soy milks deliberately set themselves apart from regular dairy milk.

Currently, Sutton says, FDA regulations as written do not prevent plant-based milks from using the word 

Moreover, she says, “I think it would be a really uphill battle to argue that using these terms that are now just standard parts of the lexicon would be misleading and therefore in violation of the law.”

And although the milk industry is right to object if plant-based milks try to infer they are equivalent to dairy milk instead of alternatives if they are not, it’s dubious that banning plant-based milks from using the term 

is solely the answer the dairy industry is looking for. Denying plant-based milks the right to use the word 

 isn’t the answer when it comes to helping the dairy industry regain strength. For whatever their reasons, consumers are making the conscious choice to buy plant-based alternatives, and it goes without saying that their decision to move away from dairy is a much bigger problem for the dairy industry to tackle.

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Editor-in-Chief
Nutritional Outlook magazine


Where I do think dairy representatives have a point is when they argue that consumers could be under the impression that dairy milks and plant-based milks are nutritionally equivalent if both are called “milk.” 

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Plant-Based Milks Branching Out

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Would Banning Plant-Based Milks from Using the Word "Milk" Really Solve Dairy’s Problems?

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