Happy World Plant Milk Day
Today (22 August) marks the first ever World Plant Milk Day. This celebration of plant based milk is the latest in a string of campaigns – such as Meat-free Mondays, National Vegetarian Week and Veganuary – that shows the extent of the free from boom.
Indeed, figures from Kantar Worldpanel published earlier this year reveal the free from category has been boosted by 36% year on year. Kantar notes that 54% of the UK population purchased a free from product during Q1 2017, which is 3.3 million more people than last year.
An international awareness day, World Plant Milk Day has been designed to mark this recent explosion in popularity of dairy-free alternatives – such as almond, oat, soya, hemp, hazelnut and coconut – and hopes to raise awareness of their health, animal welfare and environmental benefits.
Innova Market Insights identified ‘Plant Powered Growth’ as one of its top trends for this year, and the figures suggest this trend will continue; the global market for dairy alternative drinks is expected to reach $16.3 billion next year, up from $7.4bn in 2010, says Innova.
Whether it’s concern over allergies, intolerances, health, animal welfare, environment or weight management, consumers highlight many reasons as to why they are turning to free from products, either permanently or as part of a pick and mix approach to suit their lifestyles. And thanks to a growing number of campaigns, such as today’s, consumers have never been better informed about the benefits of free from products.
Mintel research shows the influence of meat reduction campaigns; 39% of meat limiters or reducers say that meat reduction campaigns such as Meat-free Mondays, National Vegetarian Week and Veganuary have made them more aware of the benefits of eating less meat. Let’s see what impact World Plant Milk Day has on the popularity of dairy alternatives.
