04.02.12
Total retail sales of soymilk, almond milk, rice milk and other plant milks reached $1.3 billion in 2011, according to “Dairy Alternative Beverages in the U.S.,” a recently released report from market research firm Packaged Facts, Rockville, MD. Many consumers are increasingly turning either to non-caloric beverages or to non-traditional beverages with novel nutritional characteristics or benefits—the latter a positive trend for the dairy alternative beverages market. Various types of plant milks are available in a growing array of formulations. Packaged Facts survey data show that more than half (54%) of U.S. adults who purchase soymilk do so because of the nutritional characteristics of this beverage, and nearly half (43%) do so because of nutritional advantages related to specific personal or household health concerns. While soymilk remains the single most popular type of dairy alternative beverage, with 11% of adults as consumers, almond milk is now close behind in popularity, at 9%. Moreover, 62% of adults who use almond milk are drinking this beverage somewhat more often or much more often than they were five years ago. The almond milk segment, which now accounts for 21% of the retail market for dairy alternative beverages, saw sales increase by 79% in 2011. For further information: www.packagedfacts.com