Anew set of players is muscling in on the dairy sector but there's not a drop of milk involved. Dairy alternative producers, making everything from substitute milk to butter-style spreads and ice cream, are making healthy returns on growing sales figures. Not shy in coming forward, they have made their mark with a growing number of health-conscious and receptive consumers and have been brave enough to invest heavily in multimedia campaigns which are reaping rewards.
The sum total sales figures may be modest, but take a look at the rate of growth and you realise that something is happening here.
Leading the way is soya milk, with some brands notching up year-on-year sales growth of more than 200%. Market leaders So Good and Alpro, which makes Provamel, already command joint sales of almost £10m in multiple grocers alone, according to the latest data from Information Resources, and both are climbing fast. Provamel's sales topped £4.1m in the 12 months to June, a year-on-year surge in sales of more than 230%.
As ever these days, the trend started in the US and crossed the Atlantic.
Lynn Dornblaser, editorial director (North America) of Mintel's global new products database (GNPD), is among those expecting further growth in the UK.
"Soya milk is a huge phenomenon in the States. Consumers love it because of the perceived health benefits, such as being low in fat. It's still early days in the UK market, but I would expect to see a lot more growth before it levels off."
It's also a product which has received a good press in the UK with a recent report suggesting that drinking soya milk may reduce a woman's risk of breast cancer. According to researchers, the non-dairy alternative to cows' milk contains isoflavone which may block natural oestrogen and lengthen a woman's menstrual cycle. "The amount of soya eaten may have an effect on breast tissue and reduce the risk of breast cancer," says Cancer Research UK's Dr Stephen Duffy.
Yorkshire-based Matthews Foods joined the battle for non-dairy converts at the start of the year, launching Calvia  the UK's first calcium-enriched spread. It was immediately listed by a number of multiples including Safeway and Waitrose.
Skane Dairy UK is another company growing a following, with an oat-based drink marketed under the Oatly brand as "an alternative to milk". First Foods also makes an oat-based milk as well as ice cream-style desserts made from oats which are stocked by Tesco and Sainsbury.
According to Alpro, the "dynamic" £50m non-dairy category is currently growing at the rate of £1m a month, dominated by the growth of soya milk, which accounts for 85% of the market. "Dairy free represents the second fastest growing milk category behind filtered milk, and many retailers are now considering trialling and installing dedicated category fixtures," says a spokesman. "Dairy free products have become part of the major grocery multiples' offering and are no longer a specialist health food shop line. Consumer awareness is currently at 70% and growing."
However, Richard Tolley, marketing director (spreads) at Dairy Crest, is among those who believe non-dairy products will always struggle to compete on the same level as dairy-based offerings.
"The overriding driving force in the market is still taste and at the moment a lot of those products do not deliver on that factor," says Tolley. "They are mainly bought for moral, dietary or ethical concerns.
"I wouldn't say they are to be ignored altogether but such products are still quite niche. I acknowledge that dairy is a very mature and large category which is having shelf space eroded, but the question for retailers will ultimately be whether there is enough room for such niche products."
Joanne Rae, marketing manager at Robert Wiseman Dairies, also believes it is far too early to entertain talk of a non-dairy takeover and claims that any decline in dairy sales has been down to "natural" market forces rather than at the expense of non-dairy, although she admits dairy producers would be wise to keep an eye on the developments in non-dairy.
"We are aware of the increasing popularity of non-dairy products but it is a different ball game all together," she says. "Dairy products still have proven health benefits and consumers are aware of that. It is up to us to ensure that remains the case."
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The sum total sales figures may be modest, but take a look at the rate of growth and you realise that something is happening here.
Leading the way is soya milk, with some brands notching up year-on-year sales growth of more than 200%. Market leaders So Good and Alpro, which makes Provamel, already command joint sales of almost £10m in multiple grocers alone, according to the latest data from Information Resources, and both are climbing fast. Provamel's sales topped £4.1m in the 12 months to June, a year-on-year surge in sales of more than 230%.
As ever these days, the trend started in the US and crossed the Atlantic.
Lynn Dornblaser, editorial director (North America) of Mintel's global new products database (GNPD), is among those expecting further growth in the UK.
"Soya milk is a huge phenomenon in the States. Consumers love it because of the perceived health benefits, such as being low in fat. It's still early days in the UK market, but I would expect to see a lot more growth before it levels off."
It's also a product which has received a good press in the UK with a recent report suggesting that drinking soya milk may reduce a woman's risk of breast cancer. According to researchers, the non-dairy alternative to cows' milk contains isoflavone which may block natural oestrogen and lengthen a woman's menstrual cycle. "The amount of soya eaten may have an effect on breast tissue and reduce the risk of breast cancer," says Cancer Research UK's Dr Stephen Duffy.
Yorkshire-based Matthews Foods joined the battle for non-dairy converts at the start of the year, launching Calvia  the UK's first calcium-enriched spread. It was immediately listed by a number of multiples including Safeway and Waitrose.
Skane Dairy UK is another company growing a following, with an oat-based drink marketed under the Oatly brand as "an alternative to milk". First Foods also makes an oat-based milk as well as ice cream-style desserts made from oats which are stocked by Tesco and Sainsbury.
According to Alpro, the "dynamic" £50m non-dairy category is currently growing at the rate of £1m a month, dominated by the growth of soya milk, which accounts for 85% of the market. "Dairy free represents the second fastest growing milk category behind filtered milk, and many retailers are now considering trialling and installing dedicated category fixtures," says a spokesman. "Dairy free products have become part of the major grocery multiples' offering and are no longer a specialist health food shop line. Consumer awareness is currently at 70% and growing."
However, Richard Tolley, marketing director (spreads) at Dairy Crest, is among those who believe non-dairy products will always struggle to compete on the same level as dairy-based offerings.
"The overriding driving force in the market is still taste and at the moment a lot of those products do not deliver on that factor," says Tolley. "They are mainly bought for moral, dietary or ethical concerns.
"I wouldn't say they are to be ignored altogether but such products are still quite niche. I acknowledge that dairy is a very mature and large category which is having shelf space eroded, but the question for retailers will ultimately be whether there is enough room for such niche products."
Joanne Rae, marketing manager at Robert Wiseman Dairies, also believes it is far too early to entertain talk of a non-dairy takeover and claims that any decline in dairy sales has been down to "natural" market forces rather than at the expense of non-dairy, although she admits dairy producers would be wise to keep an eye on the developments in non-dairy.
"We are aware of the increasing popularity of non-dairy products but it is a different ball game all together," she says. "Dairy products still have proven health benefits and consumers are aware of that. It is up to us to ensure that remains the case."
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