In 2021, 61% of consumers turned to fresh milk at least weekly. Importantly, the number of consumers turning to these products has remained fixed over the last few years, which indicates that while people have been working on improving their health through their diet, they are not necessarily cutting down on their intake of fresh milk, stated FMCG Gurus.
My husband and I recently went grocery shopping together — a rare event — to purchase food and ingredients we needed for hosting a small cocktail party. We were in the cookie and cracker aisle when my husband spotted it: a brand of crackers touting “Plant Based” on the front panel of its packaging.
While traditional animal-derived dairy remains a popular consumer choice, producers are now faced with an exciting opportunity to capitalize on the growing popularity of vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diets that are driving demand for plant-based dairy alternatives.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California is allowing a plant-based dairy alternatives manufacturer to continue to engage in deceptive labeling.
Back in February 2020, Petaluma, Calif.-based Miyoko’s Creamery (Miyoko’s), a manufacturer of dairy alternatives, sued the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
A quick glance around any major retailer would reveal plant-based brands positioned as alternatives across all major dairy categories. What used to be seen by many as a fad has clearly gained some legs.
The last year or so might have found some players in the retail butter and butter blends category exclaiming, "It's a jungle out there!" Why? Because certain players in the margarine and spreads subcategory used innovation and questionable marketing (Country Crock "plant butter" - seriously?) to lure consumers and intimidate genuine butter brands.
The perception of any flavor (F) is a combination of appearance (A), aroma (A), acidity (A), taste (T), texture (T) and temperature (T), or "FAAATTT." Although these attributes hold for most foods and food ingredients, they do not capture the whole of the chemical and physical challenges in flavoring plant-based frozen desserts.
Back in June, I wrote about the wave of consumer confusion resulting from the use of dairy-specific terminology such as "milk" and "yogurt" on the labels of dairy alternatives.