Food & Beverage Asia June/July 2020

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INGREDIENTS
Rising demand for dairy-free
products in Asia
Consumers worldwide are growing ever more conscious of their food and
beverage choices, with increasing numbers opting for plant-based products for
a variety of reasons. While Asia has a tradition of milk alternatives, dairy-free
products are yet to make a significant impact on many of its key food categories,
but change is on the horizon. Supatra Chueaychum, Senior Marketing Executive
for Synergy Flavours, writes on the region’s rising interest in dairy-free products,
and explores the opportunities available for manufacturers looking to produce
great tasting plant-based products.
A growing global market
Contrary to popular belief, it is not vegans
who are driving the demand for plantbased
products. Recent statistics show
that flexitarians make up almost 50%
of consumers globally. Once a staple in
many people’s diets, cow’s milk is seeing
increasing competition from the likes
of soya, almond, oat and coconut milks
– retail sales of cow’s milk declined by
US$4.4 billion and $3.1 billion globally
between 2014 and 2019. 1
While Western Europe and North America
have shown a large uplift in plant-based
alternative sales, Asia has not had such
significant performance, as shown in Figure
1 below. Nut-based drinks, like walnut
milk, and blended products containing
a mix of cow’s milk with plant-based
ingredients such as peanut milk, have
largely contributed to sales in the region.
The figures also include soya milk, which is
a staple for many Asian consumers.
There are several factors driving the
demand for these products – health,
environmental and animal welfare are all
key reasons for consumers choosing to
reduce their dairy intake. This is leading
to dairy manufacturers having to diversify
their offering to include plant-based
products, and those companies producing
plant-based products are turning to
innovative new approaches to attract the
consumer’s attention.
Innovation fuelling Asia’s interest
Although Asia does not represent a large
proportion of total dairy-free product
sales, many plant-based alternatives
derive from the region, which has a long
history of tradition in this area and offers
advanced manufacturing processes. China
accounted for 44% of global retail sales
of milk alternatives in 2019, and has the
largest global market for yoghurt, which is
valued at over $22 billion in 2019 1 . Hence,
there is huge opportunity here for growth
and innovation; not just in China, but in
Asia-Pacific as a whole.
Products like plant-based yoghurt and
ice cream are a natural progression, and
brands are already starting to develop
innovative recipes to meet demand. China
saw the first product launch of dairy-free
yoghurt in 2019. Created by Nongfu
Spring, a Chinese beverage company, the
yoghurt was its first foray into the plantbased
space, and is made of a combination
of soybeans, nuts and coconuts.
Figure 1: Sales of dairy-free products by region how that Asia-Pacific has seen a much smaller growth than the likes of
North America and Western Europe, where plant-based alternatives present a dynamic product development space 1
Despite the growing interest in plantbased
products, some work is required
to help boost their appeal. Manufacturers
should look to ready-to-go or snackable
FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA JUNE / JULY 2020