Almond Milk Case Study: Driving Innovation in the US Milk Substitutes Market

Owing to the growing health and personalization needs of US consumers, the consumption of dairy beverages has declined in recent decades. In contrast, the popularity of milk substitutes has risen. Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze and Silk’s Pure Almond have tapped into the specific needs of US consumers and distinguished themselves in the milk substitute market to achieve significant sales growth.

• Grow sales of milk substitute products by learning how consumers’ health and personalization needs can be leveraged to enhance brand credibility. * Gain a competitive edge in the milk substitutes market by uncovering the future direction of US consumer, product and market trends. * Stimulate ideation and invigorate brands by learning from Blue Diamond and Silk’s recent market success in the milk substitute market.

Datamonitor’s research shows that the launch of Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze and Silk’s Pure Almond, in 2009 and 2010 respectively, has served to fuel the recent growth of the milk substitutes segment, which grew by 13% in 2010. The recent US success of almond milk stems from its ability to satisfy consumers growing health and personalization needs, as well as its success in forming a point of differentiation in the milk alternatives segment. A superior nutritional profile has provided almond milk with stand out appeal against other milk substitutes, such as soy milk.

• How have consumers’ health and personalization needs impacted on the US dairy beverage market over the past decades? * How have Blue Diamond and Silk achieved a point of differentiation in the milk substitute market, and in doing so gained a competitive advantage? * What are the future market opportunities for brands wanting to succeed in the milk substitute space?

Table of contents

DATAMONITOR VIEW
Catalyst
Summary

ANALYSIS
The US liquid dairy milk market has fallen foul of a more health-conscious consumer base
Growing US consumer interest in health and wellness is fueling the decline in dairy milk consumption
The decline in consumption of cow's milk has been accompanied by the growth of the US milk substitutes segment
The declining consumption of cow’s milk forms part of a broader consumer trend towards "better for you" products
The personalization needs of US consumers are further driving the trend towards milk substitutes
A significant proportion of US consumers are seeking food and beverage products that respond to their specific wants and needs
Rising US consumer awareness of food allergies and intolerances is serving to spur the demand for non-dairy milk alternatives
Almond milk has served to fuel the growth of the milk alternatives category over the last couple of years
Two brands, Silk's Pure Almond and Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze, currently dominate the almond milk segment
A number of factors have converged to drive the growth of the almond milk market
Other manufacturers are making efforts to capitalize on the almond milk market, following Blue Diamond's and Silk's recent success
Conclusions and recommendations

APPENDIX
Case studies series
Methodology
Secondary sources
Further reading
Ask the analyst
Datamonitor consulting
Disclaimer

Related research categories

By sector: Dairy (in Soft drinks)

By market: United States (in North America)