This is part of Supermarket News’ 2017 Disruptors package. See the entire lineup here.
Got milk?
That’s becoming quite the contentious question lately as plant-based milks are being debated in Congress. The Diary Pride Act, introduced this January, asks Congress to redefine “milk” to be a product coming from a hooved animal, disallowing the myriad and growing milk alternatives from advertising their products as “milk.”
The dairy industry has every reason to be afraid of plant-based alternatives: 58% of adults drink non-dairy milk, and the dairy alternative market is projected to be worth $19.5 billion by 2020, according to speakers at Expo East.
It’s not just dairy that’s in the plant food crosshairs. A study earlier this year found that American consumers cut their beef consumption by 19% between 2005 and 2014.
Nielsen recently looked at sales of plant-based foods intended to replace meat, eggs and dairy and found that those sales reach $3.1 billion with 8.1% growth.
And the future looks even brighter. The plant-based meat market is expected to reach $5 billion by 2020; and plant-based protein could represent one-third of all protein by 2054, according to Expo East speakers.
