Naseerah Nanabhai

30-09-2020

Alternatives to dairy, such as plant-based milk have been available commercially for years. But recently consumers’ interest in these products have soared.

This increase in demand is driven not only by consumers with allergies to dairy products and those who follow a vegan lifestyle but is also due to the rising awareness about the benefits offered by dairy alternatives. The ingredients of plant-based dairy provide better nutritional benefits in comparison to conventional dairy products.

The variety of plant-based alternative dairy products include soy, oat, almond, rice and coconut. These alternatives are technically not milk, as they’re not derived from mammals. But they do, however, contain fewer calories than low-fat milk. Protein, calcium, nutrient, vitamins, and other minerals content in these dairy alternatives are more than that of milk.

It is important to consider the varying nutritional quality of the different alternatives when making your selection. Companies serving the dairy alternative ingredients market have centred their focus on flavoured formulations to lure consumers, particularly aimed at the younger generation.

Swiss food giant Nestle is soon to host start-ups that want to develop vegetarian alternatives. Subsequently, placing itself at the forefront of a sector that has strong growth potential.

The group unveiled vegetable-based milk that had already been developed with the process, and technical director Stefan Palzer told AFP it planned to focus on 100-200 such projects a year.

“As a company, we have set ambitious climate goals. This is part of our promise to develop products that are good for you and good for the planet,” it said.