A study by Dairy Management Inc. shows more than half of those who consume non-dairy equivalents think the nutritional content is the same. More than half of all consumers said they believe the plant-based beverages are labeled “milk” because their nutrition is the same as dairy. More than two-thirds of those who only bought plant-based milk thought the two were the same, and six in 10 dual dairy and plant-based buyers felt that way. Less than a quarter of exclusive dairy milk buyers, however, had that opinion. More consumers who only buy dairy milk said their purchases were driven by taste (74%) and price (59%). More exclusive plant-based consumers value health benefits (65%), digestive benefits (50%) and longer shelf life (51%).
Source: fooddive.com
Lightbulb Moment: The idea that so many consumers consume both dairy and non-dairy beverages is interesting because while dairy and non-dairy are behaving adversarially towards each other, clearly consumers are not drawing those hard lines. I also wonder, for those consumers who think dairy and non-dairy are nutritionally equivalent, if they found out that they are not equivalent – would it change their consumption patterns?