We're so excited to be driving growth alongside other brands shaking up a range of categories - including growing condiments in a number of retailers alongside fellow challengers like Sauce Shop and Hunter & Gather! 🌶️ 🥑 🍅 🔥
Head of Sales at North Star | Championing Challengers | Democratising Data | FMCG Expert
With the recent announcement of Oddlygood acquiring Rude Health, I thought it would be valuable to explore the current trends in the milk and milk alternatives category – and perhaps why this consolidation makes sense! At North Star , we work closely with founders, diving deep into category and shopper insights to understand the trends and behaviours shaping the market. Our mission? To help our brand partners accelerate their retail growth by aligning with these insights. Here’s what we are seeing in this evolving category, 🥛 Milk & Alternatives – A £3.8bn Category: It’s a huge category but currently declining at 4% year on year. Fresh milk is still dominant, contributing £3.3bn, with UHT at just over £500m. 🥛 Plant-Based Milk Alternatives – Growth Potential Amid Challenges Representing £355m (9% of the category), plant-based alternatives have long been considered the growth engine. However, this subcategory is now coming into a challenging outlook. What’s driving this shift? Range Rationalisation: A significant reduction in SKUs—from 300 to 200—has impacted variety and consumer choice. Economic Pressure: With plant-based options costing twice as much per litre as dairy milk, affordability has been a barrier as we have navigated tougher economic conditions. Dietary Trends: Changing consumer preferences have also influenced demand, with some moving toward functional or alternative health-driven choices. And yet, there’s reason for optimism. As the infographic highlights, when retailers nail their range and positioning, both categories and brands can thrive. Shoutout to Moo Free Chocolates, BOL Foods, and Dr. Will's demonstrating that when retailers get their ranges right, it drives growth for all parties! Looking forward, a few questions come to mind: How can we balance accessibility and premium positioning to appeal to a wider shopper base? Are today’s plant-based options meeting diverse shopper missions and usage occasions? And most importantly, how can brands play an active role in growing the category “pie” rather than just competing for share? Would love to hear anyone's thoughts on the above. How do you see the plant-based milk alternatives category evolving in the coming years? Minor Figures MOMA Foods Oddlygood Rude Health Bonsoy THE COCONUT COLLABORATIVE LTD Sproud