Milk allergies continue to be a growing condition among consumers globally. This report analyses key drivers behind the following of dairy-free diets, the opportunities for more easily digestible options, such as sheep and goat milk, as well as how to position plant-based alternatives to win in this space. It also delves into future opportunities in lab-grown dairy, and products and services in the allergy prevention arena.
This report comes in PPT.
Food allergies are widespread, and continue to affect a significant number of consumers. Although there are many food types that can trigger allergies, eight major food groups represent the bulk of food allergies, among which milk is included. Allergies are a key reason for following dairy-free diets, with key motivators behind choosing them are health and digestion, as well as it being a medical recommendation.
Goat and sheep milks are said to trigger less allergies than cow’s milk, mainly because they contain much less, or no A1 beta-casein, which is one of the milk proteins associated with allergies; instead they mostly contain the more easily digestible A2 beta-casein. Both sheep and goat dairy represent a key pocket of growth in the dairy space, and Asia should remain in the spotlight for developments in these categories.
On the plant-based dairy front, there are opportunities to highlight an “allergy-friendly” profile, particularly with ingredients such as gluten-free oats, peas or rice. Highlighting that the products do not contain highly allergenic ingredients such as tree nuts, peanuts or soy could support this positioning. There are also opportunities in the plant-based milk formula space, although they are still very nascent.
Moving forward, there are opportunities ahead when lab-grown dairy gets to the mass-production stage. It is lactose-free, so it can target lactose-intolerant consumers and others looking to avoid this food component. It remains to be seen what options are feasible to target allergies to milk proteins, as this is currently not possible. Another key area for future focus is products and services around allergy prevention, mainly concerning the early introduction of food allergens to babies.
In packaged food we consider two aspects of food sales: 1) Retail sales. 2) Foodservice. Retail sales is defined as sales through establishments primarily engaged in the sale of fresh, packaged and prepared foods for home preparation and consumption. This excludes hotels, restaurant, cafés, duty free sales and institutional sales (canteens, prisons/jails, hospitals, army, etc). Our retail definition EXCLUDES the purchase of food products from foodservice outlets for consumption off-premises, eg impulse confectionery bought from counters of cafés/bars. This falls under foodservice sales. For foodservice, we capture all sales to foodservice outlets, regardless of whether the products are eventually consumed on-premise or off-premise. Foodservice sales is defined as sales to consumer foodservice outlets that serve the general public in a non-captive environment. Outlets include cafés/bars, FSR (full-service restaurants), fast food, 100% home delivery/takeaway, self-service cafeterias and street stalls/kiosks. Sales to semicaptive foodservice outlets are also included. This describes outlets located in leisure, travel and retail environments. 1) Retail refers to units located in retail outlets such as department stores, shopping malls, shopping centres, super/hypermarkets etc. 2) Leisure refers to units located in leisure establishments such as museums, health clubs, cinemas, theatres, theme parks and sports stadiums. 3) Travel refers to units located in based in airports, rail stations, coach stations, motorway service stations offering gas facilities etc. Beyond the scope of the foodservice research are captive foodservice units that serve captive populations around institutions such as hospitals, schools, and prisons. This is also known as institutional sales.
See All of Our DefinitionsIf you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extraction Free!