Dairy vs. dairy alternative spreads

There are currently 7.2 million people following a meat-free diet in the UK. This represents a growth of 40 percent over the last 12 months and is predicted to increase to 13 million¹ people by the end of 2021, as Brits look to follow vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diets.

This growth in plant-based eating has resulted in a 23 percent rise in plant-based dairy alternative sales, with three quarters of those who have tried plant-based dairy alternatives saying they would repurchase.² In 2020, a report by Mintel supported this finding, revealing that nearly a quarter of Brits were consuming plant-based dairy products, including plant-based spreads. As a result, plant‑based spreads are expected to grow a further three percent across all BSM (butters, spreads and margarines) products.³ Despite dairy sales also growing by seven percent,⁴ dairy alternatives are attracting new customers across all subcategories. For example, plant-based dairy milk alternatives have achieved a 10 percent share of its parent category, which in turn has created a decline in milk sales.⁵