Liu Jiali
Overnight, plant milk came to the fore, and this drink, which was originally a niche consumption habit, suddenly became a ubiquitous item, whether it was a convenience store on the street, a bakery, or a coffee shop, plant milk has become a part of our lives.
What is vegetable milk?
The so-called "plant milk", is not a plant mixed milk drink, it refers to the beans, nuts, oats, coconut meat and other plant raw materials, through the soaking, grinding, high pressure homogenization and other steps made of liquid, in order to achieve similar to the "milk" color and texture, some manufacturers will add some emulsifiers in the production process of plant milk.
Chinese consumers may be the most familiar with plant milk in the world, the reason for this is because plant milk has long been integrated with people's lives - the common soy milk and soy milk on the breakfast table are actually very representative plant milk categories.
Compared with milk, plant milk is more friendly to people with milk protein allergies, lactose intolerance, and dietary restrictions, but as far as the current publicity strategy of plant milk is concerned, the above characteristics have begun to be gradually diluted, and the concept of sustainable drinks and life attitudes has begun to become the basis for the popularity of plant milk.
Breaking through from the consumption scene, another way of communicating with plant milk
Oatly, represented by Oatly, is one of the brands that focus on the concept of plant milk, advocating a natural, environmentally friendly and sustainable lifestyle. As this market expands, more and more other plant-based beverages begin to enter this market, such as the almond-based nut drink from Greeco in Japan, or the potato-based potato milk launched by the Swedish milk brand DUG, which emphasizes its rich vitamin E, dietary fiber and calcium in communication with consumers, and the latter emphasizes its short growth cycle as a plant drink with stronger sustainability.
But either way, it's all linked to the healthy lifestyle that's currently in vogue.
The recently officially listed Glico almond effect nut drink emphasizes the concept of healthy life.
Interestingly, from the other side of the promotion of the trend of plant milk, there are also those coffee shops and tea shops that are sought after by Internet celebrities. Whether it is Starbucks, Manner favored by capital, or Heytea, Naixue's tea, almost every beverage store will choose plant milk as its own milk substitute, and when consumers get used to the existence of plant milk from this scene, they will begin to choose to enter the field of mass consumption and circulation, and begin to exert efforts at the retail end.
Oatly, a brand of oat milk, has partnered with an internet celebrity ice cream shop to launch an earth-themed ice cream.
The plant-based protein beverage market is developing rapidly
According to the "2020 Plant Protein Beverage Innovation Trend" released in January this year, in 2020, the plant protein beverage market will develop rapidly, with a growth rate of up to 800%, the number of buyers will rise by 900%, and the sales growth rate will far exceed that of other beverage categories, contributing 15.5% to the growth of the beverage market, ranking third. In addition to the emerging plant milk brands, the rapid development of the plant protein beverage market has also stimulated the nerves of established enterprises, dali group's bean bean milk, Yili's plant milk brand plant selection, Mengniu's high-fiber oat beverage Yiduomai, Nongfu Spring's launch of live fungal plant-based yogurt, etc., are their attempts to compete with the deer plant protein beverage market.
Plant-based protein drink brand oatoa completed tens of millions of yuan in Series A financing in March this year, which is also the third round of financing completed by the brand since its launch in September last year.
Behind the explosive growth of plant milk, the role of capital in promoting is also very obvious. According to data, there are more than 5,000 new players in the oat milk industry, and the number of players in other categories including coconut milk and almond milk is also on the rise.
Tianyan check shows that the plant milk brand Daily Box received millions of yuan of angel round financing in February this year, while it only had one oat milk product on the shelves in its Tmall flagship store, and before that, swedish oat milk brand Oatly had received $200 million in financing from Blackstone Group, and Wheat Ouye had also completed tens of millions of angel round financing.
Plant-based milk products that can tell stories and are better at packaging and scene marketing seem to be repeating the story of "plant meat" in that year, but from the current point of view, the development of "plant meat" does not seem to be as smooth as capital imagines, and where will the future of plant milk go? Is it to return to rationality, make products in a down-to-earth manner, achieve differentiated management, and truly meet the needs of people with milk protein allergies, lactose intolerance, and dietary restrictions, or continue to develop now and become a "product with imaginative space" that capital needs?
Editor-in-Charge: Chen Hua
Proofreader: Yijia Xu