Where Dairy Alternatives Are a Kitchen Staple

Plant-based alternatives to food products derived from animals have increased in popularity in recent years, with substitutes for milk generating the highest revenues worldwide. According to the Good Food Institute's (GFI) 2023 State of the Industry Report, worldwide revenues from plant-based alternatives stood at $29 billion in 2023. Soy, oat, almond or other milk alternatives brought in $19 billion, almost half of which was generated in the APAC region.

This trend is also reflected in a recent Statista Consumer Insights survey conducted in 52 countries worldwide. Of all countries analyzed, India had the highest share of respondents regularly consuming dairy-substitute products with 32 percent, followed by Thailand and the United Arab Emirates with 29 percent. Other Asian countries and regions in the top 8 are China and Hong Kong.

The global average was 20 percent, with Japan, Serbia (11 percent each) and Argentina (10 percent) at the bottom. Important to note: The questionnaire did not differentiate between milk, yogurt or cheese substitutes. Other data suggests that the latter two play a negligible role in terms of the commercial aspect of plant-based alternatives.

While alternatives to dairy products, especially soy, almond or oat milk, have become widely available in supermarkets around the world, revenues are significantly lower than those of milk products derived from animals. In the U.S. alone, sales of refrigerated milk in stores generated around $14.1 billion in 2023, while plant-based milk revenue stood at $2.5 billion, according to Circana's 2024 Dairy and Plant-Based Trends & Expectations report.