It’s World Plant Milk Day! 

Today we celebrate everything non-dairy and here in the UK we have a lot to celebrate! 

It was reported this month that almost a quarter of Brits are now consuming plant milk as its popularity soars and the demand for cow’s milk falls. The number of people that say they enjoy plant milk has gone up 4% in just one year, with women and under-25s in particular moving away from cow’s milk. Even more impressively, the average person’s milk consumption in the UK has fallen 50% since the 1950s.

And it’s no wonder with all of the incredible dairy-free products available in the UK now! It feels hard to believe that just a couple of years ago, dairy-free milk largely meant soya. Back then if you were lucky you could get some almond milk too but now the choice is crazy. Almond, hazelnut, peanut, tiger nut, walnut, cashew – and that’s just the nuts. Coconut, hemp, spelt, quinoa, pea – you name it. Sainsbury’s now stocks around 70 different options. 70! With all of the supermarkets selling their own brand versions too, there’s something for every taste and budget.

Plant milks are no longer a fringe product for the health freaks and vegan geeks. Just over one in ten of Pret A Manger’s hot drinks in the UK are ordered with dairy alternative milk. In the US, nearly half of all shoppers now buy plant milk. Globally, the industry is estimated to be worth over thirteen billion pounds.  

And it’s not just milk – since the last World Plant Milk Day we’ve seen the launch of vegan Magnum ice cream, a new flavour of non-dairy Ben and Jerry’s: Coconutterly Caramel’d, and two new Swedish Glace flavours: Cinnamon with Toffee Sauce & Hazelnut Pieces and Coconut with Blueberry Sauce & Coconut Sprinkles. 

Cow’s milk is mainly consumed by older people, while fewer and fewer younger people drink it. 73% of 16- to 24-year-olds consumed it in 2019, down from 79% last year, and if the trend continues as it’s going there will be far fewer cows and their calves suffering on farms across the UK. The future is bright.

Happy World Plant Milk Day!