Still emerging a few years ago, the plant-based desserts and drinks category boomed thanks, in part, to flexitarians: people buying dairy one day, dairy-free the next. The taste of the products has greatly improved and there is more choice of dairy alternatives than ever. Almond, coconut and oat-based products are the most popular.
Western Europe was the most dynamic region globally in terms of launches: 724 newly launched plant-based drinks, 352 plant-based yogurts, representing respectively 39% and 66% of all launches globally1.
The Western European dairy-free drinks and desserts market is large and dynamic. According to Euromonitor:
- Plant-based yogurts: 627m€ in retail value in 2019 and is expected to grow +8.1% CAGR 2019-2024. The biggest market is France with 180m€, followed by Italy, Germany and the UK (78m€, 75m€ and 67m€ respectively)
- Plant-based drinks: 2204m€ in retail value in 2019, expected to grow +9.3% CAGR 2019-2024. The biggest market is Spain (456m€), closely followed by France, the UK and Germany (406m€, 362m€, 271m€ respectively)2.