The development of conventional cow's milk and milk substitute drinks in Germany
How many cartons of milk do you have in your fridge?
Do you still drink conventional cow's milk or also organic or milk alternatives?
The other day I looked in my friend's fridge and was amazed by the number of different "milk cartons" in the fridge door. There are 5 people with different milk preferences living here.
MAMA, 50+, still drinks cow's milk for the café, but only regional organic and otherwise oat milk (in muesli and tea).
PAPA, 50+, drinks low-fat, conventional milk, is sporty and still believes "it's the milk that does it".
ELLI, 14, lactose-intolerant puberty, needs lactose-free milk, 1.5%, because calories count!
MIA, 15, only drinks almond milk from this particular brand.
ALEX, 17, only drinks oat milk, organic please.
That makes 5 brands of milk in the fridge!
Here's what we know about German consumption from consumer research:
👉 Drinking milk consumption: down 18% in 2023 (compared to 20)
👉 Pasture milk: increase of 31.5% to 270 million litres in 2023
Organic milk: decline to 310 million litres, comparable to the level of plant-based alternatives
👉 Milk substitute products: Strong increase in sales at 85% (to 22)
13% of consumers have already switched to plant-based milk alternatives. Driven by the younger generation: Millennials, Gen Z.
👉 The most popular milk alternative among Germans is oat milk (with 56% of total sales), followed by almond and soya milk drinks.
👉 Switch to cheaper products: Consumers are loyal to milk substitutes but are switching to cheaper brands.
👉 The CO2 footprint is clearly distributed: lower for milk alternatives than for cow's milk.
How many brands of milk are in your fridge?
How do you think consumption will develop in the future?
How important is cow's milk?
Thank you for the data: Dr. Robert Kecskes
Author: Christina Rüter
LinkedInbeitrag vom 16.01.24