Plant-based milk alternatives have been around for many decades. Primarily, they’ve come in the form of soy and almond milks and have been mostly consumed by a “crunchy” crowd of consumers. In the past few years, however, retailers and restaurants alike have seen a swift rise in nut milks, coconut milk and most recently, oat milk. These growing options are all tied into greater consumer demand for plant-based alternatives.
Many of the leading restaurant chains are only just now jumping on the plant-based bandwagon when it comes to milk alternatives. These operators are rolling them out quickly across several parts of the beverage menu—particularly as ingredient options in cocktails, smoothies, coffees and espresso-based drinks. Mintel research shows that there has been a +208% increase in the number of menu mentions of oat milk and +133% increase in almond milk mentions from the fourth quarter of 2016 to the fourth quarter of 2019.