Stay ahead of the curve and future-proof your business with Mintel’s Germany Dairy Alternatives Market Report 2024. Our full report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, dairy alternatives trends in Germany, and consumer behaviours. Get a 360° view of the dairy alternatives market Germany including market size, market share, and a growth forecast to help you align your business strategy with the needs of your audience.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Our Report Delivers Key Insights On
- Market drivers, including the impact of inflation and shift towards healthy nutrition on the dairy alternatives market Germany.
- Types of dairy alternatives used, highlighting the importance of targeting flexitarians.
- Consumer attitudes and behaviours towards dairy alternatives, including interest in trying dairy alternatives.
- Recent product launch activity and innovation in the dairy alternatives market Germany.
The Dairy Alternatives Market Germany: An Overview
Nearly 100% of Germans use dairy products as of 2024. Almost 40% use dairy alternatives instead, and 35% use both dairy and dairy alternatives.
Converting non-users could add a further 4.7 million new buyers to the consumer base of dairy alternatives in Germany.
Dairy Alternatives Germany Report: What Consumers Want and Why
- Consumer Priorities in the Dairy Alternatives Market Germany: Taste and texture will be key in targeting German consumers who are on the fence about switching to dairy alternatives. Improved texture and taste profiles could be sought through plant-based blends, and emphasising health benefits will further boost the appeal of dairy alternatives.
- Opportunities in the Dairy Alternatives Market Germany: The cohort of 16 to 34-year-olds show the greatest targeting potential, as they are inclined to try a greater variety of dairy alternatives. Brands that provide clearer instruction on how dairy alternatives can be used in cooking or baking could expand their reach. Therefore, highlighting the versatility of milk alternatives is paramount to target consumers looking for alternatives that are easy to include in their daily rituals, such as breakfast.
More About This Report
This Report covers products that are plant-based/vegan alternatives to traditional dairy products, including milk, yogurt, cheese, desserts, cream, quark, and ice cream.
Meet The Expert
This report was written by Khalid Peerbaccus, Senior Analyst. Khalid joined the German food and drink reports team at Mintel in April 2023. With more than ten years of experience in the FMCG industry and a special focus on innovation research, Khalid is a keen enthusiast of the German market and is particularly interested in consumer behaviour.
Our analysis of the dairy alternatives market Germany shows that highlighting health benefits will help sway flexitarians, while emphasis on value-added features supports customer retention. Moreover, the use of AI and plant-based blends will improve taste and texture.
Khalid Peerbaccus
Senior Analyst – Food & Drink
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- The five-year outlook for dairy alternatives
- Market context
- The cost of living could drive flexitarians back to traditional dairy
- Traditional dairy could win back flexitarians
- BMEL’s nutrition strategy may drive plant-based consumption
- Plant-based consumption is given a boost
- Mintel predicts
- Retail value sales will grow, driven by volume sales growth
- Market size & forecast
- Value sales of dairy alternatives will grow in line with volume
- Volume sales of dairy alternatives project a slight uptick
- Opportunities
- Emphasise health credentials to sway flexitarians
- Highlight bone health and high fibre content to cater to Germans aged 55+
- Add authenticity with shorter ingredient lists
- Use indulgent flavours to target affluent shoppers
- Embrace technology to revamp the taste of dairy alternatives
- The competitive landscape
- Own label grows in influence in the plant-based drinks category amidst income squeeze
- Graph 1: brand retail value and volume shares of plant-based drinks, 2023
- Alpro dominates plant-based yogurts in terms of both value and volume
- Graph 2: brand retail value and volume shares of plant-based yogurts, 2023
- Own label shows a growing presence in the plant-based cheese category as Germans trade down to save money
- Graph 3: brand retail value and volume shares of plant-based cheese, 2023
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MARKET DRIVERS
- The German economy
- 2024 is expected to remain challenging
- Graph 4: key economic data, in real terms, 2019-25
- Inflation is bouncing back to more-conventional levels
- Inflation is still the key factor affecting consumers’ finances…
- …confidence and expenditure
- Graph 5: financial confidence index, 2022-24
- Price of dairy alternatives is a barrier
- Traditional dairy could gain a stronghold due to lingering effects of inflation
- Discounters provide an opportunity to target Germans with cheaper dairy alternatives
- Graph 6: change to dairy alternative shopping habits due to the cost of living crisis, 2024
- Health drivers for dairy alternatives
- BMEL’s nutrition strategy, coupled with financial concerns, may drive plant-based consumption
- Increasing obesity levels drive the need for healthier diets
- Graph 7: self-reported current weight, 2023
- The Nutri-Score could give dairy alternatives a tailwind
- Graph 8: dairy alternative launches, by Nutri-Score grade, 2021-24
- Holistic health driven by gut health may increase dietary fibre intake
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Types of dairy alternatives used
- Flexitarians are the biggest opportunity for dairy alternatives
- Dairy alternatives should focus on appealing to flexitarians
- Graph 9: usage of dairy and dairy alternatives in the last month, 2024
- Dairy alternative milk leads usage in 2024
- Graph 10: usage of dairy alternatives, by type, 2022-24
- Younger Germans consume more types of dairy alternatives than their older counterparts
- Graph 11: types of dairy alternatives consumed, by age group, 2024
- Attitudes towards dairy alternatives
- Germans believe dairy alternatives offer the same health benefits as dairy
- Graph 12: attitudes towards dairy alternatives, 2024
- Emphasise health credentials to sway flexitarians
- Germans 16-34s associate dairy alternatives with better gut health
- Boost appeal of dairy alternatives by aligning them with gut health benefits
- Liken dairy alternatives to the dairy products they emulate to target flexitarian shoppers
- Utilise AI to recreate a more-similar milk taste
- Dairy alternatives users aged 35-54 are interested in products with shorter ingredient lists
- Graph 13: interest in trying a dairy alternative with a short ingredient list, by age group, 2024
- Add authenticity with shorter ingredient lists
- Behaviours towards dairy alternatives
- Germans see no difference between own-label dairy alternatives sold at supermarkets and discounters
- Graph 14: behaviours towards dairy alternatives, 2024
- Supermarket own labels can stack benefits to retain dairy alternative buyers
- Germans see price as a barrier preventing them from buying more dairy alternatives
- Graph 15: interest in buying dairy alternatives if they were cheaper, by age, 2024
- Financially healthy German dairy-alternative users intend to use more dairy alternatives, rather than cut down
- Graph 16: intentions regarding dairy alternative usage over the next year, by financial situation, 2024
- Focus on superior taste to attract financially healthy German dairy alternative users
- Suggest ways to use dairy alternatives for cooking or baking
- Cooking and baking provide further opportunities for engagement in dairy alternatives
- Appeal to environmentally friendly 16-34s with in-store refill stations
- Graph 17: interest in using an in-store refill station for dairy alternatives, by age, 2024
- Owies uses locally cultivated oats to minimise its environmental impact
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LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATION
- Yogurt alternatives are increasingly present in 2024
- Graph 18: dairy alternative launches, by sub-category, 2022-24
- Yogurt alternatives that emphasise flavour and health benefits can target flexitarians
- Innovation steps up in 2024
- Graph 19: dairy alternative launches, by launch type, 2022-24
- Oat continues to dominate, but coconut and soybean are popular ingredients in 2024
- Consider alternatives to oat in 2024
- Plant-based blends can provide improved taste and texture to dairy alternatives across the board
- Discounters target Germans trading down to own labels due to the rising cost of living
- Graph 20: dairy alternative launches, by ultimate company, 2021-24
- Supermarkets may lose bargain-seeking dairy alternative shoppers to discounters
- Appeal to affluent shoppers with a wider variety of dessert flavours
- Boost in-store visibility of dairy alternatives to attract time-strapped shoppers and showcase diverse ranges
- No added sugar and sugar-free claims align with the nationwide goal of reducing sugar intake
- Graph 21: dairy alternative launches, by top 10 plus, minus and functional health claims, 2021-24
- No added sugar is the most popular health minus claim in dairy alternative launches in 2024
- High fibre content could boost dairy alternatives’ health appeal among German 55-64s
- Reassure Germans aged 55+ that dairy alternatives can also provide bone health benefits
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Alpro showcases its suitability as a milk substitute for breakfast
- REWE says switching to dairy alternatives is better for the environment
- Müller highlights the superior taste of its dairy alternative dessert range
- Violife demonstrates how to use its just-like-cream-cheese alternative in baking
- Oatly makes a splash at the Berlin Film Festival
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MARKET SHARE
- Market share: milk, yogurt and cheese alternatives
- Milk alternatives
- Alpro loses out to Oatly, Berief and own label
- Own label dominates volume share as Germans trade down to save money
- Yogurt alternatives
- Vly and own label gain share while Alpro loses out
- Alpro’s volume share decreases, whilst own label shows strong volume growth
- Cheese alternatives
- Own label gains value shares in cheese, while Simply V loses share
- Own label gains volume share while Simply V loses out
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MARKET SIZE, SEgmentation AND FORECAST
- Market segmentation
- Yogurt alternative market shows signs of maturity as cheese alternatives continue strong growth
- Growth driven by growth across larger mature categories and strong growth for cream alternatives
- Oat drinks continue to drive milk-alternative volume sales, while cheese and cream alternatives also show strong growth
- Market size and forecast
- Dairy alternatives set to increase in value and volume in 2024
- Expect a moderate increase in value sales
- Volume sales of dairy alternatives projected to see 11.9% growth from 2024-29
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APPENDIX
- Appendix – products covered, abbreviations, consumer research methodology and language usage
- Products covered in this Report
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
- Repertoire analysis methodology
- A note on language
- Appendix – market size and central forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Market size – value
- Market size – volume
- Market forecast and prediction intervals – value
- Market forecast and prediction intervals – volume
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