It’s been 15 years since the first Starbucks soy latte (and soy chai tea latte and soy cappuccino) was served. The company launched its first dairy alternative in 2004 just as plant-based milks were starting to gain in popularity.
Starbucks added coconutmilk to its lineup in 2015 and almondmilk in 2016. The company’s Research & Development team also began creating new beverages to highlight the flavors of the non-dairy milks like Coconutmilk Mocha Macchiato and Horchata Almondmilk Frappuccino® blended beverage.
Now, the first new Starbucks beverages of the decade feature these plant-based milk alternatives with the arrival of the Almondmilk Honey Flat White and Coconutmilk Latte. The beverages join the permanent menu in stores in the United States and Canada as part of the new winter food and beverage lineup. This also marks the regional introduction of oatmilk as a new non-dairy option as the Oatmilk Honey Latte arrives in select U.S. markets in the Midwest.
As the market for oat drinks grows, Novozymes has developed a new toolbox to guide producers to expand their businesses into oat drinks.
Half a billion people worldwide are either vegan or vegetarian, 26 % of millennials have already embraced this lifestyle and 73 % among them are willing to pay more for sustainable food and drinks1. The combination of these trends is giving the sale of oat drinks a boost, with an expected growth of 30 % a year2.
“A new market is opening up and booming. To help dairies and beverage producers expand their portfolio and create new types of oat drinks, we have developed a toolbox that can help them expand their business into this new territory,” says Alessandro Palumbo, Market Development Manager at Novozymes.
Oat drinks is the fastest growing category in the plant based beverage segment. This is mainly due to the fact that oat drinks have one of the best nutritional profiles among dairy alternatives. Oat drinks is also known for its benefits when it comes to sustainability.
In spite of huge interest and a growing market, a study finds only 2 in 10 consumers think that plant protein is extremely good tasting2.
“The fast-growing demand gives producers the opportunity to develop and market new types of oat drinks. But at the same time, it’s also a challenge to come up with products that match the consumer’s taste and preference,” Alessandro Palumbo says.
Speed up development and help match consumer’s taste and preference
The new enzymatic toolbox is developed by Novozymes and is the first of its kind. It provides insights into how to use and combine enzymes, raw material and production parameters to adjust sweetness, mouthfeel and nutritional profile in oat drinks. It also provides insights for producers into how to optimize the production process and save costs.
“The toolbox gives dairy and beverage producers the opportunity to develop the oat drinks consumers want. By teaming up with Novozymes, they will be able to select the flavor and nutritional profile of their drink, starting from a prototype and quickly scale it up using the perfect combination of enzymes, raw materials and equipment,” says Alessandro Palumbo.
“This will help them to speed up the go-to-market process while reducing their risks related to new product development”.
By working with Novozymes, producers will also have access to a team of experts, who can provide 360° technical support from raw material to finished product. The toolbox can be accessed from here.
1Vegans, millennials and willingness to pay a premium
2Findings from Quid platform on healthy eating and a Novozymes’ plant protein consumer research conducted in the USA in December 2018 with an online panel of 1,000 respondents, carried out by Natural Marketing Institute (NMI).
Tate & Lyle, a leading global provider of food and beverage ingredients and solutions, announces it has reached agreement to sell its oat ingredients business, based in Kimstad, Sweden, to Swedish agricultural cooperative Lantmännen. Completion of the transaction will take place on 29 March 2019.
Joan Braca, President, Food & Beverage Solutions, Tate & Lyle said: “We are pleased to reach this agreement with Lantmännen which represents a good outcome for our oat ingredient employees and customers, and enables us to focus our business on serving our customers in our main food and beverage categories. We wish Lantmännen and its employees every success for the future.”
