British public continues to love dairy products despite noise from vegan movement

NFU dairy board chairman Michael Oakes said it was heartening to discover what people really thought about dairy, adding the snapshot would give producers a welcome boost.

NFU Scotland milk policy manager George Jamieson added: “In the face of what has felt like a constant barrage of misinformation about milk and dairy, we actually have a fantastic platform to build consumption growth on.

“To achieve this, we need to make sure all consumers are aware of the high animal welfare standards met by our farmers while continuing to put milk and dairy produce at the centre of a healthy, balanced, nutritious diet.”

Dr Bryans said Gen Z – those born in 1996-2010 – remained ‘heavy’ dairy consumers, but this group was most susceptible to misinformation about dairy products.

Dairy UK was working alongside key industry stakeholders to promote the ‘unique package of nutrients’ dairy provided, including calcium, protein and iodine.

AHDB said its recent ‘Department of Dairy Related Scrumptious Affairs’ campaign was designed to ‘disrupt and emotionally engage’ millennials (those born in 1980-1995) and young parents and had resulted in an 11 per cent drop in those considering a switch to dairy alternatives.

Key findings from the survey

• The taste of non-dairy alternatives does not seem to be pushing people to make the switch from dairy. Only one in 10 said they preferred the taste of non-dairy alternatives.
• Of those aged 18-24, 51 said they felt more negative about eating/drinking dairy products than they did two years ago and had reduced their intake (23%), compared with 41 in the 25-34 range (12%), 26 in the 35-44 category (8 per cent), 36 people aged 45-54 (10%), 15 in the 55-64 category (5%) and 36 of those aged 65 and older (8%).
• One in six British women were more negative towards eating/drinking dairy products (16%), compared with only 7% of men.
• Just 2 per cent (26 people) said they had become a vegan and so did not eat any meat, fish, dairy or eggs.

*The Dairy Products Survey was commissioned in January 2019 by AgriBriefing, in conjunction with the BBC and carried out by ComRes.

’Dairy must stay ahead of the curve as habits change’

Eating habits are evolving and the dairy industry must be proactive in ensuring the category remains attractive to consumers, especially in the face of increasing competition from alternatives.

Liquid milk sales have flatlined in the last few years. Kantar figures showed 5.26 billion litres of milk were sold up to December 2, 2018, down -0.6% year on year. Total spend was £3.03bn, up 4.6% on the year earlier.

At the same time, the sector has seen a spike in the number of plant-based products competing for shelf space.

The Attitudes to Dairy survey found 12 per cent of people felt more negative about eating/drinking dairy products than they did two years ago, but 13 per cent felt more positive about eating/drinking dairy.

Rebecca Miah, head of dairy marketing at AHDB, said while there had been little change in the volume of milk sold per person, the products which hosted milk and dairy were changing.

“Younger people are drinking fewer hot drinks, so there is less chance to add milk there and although there has been some growth in alternatives, shoppers are not replacing dairy,” she said.

“While they might be having an almond latte, they are having a cheddar cheese panini alongside – habits are changing and we can stay abreast of that.”

Shelagh Hancock, chief executive of First Milk, said the industry was under no illusions about the competition from non-dairy alternatives, but there was enough room in the market for everyone.

She added: “It is important to give consumers choice and the onus is on the dairy industry to continue innovating and engaging with consumers to deliver interesting and relevant dairy products which meet their changing demands while clearly communicating the nutritional benefits which come from dairy consumption.”