Beverages are the product of choice for manufacturers launching dairy alternatives, said the market research compan, with global sales of dairy alternative drinks will reach $16.3 billion (€14bn) in 2018.
Last year they accounted for over 8% of global dairy launches, up from 7% in 2016.
Meanwhile, spoonable non-dairy yoghurt has also seen strongly rising levels of interest, albeit from a smaller base. The category saw a compound annual growth rate of 48% from the 2013 to 2017 and accounted for 1.5% of dairy launches in 2017 compared to less than 0.5% in 2012.
Director of innovation at Innova Market Insights Lu Ann Williams said: “In the move to offer something new, we are starting to see an increasing variety of non-soy plant-based ingredients, including cereals such as rice, oats and barley.”
“We also noticed an increase in nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts and macadamias, as well as coconut and more unusual options such as lupin, hemp and flaxseed.”
Innova said plant-based product claims has increased by 62% globally for the 2013 to 2017 period, with manufacturers using the claim for products in a wide range of categories from plant proteins, active botanicals, sweeteners, herbs and seasonings and colouring foods.