🦧 let's talk about milk today

🤷 searching for new opportunities…

here’s a little something different today

i do a lot of “idea searching”, trying to identify new markets and potential investment opportunities

i’ve been thinking about non-dairy milk a lot lately. im still working out my thoughts, and i thought i’d share it here as a semi-diary so that i can come back to it later. i hope it’s interesting!

📈 market’s expanding fast yo!

• plant-based milk retail sales totaled $2.5B (15% of all US milk retail sales; 2020) and is projected to occupy 30% of all milk sales by 2026

  • much of that growth will likely come from new offerings from small batch producers: oat, almonds, soybean, potato, cashews, hemp seeds, etc.

• lab-grown milk is also on the horizon, as new startups attempt to create proteins that better recreate traditional dairy’s authentic mouthfeel and temperature resistance that plant-based milk has not quite achieved yet

• milk aside, the alternative dairy market as a whole is expected to double to $50B by 2028 at a 10% cagr!

🧠 health » ethics

• survey from euromonitor int’l (2021) reveals that 40% of dairy-free consumers say that restricting their consumption of animal-based products makes them “feel healthier”

• this is far higher than the 27% that cited ethical reasons, including environmental concerns, animal rights

🚀 startups im interested in & would try

• perfect day

  • lab-grown proteins nutritionally identical to that of cow milk, including casein and whey protein powder

  • partner brands using perfect day’s proteins include betterland milk, bored cow, brave robot, and more

• almond cow

  • home appliance that lets you make plant-based milk in less than a minute 

• brown foods

  • yc-backed maker of unreal milk (lab-grown using mammalian cell culture technology), leaving 90% less carbon footprint compared to conventional milk

• sophie's bionutrients

  • maker of the world’s first microalgae-based milk that offers more vitamin content that plant-based protein flour

📰 regulatory headwinds

• 2018: senate defeats a measure that would have protected plant-based companies’ rights to call their products “milk”, “yogurt”, or “cheese”

• 2021: dairy pride act is reintroduced, requiring the fda to issue guidance for nationwide enforcement of mislabeled imitation dairy products within 90 days

today’s email was a lil’ different in content from my usual stuff… but i hope it was interesting!

always always feel free to email me (apeofomaha@substack.com) to ask any questions! :)

---

💡 something im thinking about…

---

🙏 closing comments

all of this is just one ape’s thoughts, but I would love to hear what you want to know about! happy trading!

---

as always, just another ape's thoughts and opinions – i am no financial advisor! (i am no substitute for professional financial services)

---

Ask a Wise Ape is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.