And it's?not?vegans who are?driving the shift toward non-dairy products

The dairy-free market is booming (Photo: Nathan Dumlao)

The plant-based dairy alternatives market is expected to come to represent 40 percent of the combined total of dairy and dairy alternative beverages by 2021 - up from 25 percent in 2016.

According to a new report by market research firm Packaged Facts in the fourth edition of Dairy and Dairy Alternative Beverage Trends in the U.S., the non-dairy industry is predicted to be worth $28 billion in the next two years - a staggering growth from only $6 billion in 2016.

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Packaged Facts also expects new and novel non-dairy milks to find a wider audience, such as: barley, flax, hemp, pea, and quinoa milk.

Flexitarian

Packaged Facts research director David Sprinkle explained that flexitarians are responsible for the shift toward vegan milk.

"Vegetarians and vegans together account for less than 15 percent of all consumers, and their numbers do not grow very rapidly," he said.

"But a growing number of consumers identify themselves as flexitarian or lessitarian, meaning that they've cut back on their consumption of animal-based foods and beverages.

"It is this group that is most responsible for the significant and ongoing shift from dairy milk to plant-based milk."

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