The definition of dairy products becomes more vague - Rabobank

The growth in sales of plant-based alternatives to liquid milk and yogurt, especially based on oats and almonds, has not gone unnoticed, Rabobank states in its annual Top 20 Dairy Companies report.

Most notably, Danone's turnover in dairy alternatives, following the acquisition of WhiteWave Foods in 2017, was €2.2 billion ( US $2.5 billion ) in 2020, again up 15% from the previous year. With plant-based alternatives, Danone could climb to number three in the top 20 dairy companies in the world.

– Despite the fact that other companies participating in the rating also have dairy alternatives in their product portfolio, their turnover in this category is much lower. By comparison, Oatly, a well-known plant-based dairy-free drink maker, has dramatically increased its market capitalization to over $10 billion since its IPO debut in May 2021. The company reported $0.4 billion in revenue in 2020, so it is unlikely to enter the global dairy top 20 within the next few years.

Meanwhile, the labeling of dairy products is also becoming increasingly blurred as hybrids enter the market, such as the DFA Live Real Farms brand, which features “real milk and plant-based proteins,” Rabobank said in the report.

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