In 2019, Dean Foods, America’s largest dairy producer filed for bankruptcy prompting analogies of the proverbial canary in the coal mine as the 94-year old company’s struggles narrowed down to one undeniable fact: conventional milk sales have declined for the last 4 years in the U.S. Alternatives like plant-based dairy products have meanwhile soared to a $17.4 billion industry, staking claim to 13% of dairy sales by value. During Covid-19, plant-based milk sales have gained further with brands like Oatly becoming predominant. Technology think tank RethinkX predicts that this is just the beginning, and within a decade, the U.S. dairy and cattle industry will collapse and a slew of technologies will satisfy consumer demand, effectively rendering the cow obsolete as a food producer. What does this trend mean for India - where the cow is holy, dairy products are not just on our plates but also used for worship and dairy brands like Amul have a storied legacy in our economic development? GFI India’s Sci-Tech Specialist Siddharth Bhide joins us for this special episode to talk about pathways to growth for plant-based dairy in India with the gains made by companies like pioneering plant-based dairy company, Good Mylk and yoghurt brand Epigamia, which recently launched its first coconut-milk based yoghurt. Siddarth explains how food technology is key to the 2.0 version of plant-based dairy products.
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COMPANIES MENTIONED:
Bibliography:
The RethinkX report
5 charts that show how milk sales changed and made it tough for Dean Foods to avert bankruptcy, CNBC
Dairy farmers forced to dump milk as demand drops amid coronavirus closures, NBC News
Amul aims to achieve a business turnover of Rs 50,000 crore by 2021, The Economic Times
Is the milk you are having safe? Here's what you need to know, The Economic Times
Feeding 10 Billion, S1Ep.04, The Business of Food with Mark Kahn
Climate change: Which vegan milk is best? BBC
For Further Reading:
The GFI India Plant-Based Dairy Webinar by Siddarth Bhide, Miranda Grizio and MJ Kinney will be uploaded soon on our website.
GFI's Plant-based State of the Industry Report, 2020
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