Believe it or not, there was once a time when you could impress people by simply making “milk” out of oats. Not anymore. Walking the trade show floor at Expo East, it was easy to see just how far the plant-based alt-dairy market has come since those days. The number of brands hasn’t just grown, but the natural borders that once governed them have been trampled as innovation and use occasions, rather than ingredient mastery, have become the drivers of the category: see the expansion of Califia, Elmhurst, MALK and Simply, just to name a few. But is consolidation elsewhere opening up opportunities for the next cohort of disruptive brands to jump in? Here’s a recap of what we saw: 🍌 Best known for its signature banana milks, Mooala sampled its latest plant-based dairy innovation during Expo East: Mooala Organic Simple, a line of shelf-stable almond and oat milks in 32 oz. cartons. The brand is hoping a shift to clean label formulation – made without gums, oils or additives – will help secure traction on the category’s premium end. Its other innovation is directed at the opposite end of the spectrum: 8 oz. single-serving cartons of Vanilla, Strawberry, and Chocolate banana milk, geared towards gulping. 🥛 Brands on the bleeding edge of alt-milk – like animal-free Strive, made via a precision fermentation process – have struggled with simple and clear messaging to consumers, which is part of the inspiration behind adding “Freemilk” to the product packaging. Founder Dennis Cohlmia told us that the company opted to drop its plant-based offerings in large part due to oversaturation in the dairy alternative space, whereas Freemilk, available in Whole and Chocolate, is positioned to sit next to brands like Lactaid and Fairlife in the dairy coolers at grocery stores. 🌳 Hazelicious founder and CEO Levent Tuysuzoglu is aiming to repair American consumers’ toxic relationship with hazelnuts, starting with a two-SKU line (Unsweetened and Lightly Sweetened) of hazelnut milks in 32 oz. cartons, rolling out now. Having been handed control of his grandparents’ hazelnut farm in Turkey after they died from COVID, the young entrepreneur believes his sourcing quality can showcase the nuanced sweetness and flavor of hazelnuts and recontextualize the ingredient in the minds of a generation raised on super-sweet Nutella spread and inexpensive, flavored coffee creamers. Read the full story today on BevNET
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