Сonsumer preferences on the market of plant-based milk analogues

Abstract

The consumption of plant-based food products instead of animal-based products tends to increase worldwide which can be caused by the global expansion of alternative food products. The article's objective is to investigate the perception of plant-based milk analogues by real and potential consumers and determine the prospects of increasing their assortment. The assortment of plant-based analogues of milk and products made thereof is analyzed. A projection of the almond milk sales was made as one of the most effective product categories. Questioning of consumers conducted to investigate consumer treatment of plant-based milk analogues. The survey covered 436 respondents, of which 37.7% consume plant-based milk regularly and 47.7% of respondents consume this product occasionally. About 15% of respondents have never consumed it. The results show that experimenting with diets and health concerns more often young people (under 30 years of old). Plant-based milk was consumed by men (47.6%) and women (52.4%). Prices for plant-based milk analogues are too high, and its reduction will increase the sales of this product according to respondents. The taste is one of the crucial factors in choosing plant-based milk analogues by respondents. By taste-based preference, the largest shares are with almond milk (20.4%) and oat milk (15.3%). At the same time, 16.2% of the respondents have no preference regarding plant-based milk analogues. It was found that using the titles of traditional milk products for naming plant-based milk analogues is not troublesome for most of the respondents. The derived figures give evidence that consumers, not being sufficiently aware of the origin of plant-based milk analogues, do not understand the differences between traditional products and their plant-based analogues.