The Evolving Market For Plant-Based Milk: Alfalfa and Other Potential Sources

For reasons of health, sustainability, or a desire to try, more consumers are choosing plant-based milks than ever, driving a rapidly growing global market. This interest offers a unique opportunity to educate consumers on the health benefits of plant-based milks, as well as the environmental impact of the supply chain sustaining their production and distribution. Created from a collaboration between the Innovation Institute for Food & Health, the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, and Barnstorm Foundry, this report discusses the potential utilization of a new crop for plant-based milk production. As one of the most common crops in the United States, alfalfa is more amenable to growth over a wider region of the country’s farmland and utilizes less water than other leading alternative milk crops, while offering unique nutritional benefits due to high antioxidant levels. With these considerations, we outline the state of the existing plant-based milk market and identify a niche for the emergence and growth of a new alfalfa-based milk product.