Consumers are going nuts for almond milk, as it became the fastest growing non-dairy milk alternative in 2011 at the expense of soy milk.
According to the latest figures from Packaged Facts, sales of almond milk increased 79 percent in the US last year, while sales of soy milk -- though still the most popular non-dairy milk alternative -- fell 15 percent between 2008 and 2010, reported online trade publication FoodNavigator.com last week.
Overall, last year 11 percent of adults were consumers of soy milk, while 9 percent consumed almond milk. Rice milk came third in popularity.
Almond milk is a creamy dairy alternative made from ground almonds and contains no cholesterol or lactose. Commercial brands are also fortified with added vitamins and minerals to mimic the nutritional value of dairy milk.
Almond milk also contains no unsaturated fat and is high in protein, omega fatty acids, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium and zinc, as well as antioxidants.
An 8-ounce serving of Silk Pure Almond, for example, is fortified with 450mg of calcium, which provides 50 percent more calcium than a glass of dairy milk.
The leading brand saw a whopping 500 percent increase in sales in 2010 and a 69 percent spike in sales in 2011.
Sales of Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze, meanwhile, increased 240 percent in 2010 and 59 percent in 2011.
While consumption of non-dairy milk has gone up, stats at the US Department of Agriculture show that sales of cow’s milk have fallen steadily in recent years: average per capita consumption of cow’s milk fell from 24.3 gallons per person in 1994 to 20.8 gallons per person in 2008, points out the Packaged Facts report.
While almond milk has gained mainstream popularity, almond water could also follow suit. At the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco this month, nut-based beverages emerged as a popular new trend. Victoria’s Kitchen, for instance, was singled out by trendspotters for its new almond water, sweetened with pure sugar cane, natural almond flavor and citric acid.
