Storm in a teacup

Storm in a teacup?

By Alex Robinson, 19th February 2025

It’s hard to predict the next political hot potato. A few years ago I would never have guessed the National Trust would be the top target of the enemies of ‘wokeness’. Nor, when the idea of 15-minute cities came about, did I think it would become a hotbed of conspiracy theories.

Plant milk though: maybe we should have seen this one coming.

Milk is a big part of our food and drink culture - from teas and coffees to cereals and sauces - and the dairy industry has the clout to match. So perhaps it’s no surprise that the rise of plant-based alternatives has lurched from an interesting trend to a culture war battleground.

Last month a UK council found itself at the centre of a storm of controversy when it suggested, as part of a range of sustainable lifestyle tips, that its residents might try their tea or coffee black – or with a plant milk of their choice.

They were soon getting complaints from industry bodies, and public opinion was whipped into a froth. Nigel Farage even weighed in on his GB News show, complaining that “It seems everything is being done to stop us drinking cow’s milk!”. The council were soon cowed into an apology.

It's just one example among many of aggressive pushback against plant milks – and it won’t be the last, because this trend isn’t going away.

One in four Brits now say they are eating less meat and dairy to benefit the environment and plant milks can be a great place to start. Their environmental credentials are impressive: oat, almond and soy generate at least 68% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than dairy milk. And they're pushing on an open door: more than half of us say we'd be willing to consider drinking less dairy.

So what’s stopping mass adoption of plant milks?

The main barrier is money. Over half of Brits – 55% - believe that eating plant-based food is more expensive than eating meat and dairy, and 22% think of plant-milk as expensive. In focus groups we conducted, price was the biggest barrier to trying plant milk in hot drinks.

For plant milks to go fully mainstream, they will have to be both appealing and accessible.

The former is going well: people like the taste and brands are building loyal audiences. Even I, a lifelong milk-dodger, have been turned on to the wonders of a coconut latté (try it, and thank me later…).

Accessibility is a tougher nut to crack: it's about affordability and convenience.

Retail has a big role to play here, by supporting plant milks at affordable price points and giving customers clear information. Several UK supermarkets have an oat milk on sale for around £1 per litre, which brings it in line with dairy milk. This is a big step.

Hospitality businesses can play a role too. Giving plant milks the same visibility as dairy can help to normalise sustainable choices.

Some brands have been bold enough to offer price parity between different kinds of milk, which eliminates the cost problem (and, by increasing the share of plant milk sales, reduces their own greenhouse gas emissions, too). I hope the rest of the market follows suit.

One thing I’d love to see more of is some drinks having plant milk as standard – not for explicitly environmental reasons, but just because it tastes better: hazelnut with a mocha, for example.

Have you heard that 1 in 3 Brits say they're more attracted to people who drink plant milk?

We're back with Find Your Oooh 2.0 encouraging people to try any plant milk in their next coffee.

Think tube, gym and tram ads, podcast reads, social ads, influencer skits - and attempting to film a rom-com in tesco.

Last year, 13% of people who saw the campaign said they tried plant-based products in other areas of their diets, showing how a small action can lead to bigger change down the line - stay tuned for the results from this year.