Arla may be late to the table on plant-based dairy but move reveals category's appeal, says GlobalData Food Correspondent Andy Coyne.
20 March 2020
"European dairy giant Arla Foods' newly-announced move into the plant-based dairy category begs the question of why it has taken the Denmark-based cooperative so long to wake up and smell the oat milk.
"After all Arla's peers - the likes of Danone and Lactalis - are well-established in the field of plant-based dairy alternatives.
"But now Arla, home to brands including Castello cheese and Lurpak butter, has unveiled a range of oat-based drinks and plans to 'launch a whole range of plant-based products' under a new brand, Jörd.
"Only getting involved now in such a fast-moving category as dairy alternatives suggests a certain reluctance on Arla's part to move away from its traditional dairy product range.
"Not that being a late adopter means it will be unsuccessful, of course.
"But the fact that it has made the move suggests that the appeal of the category was too great for it to resist any longer.
"Its arrival will certainly reinforce the argument of those market watchers who believe dairy-alternative products have now reached a 'tipping point' and entered the mainstream."
