White gold: the unstoppable rise of alternative milks

White((h)wīt) gold(gōld): the unstoppable(ˌənˈstäpəbəl) rise(rīz) of alternative(ôlˈtərnədiv) milks

How wellness upstarts spoiled(spoil) milk’s healthy reputation(ˌrepyəˈtāSHən) – and built a billion-dollar industry(ˈindəstrē) from juicing(jo͞os) oats(ōt) and nuts(nəts).

By Oliver(ˈäləvər) Franklin(ˈfraNGklən)-Wallis

In the spring of 2018, New York was gripped by a sudden, very particular(pə(r)ˈtikyələr) and, for some, calamitous(kəˈlamitəs) food shortage(ˈSHôrtij). Gaps appeared on grocery(ˈgrōs(ə)rē) shelves(SHelf). Coffee(ˈkäfē,ˈkôfē) shops put out signs(sīn), turning customers away. Twitter(ˈtwidər) and Instagram brimmed(brim) with outrage(ˈoutˌrāj). The truly(ˈtro͞olē) desperate(ˈdespərit) searched from Williamsburg(ˈwilyəmzˌbərg) to Harlem(ˈhärləm), but it seemed undeniable(ˌəndiˈnīəbəl): New York was out of oat milk.

It wasn’t just New York, in fact. The entire(enˈtīr) US was suffering from a shortage of Oatly, a Swedish(ˈswēdiSH) plant(plant) milk whose rapid(ˈrapid) rise from obscure(əbˈskyo͝or) digestive(diˈjestiv,dī-) health brand to the dairy(ˈde(ə)rē) alternative of choice had caught even Oatly by surprise(sə(r)ˈprīz). Since its US launch in 2016, Oatly had gone from supplying a handful of upscale(ˈəpˌskāl,ˌəpˈskāl) New York coffee shops to more than 3,000 cafes(kaˈfā,kə-) and grocery(ˈgrōs(ə)rē) stores nationwide(ˈnāSHənˈwīd). The company had ramped(ramp) up production by 1,250%, but when I spoke to CEO Toni Petersson in late summer, they were still struggling to meet demand(dəˈmand). “How do we supply when the growth is this crazy(ˈkrāzē)?” Petersson said.

Fortunately(ˈfôrCHənətlē), when it comes to milk, in 2019 there is no shortage of alternative alternatives. Visit your local supermarket and you will find a refrigerated(riˈfrijəˌrātid) aisle(īl) overflowing with choice: almond(ˈa(l)-,ˈä(l)mənd) milk, hazelnut(ˈhāzəlˌnət) milk, peanut(ˈpēnət), tiger(ˈtīgər) nut, walnut(ˈwôlˌnət), cashew(kəˈSHo͞o,ˈkaSHˌo͞o) – and that’s just the nuts. Coconut(ˈkōkəˌnət), hemp(hemp), spelt(spelt), quinoa(ˈkēnwä), pea(pē) – you name it, somewhere a health-food startup is milking it. London tube(t(y)o͞ob) stations are filled with ads for new plant milks – or rather, “mylks” (EU law prevents(priˈvent) dairy alternatives from using the word milk if it isn’t produced by a lactating(ˈlakˌtāt) mammal(ˈmaməl)). Cookbooks dedicate(ˈdediˌkāt) entire chapters to blending(blend) and straining(strān) your own. Sainsbury’s now stocks(stäk) around 70 different options. There are the wellness punks(pəNGk) (Rebel(ˈrebəl) Kitchen(ˈkiCHən), Rude(ro͞od) Health), the dairy puns(pən) (Malk, Milkadamia, Mooala) and the nourishers(ˈnəriSH) (LoveRaw(rô), Good Karma(ˈkärmə), Plenish). “People are just looking at every nut that exists(igˈzist) and seeing if they can squash(skwäSH,skwôSH) it into a milk,” said Glynis Murray(ˈmərē), one of the owners of Good, which squashes hemp(hemp) seeds into oil and milk.

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https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/jan/29/white-gold-the-unstoppable-rise-of-alternative-milks-oat-soy-rice-coconut-plant