The Almond Milk Advantage

Strong and Increasing Consumer Demand

With a long history dating back to the 13th century, almond milk is one of the most enduring plant-based beverages in our civilization. Consumer demand for almond milk is strong and growing around the globe, creating endless opportunities for new almond-based formulations, blends and flavors to capture consumers’ interest and maintain a leading position in the plant-based beverage category. Tapping into the wave of popularity of plant-based products makes now the optimal time to innovate with almonds.

Almond milk formulations can provide some of the lowest calorie and sugar levels seen in plant-based and dairy milk products. The neutral, slightly nutty flavor is an easy compliment to blended beverage ingredients, like fruits and grains, and can balance out stronger flavors from added proteins.

Growing Potential

According to a study² from Datassential, almond milk is more popular than any other plant-based milk, with about twice as many weekly users. Not only that, but almond milk continues to grow across foodservice menus and consumers’ year-over-year consumption patterns. 

• Dairy milk alternatives are very common: more than half of Americans surveyed consume dairy milk alternatives, with nearly 60 percent of consumers using almond milk at least weekly
• Millennials & health-centric consumers are primary users of alternative dairy milks, like almond milk.

Consumption of almond milk is increasing more than other plant milks, with a 52 percent increase compared to a year ago.

Sipping Sustainably

Sustainable sourcing is no longer an option – it’s an expectation. The California almond community of growers, handlers and processors is committed to growing almonds responsibly while innovating farming practices.

The Almond Board of California has endless resources to educate and showcase the progress the almond industry has made through research and working directly with farmers and important stakeholders to continuously improve almond sustainability.

Over the past two decades, almond growers have successfully reduced the amount of water needed to grow a pound of almonds by 33%. By 2025, the California almond community commits to reduce the amount of water used to grow a pound of almonds by an additional 20%.

More important sustainability resources you can share include:

• Almond Orchard 2025 Goals: The almond community’s continuous improvement journey focusing on four key areas – water reduction, zero-waste, pest management and harvest quality.
• The California Almond Sustainability Program: Using grower-submitted data to demonstrate the sustainability of the almond industry and helping find ways to improve efficiencies.
• The Five-Point Pollinator Protection Plan: A collection of important initiatives to protect bees during almond bloom with North American non-profit, Pollinator Partnership.