Changes in Milk Preferences: What's Brewing in 2024 and How Bestir Limited Can Support All Milk Types
In the evolving world of coffee, milk choices are as diverse as ever, with consumers increasingly seeking both traditional and plant-based options to customise their coffee experience. As 2024 is coming to an end, we’re seeing some notable shifts in these preferences. Understanding these trends and ensuring that your coffee setup is equipped to handle them is crucial for staying ahead in the coffee game. This is where Bestir Limited can make all the difference by supporting various milk types in their coffee machines.
The Shift in Milk Preferences: What's Trending?
Return to Dairy: After the recent growth in plant-based milk demand, 2024 has seen a slight resurgence in traditional dairy options. For instance, skimmed milk has seen a notable comeback, particularly in the UK, where it has become one of the fastest-growing milk choices in coffee shops.
This trend indicates that while plant-based alternatives are here to stay, many consumers are rediscovering the lighter, lower-fat option of skimmed milk, often referred to as “skinny” milk.
Plant-Based Options Stay Strong: Although dairy is making a comeback, plant-based alternatives remain popular, particularly oat milk. Oat milk continues to dominate the plant-based category, thanks to its creamy texture and environmental benefits. Other options like soy, coconut, and almond milk are still widely requested, though they’ve seen less growth recently.
This shift suggests that consumers are now more selective with their non-dairy choices, often seeking alternative milk types not only for their flavour and sustainability but also to satisfy dietary requirements.
Regional Differences: Preferences for milk types vary significantly by location. For example, cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow show a strong preference for coconut milk, while other areas favour dairy options like semi-skimmed or skimmed milk.
This regional diversity presents an opportunity for cafes and coffee providers to cater their offerings to local tastes.
A few statistics:
In 2022 – 2023, there was a 2% decline in Semi-skimmed milk being used in hot beverages. Whilst, in the same years, there was a 12.2% increase in oat milk, 4.5% increase in almond milk and a 4.4% increase in soya milk.
There is a clear indication that under 35’s are the main population for drinking alternative milk types, with over 40% choosing oat milk regularly in their hot beverages.
How Bestir Limited Can Support Every Milk Preference
With such diverse and evolving milk preferences, it’s essential to have a coffee machine that can handle any type of milk with ease. At Bestir Limited, we understand that your customers’ needs are constantly changing, and we’re committed to offering machines that cater to all milk types, whether dairy or plant based.
Here’s how Bestir machines can support you:
- Alternative Milk Compatibility: Our coffee machines are designed to work seamlessly with both traditional dairy milk and a variety of plant-based alternatives. Whether it’s skimmed milk, oat milk, almond milk, or soy, Bestir machines maintain optimal foaming and heating capabilities to ensure every cup is just how you like it.
- Precision Milk Foaming: Plant-based milks can sometimes be tricky when it comes to foaming due to differences in protein content. Our advanced foaming technology ensures that whether you’re foaming creamy oat milk or light coconut milk, the texture is just right, smooth and velvety.
- Customisable Settings: Each milk type has its own ideal temperature and foaming consistency. Bestir Limited machines allow you to easily adjust settings for alternative milk types, so you can deliver a consistent and high-quality cup of coffee every time.
- Energy Efficiency and Sustainability: With sustainability in mind, our machines are also designed to minimise waste and energy consumption, making them a perfect match for the environmentally conscious consumer, especially those opting for plant-based milks.
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Ready to upgrade your coffee setup to cater to all milk types and satisfy your workforce and customers? Take a look at our Machine Range and get in touch with us.