Photo by Leon Seibert on Unsplash
Kate Farms Co-Founder Richard Laver shares his industry insights on the expanding plant-based alternatives market.
“The next generation of consumers is driving real demand for products and companies that are good for their bodies and good for the planet. They’re eagerly embracing entrepreneurs authentically committed to doing business the right way. Plant-based food companies need to embrace Gen Z & Millennials and continue to educate them – we must bring the change makers along with us.”
Laver says that Oatly’s IPO will be a proof point for the plant-based industry and will hopefully bring the very real plant-based value proposition into the mainstream.
“Alternative dairy has reached parity in taste to milk – it’s the same. Because of that it’s being adopted rapidly and the growth is incredible. Oatly is proof of this wide demand for plant-based dairy alternatives. Oatly’s IPO will blow plant-based meat alternatives out of the water. Plant-based meats still have a long way to go to catch up with the market acceptance of alternative dairy.”
Laver himself and his wife Michelle founded Kate Farms in 2011 to save his daughter’s life and is subsequently helping countless others find health through good, plant-based nutrition. Kate Farms is the fastest-growing plant-based medical food company in the world.
“Daily consumer behavior regarding dairy products has changed dramatically. Look at the dairy aisle in the grocery store. It’s overflowing with plant-based alternatives. Meanwhile, the meat counter still looks largely the same with meat alternatives generally relegated to the freezer section. A growing number of Americans have at least one alternative dairy in their fridge while alternative meat is far less prevalent. Globally, actual meat consumption is the highest it’s ever been while adoption of plant-based dairy continues to skyrocket because of the incredible similarity in taste to dairy products.”
