Soy milk sales sour along with dairy

(MarketWatch) – Dairy farmers aren’t the only ones having a cow over declining milk consumption. Changing American tastes are also crimping sales of alternatives such as soy milk.

Per-capita milk consumption has fallen almost 30% since 1975, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Though that mostly refers to cow’s milk, the increasing popularity of bottled water and energy drinks also led to a 2.9% drop in sales of soy milk in the past year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “We’re seeing a migration away from standard milk and soy milk toward all kinds of different concoctions,” says Tom Pirko, president of Bevmark Consulting, an international food and beverage advisory firm. Read America’s Milk Business in a ‘Crisis’

Many shifted from dairy to soy milk in recent decades — as a result of factors like taste preference, lactose intolerance or veganism — a trend that makes the reversal over the past few years surprising to some experts. “Specialty beverages are starting to cannibalize the soy milk market,” says Philippe de Laperouse, managing director of agribusiness consultants HighQuest Partners. Having surged by around 500% over the last 15 years, sales of soy milk also declined by 0.7% to $994.3 million in 2011 after falling by 4% in 2010, according to Soyatech, a consulting firm owned by HighQuest. However, those figures do not include sales of private-label soy milk, from the likes of coffee shops, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods, the firm says.

Consumers are also confused by reports that soy might be bad for you, experts say. “People are becoming wary,” says Kaayla T. Daniel, author of “The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food.” Some consumers are put off by the presence of phytoestrogens, chemicals that can act like the hormone estrogen. But Nancy Chapman, executive direct of the Soyfoods Association of North America, says soy doesn’t affect testosterone levels in men and — despite other reports — she says studies show soy doesn’t increase the risk of breast cancer in women.

What’s more, soy milk is facing tougher competition from other nondairy milk drinks. Almond milk, propelled by the growth of brands like Almond Breeze, experienced double-digit growth in recent years, says Sarah Day Levesque, food and drink analyst at research group Mintel. Rice, hazelnut and even hemp milk are also making gains in the nondairy market. Many of these alternatives have calcium content and other nutritional benefits similar to those found in soy milk — with some hemp milk providing the most calcium per serving, according to the Soyfoods Association of North America.