Plant-based milk trends in Japan

In environmental terms, there are a number of reasons why plant-based milk is preferable to dairy milk. (You can catch up on them here.) While that has motivated consumers and dairy producers in Europe to shift to plant-based milks, in Japan, consumers instead tend to be motivated by health issues, and manufacturers, like soy sauce maker Kikkoman, are expanding the use of their base raw materials to enter the milk market.

Environmental cost of diary consumption

There are various ways to measure the environmental impact of dairy and plant-based milks. A particularly striking way is land use. While 8.95 square meters of land is needed to produce just 1 liter of cow’s milk, plant-based milks require just a fraction of that to make the same amount. For instance, at 0.66 m², soy milk uses less than 8% of the land needed for cow’s milk, and rice milk is lower still at 0.34 m².

It’s a similar story for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The production of dairy milk emits 3.15 kg of GHG per 100 ml, which is 4.5 times more than almond milk, and 3.5 times more than the same amount of oat milk. The production of cow’s milk also uses more fresh water than any of the plant-based milks.

In talking about sustainable food production, eutrophication is one of the biggest concerns regarding the environmental impact of agricultural practices. It refers to the increase over time in the concentration of phosphorus, nitrogen, and other plant nutrients in the water ecosystem. As you might imagine, the production of cow’s milk is 10 times worse in terms of eutrophication than soy milk manufacture is, and 7 times worse than almond milk.

Milk companies shift into plant milk market in Europe and USA

Such data has spurred change in the dairy industry in western societies such as Europe and the United States. Major dairy products companies, including the Bel Group, known for its red Laughing Cow brand, and Danone, which owns the Evian and Volvic brands, have broadened their markets to include plant-based alternative dairy products.

Danone is the world’s number one in fresh dairy products. But 15% of its sales came from its Essential Dairy and Plant-based products sector, as sales of plant-based products increased by more than 10% in an 18-month period during 2020 and 2021. The gain was mainly due to a drastic increase in the number of plant-based products sold in Europe.

Soy sauce maker leads Japan’s plant-milk market

While the trend in Europe and the US is that dairy product companies have expanded into the plant-based milk market, in Japan, that market has grown in a different way. The most common and popular plant-based milk by far in Japan is soy milk. In 2019, soy sauce maker Kikkoman held 50% of the soy milk market share here. According to Kikkoman, which is a major Japan food company that also produces traditional seasoning products such as soy sauce, mirin and sake, the amount of soy milk produced in Japan in 2019 was 409,000 kl, which is about double the amount produced in 2010.

Product dominance in the almond milk market

The second most consumed plant-based milk in Japan is almond milk. Particularly popular is the “Almond-Kouka” product made by Ezaki Glico, a manufacturer of snacks and other food. According to the company’s financial report for 2020, it holds a 90% share of the almond milk market in Japan. The product posted double-digit growth in annual sales over the five years to 2019.

From the consumer’s perspective though, this overwhelming control of the market may be enabling high pricing. While 1 liter of Almond-Kouka costs roughly 430 yen, the same amount of soy milk from Kikkoman costs 295 yen, which compares to around 200 yen for dairy milk.

Almonds are more expensive than soy beans as a raw material, but that’s not the entire explanation. Marusan-Ai is another Japanese company that produces almond milk. One liter of its product, which was released one year before Glico’s, costs 350 yen. As consumer demand for almond milk increases, perhaps other companies will also enter the market and thereby help reduce prices.

Oat milk, rice milk, and other alternatives

In Japan, consumers’ main reason for choosing plant-based milk seems to be health and beauty. As soy milk and almond milk are known for their nutritional value, they are the most popular plant-based milks here. But oat milk and rice milk are also available.

On the Rakuten online shopping ranking in Japan recently, oat milk from Minor Figures, a company based in the UK, came in at fifth place, costing around 765 yen a liter. So, oat milk looks set to become one of the most popular non-dairy milk choices, just as it is now in Europe.

As for rice milk, given Japanese consumers’ affinity with rice as the nation’s staple food, it probably should garner more attention. It is also one of the rare foods in which Japan is close to self-sufficiency. Despite that, the consumption of rice is decreasing each year, so adopting this new way to consume rice would not only make our planet more sustainable, but also support the self-sufficiency of the Japanese food system.

As consumers worldwide look for alternative milks that are healthier for both our planet and ourselves, more and more choices in plant-based milks are emerging. Along with coconut milk and cashew nut milk, there is even hemp milk and a Swedish brand made from yellow split peas that is called Sproud. As you come across these new alternatives, as well as discovering whether their individual tastes suit you, please also check on how environmentally friendly they are, and that they are made under ethical work conditions. Your decisions can change our food system.