To make a real impact, you have to know what bigger players are thinking
People care about climate change and animal welfare — so it’s no wonder the demand for plant-based products has exploded in the last couple of years. The alternative dairy market is expected to triple over the next decade, reaching a whopping $32 billion USD by 2031.
But what exactly is it that will determine success within this fast-growing industry? And what do startups need to know in order to attain partnerships with the corporates that can get their products on the map?
Well, in my experience, it all boils down to four key lessons — but let’s begin with outlining the research I’m basing this on before diving into each of them.
Getting to know the field
My team at TNW works with industry-leading companies and governments all over the globe looking to partner with or support small innovative businesses in expanding their reach. Two of our most interesting recent projects involved scouting plant-based dairy startups for industry leaders in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.
My following insights derive mostly from working on this report, in which the TNW scouting and research team, along with nlmtd, mapped a couple of the most promising startup-corporate collaborations in the plant-based dairy space.
Of course, I recommend you check out the full report — it’s a thrilling read — but what we basically saw was that while the number of bets on plant-based startups has been growing, the bar remains pretty high for the adoption of these products on a large scale.
So, here are my four key insights for startups and scale-ups who want to attract the right partnerships to succeed in the alternative dairy market.
Tip #1: Nutrition is one, naturalness is two
What I heard a lot in my conversations with industry leaders was that nutrition and naturalness are often misunderstood by consumers and sometimes miscommunicated by startups.
Claims that refer to the amount of a certain natural ingredient (for example, ‘this product is 35% almonds’) say very little about the level of naturalness of that food product.