According to the proprietor of cult Melbourne café, St Ali, in 2005, some 97 per cent of the coffees they made used dairy milk. By 2022, one in four were made with an alternative milk – be it soy, almond, oat or another vegetable-based product. While many of these milks had been around for decades, their widespread use in cafés was the final tick of approval. In 2018, Sanitarium’s Alternative Dairy Co. began selling a range tailored for the café market.

Soy was the first alternative milk, making the transition from health food store to supermarket in the 1980s. PureHarvest introduced its rice milk in 1992, followed by their oat milk in 1995 and  almond milk in 2007. It was the beginning of a trend that made “purists” who refused to countenance any change from dairy milk seem out of step with the times.

A report by research company IBISWorld in 2014 showed that the growth rate for alternative milks such as soy and almond milk was outstripping growth for the good old dairy variety. While milk and cream processing had grown by an average of 0.2% per year over five years, soy and almond milk production grew by an average of 5.9%. IBISWorld’s Phil Ruthven attributed their growth to health consciousness, saying that the alternative milks were typically protein-rich and low in fat and sodium. A growing awareness of food intolerances was also a factor.

However, the alternatives were far from overtaking dairy milk in terms of market share. According to Soy Australia Ltd, in 2011 Aussies were drinking three litres of soy milk per capita per year. That’s a long way short of the 106.8 litres per capita of cow’s milk we put away. Among the dairy alternatives, soy led the way, featuring in 78% of drink launches recorded by Innova Market Insights in the 12 months to October 2012. This was followed by rice milks, with 17%, oats with 11% and almond with 10%.

The spread of alternative milk into supermarkets and cafés wasn’t limited to Australia. Internationally, it seemed almond milk was growing the fastest and other options were coming onto the market including blended products and even quinoa milk. In the USA, by 2011, the market share was 68.7% soy, 21% almond, 7.2% rice and 2.6% coconut. In the UK, sales of almond milk rose by 40% in the three years to 2014.

Not all alternative milks are created equal. In a review of products on the market, one vegan/health/yoga website, The Compassionate Road, points out that some contain dubious additives, for example: Filtered water, soy protein (this is made from the isolate not a whole bean), corn maltodextrin, sunflower oil, canola oil, cane sugar, calcium, phosphate, magnesium, acidity regulators 332, 450, antioxidant ascorbic acid, Vitamin A, B12, D2, B2,B1, natural flavor.

Consumers weren’t phased though. By 2024, according to Vitasoy Australia, 40 per cent of Australian households had plant-based milk in the fridge. Almond milk was the fastest-growing category, with oat milk cited by coffee connoisseurs as the best alternative milk for the daily brew. Oat milk also has the added appeal of being the most environmentally friendly, taking into account land use, water use and the emissions resulting from production.