New brands to expand WhiteWave’s plant-based food and beverages platform
September 18, 2014
The WhiteWave Foods Co., Broomfield, Colo., announced that it has agreed to acquire So Delicious Dairy Free, Eugene, Ore., from its existing shareholders, led by Wasserstein & Co., for approximately $195 million in cash.
Although cow’s milk has long been associated with good health, it has experienced gradual sales declines in the past two years as prices fluctuated and consumers avoided fat, calories and added sugars, according to Chicago-based Mintel’s April 2014 report “Milk, Creamers and Non-Dairy Milk – US.”
Dairy alternative drinks are becoming so mainstream that they might soon deserve their own name, says David Sprinkle, research director and publisher of Packaged Facts, Rockville, Md.
In 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a health claim allowing soymilk manufacturers to state that consuming 25 grams of soy protein in a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, says Virginia Lee, senior research analyst at Chicago-based Euromonitor International. This claim boosted the popularity of soymilk, and it continues to be the most popular dairy alternative beverage today, she says. However, the research firm estimates that sales of soymilk declined 5.8 percent from $981 million in 2009 to $924 million in 2010, and another 8.5 percent in 2010 reaching $846 million in 2011.