Alpro has launched a chilled milk alternative billed as the closest match to dairy milk yet.
Rolling out in 655 Tesco stores next week, Not M*lk is made in the UK from European-grown oats and is said to have a “creamy and smooth” texture. Sold in one-litre recyclable cartons featuring a glass milk bottle design, it is available in semi (1.8% fat) and whole (3.5%) variants (rsp: £1.90).
The products can be used on their own, in hot drinks, over cereal, and in cooking and baking, Alpro said.
Due to roll out to other UK retailers in spring, the range is already on sale in Germany, where the semi and whole variants were among the brand’s top three performers within three months of going on sale, the brand added.
The drink’s UK debut is being marked by ‘in-store theatre’ that will see the brand debut within milk cages in 28 shops, in what Alpro described as a category first. A targeted sampling, social media and outdoor advertising campaign has also been planned.
“Alpro Not M*lk is one of our most exciting launches to date, so we’ll be shouting about it loud and proud to Tesco shoppers nationwide,” said Alpro head of marketing Anna Kochanska.
“There are millions of shoppers who are keen to choose plant-based but are yet to find a drink that matches the taste of milk. With Alpro Not M*lk, we’ve been able to achieve the creamy and smooth texture that consumers know and love, but with all the benefits of plant-based.”
Kochanska added that the penetration of plant-based drinks had reached almost half (48%) of UK households [IRI Total Market 52 w/e 13 November 2021], but there were still some 15 million households that didn’t buy into dairy alternatives.
“While consumers increasingly recognise the importance of plant-based products to health and the environment, dairy drinkers identify taste as the major barrier to purchase,” she said. “These are the shoppers we are targeting.”
Alpro saw value sales climb by 4% to £180.8m last year, according to data for The Grocer’s Top Products report [NielsenIQ 52 w/e 11 September 2021].
The latest NPD comes after the brand launched a ‘playful pastiche’ of the dairy sector’s early 2010’s Make Mine Milk marketing campaign last summer using the same celebrities.
The ad, dubbed ‘Make Yours Oat With Alpro’, saw Hollywood actor Vinnie Jones, popstar Pixie Lott and pro-boxer Nicola Adams donning ‘mOAT-staches’ in a series of creatives and tongue-in-cheek videos designed to promote Alpro’s oat drink range.
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