The US seems to have the Australian food market firmly in its sights. Hot on the heels of the launch of the US’ top-selling yogurt Chobani into the Australian market comes the introduction of another American favourite – its number-one almond milk Almond Breeze.
Almond Breeze, owned by Californian almond co-operative Blue Diamond, was launched a decade ago in the US where it is still achieving double-digit growth.
The US dairy-alternatives market is worth around US$700 million (AUS$668 million). Soy milk dominates the category, but it is declining and sales dropped by 7 per cent in 2011. In contrast, almond milk sales grew by 50 per cent and rice milks grew 26 per cent.
The first two Almond Breeze products to be released in Australia are a sweetened and an unsweetened almond milk in one-litre aseptic packaging and these are available in 70 Coles stores nationwide.
While the product was already being directly imported by a handful of independent health-food stores in this country, this is the company’s first concerted push into the Australian market with an on-the-ground presence.
Roger Ringwood, country director for Almond Breeze, was employed by Blue Diamond 18 months ago on a consultancy basis to discover the brand’s potential in the Australian market.
“We already knew there was an interest in almond milk in Australia because of internet searches and requests for Almond Breeze, particularly from consumers who’d been to the States and tried it,” says Ringwood. “We then carried out qualitative consumer research in Q3 last year and that came up very positive.
“Having done our homework, we spent the rest of the year working with local manufacturers to bring the product to market.”
Blue Diamond has teamed up with local allergen-food specialist Freedom Foods as its local licensee and the almond milk is being produced, using the co-operative’s Californian almonds, by Pactum at its Taren Point facility in south Sydney.
Pactum is co-owned by Freedom Foods and the Perich Group and its main operation is contract packing milk using Tetra Pak.
Almond milk in a nutshell
Almond Breeze is made with a small number of all-natural ingredients, but Ringwood says the ‘expertise’ comes in the processing.
“Getting the grinding, blending and treatment of the almonds right in the first place is key and where the skill or the alchemy comes in, the actual formulation is quite simple,” he says.
Almonds are considered a superfruit and the almond milk offers a wide range of health benefits. It’s rich in protein and fibre, a good source of vitamin E, low GI and good for the heart. Like dairy milk, it’s a good source of calcium, but it also contains around half the amount of calories and almost no saturated fat.
Ringwood emphasises, however, that its appeal is two-pronged.
“Consumers aren’t willing to compromise, they want a product that tastes great and delivers the health benefits, and Almond Breeze delivers on both,” he says. “We’re seeing a lot of people from across the health spectrum – not just those with dairy intolerances – and more and more people are just looking for a great-tasting [dairy] alternative.”
Ringwood describes the flavour as mild and nutty, which he says complements food and beverages, such as coffee, cereal and smoothies, without dominating other flavours.
In Australia, the dairy-alternative category is worth around $110 million. Soy milk accounts for around 72 per cent of this; rice milk around 18 per cent; and the balance is made up of almond milks, oat milks and other grain milks.
Year-on-year the category has been growing at around three to four per cent in volume terms. An increasing number of brands are being launched and there are already around 15 to 20 soy milk brands and four or five rice milks on the market.
In the US, the dairy-alternative category is largely located in the fresh aisle, while in Australia, 75 per cent of these products are sold in a shelf-stable aseptic format. Ringwood says there’s a number of reasons for this, primarily that in the US “the refrigerator is king and most households have enormous refrigerators”.
While soy milk dominates the dairy-alternative category, Ringwood believes almond milk has a broader taste appeal and the potential to poach some of its market share.
“In our consumer research, we found that a lot of soy drinkers like the taste of almond milk,” he says. “We’re also finding a lot of people coming in from regular milk, who’ve tried soy milk and didn’t like it.
“That really came out in the Australian research, people saying, ‘Yes this is something we like and something we could serve to our friends and family’.”
A kernel of truth
Blue Diamond is supporting the launch with an extensive integrated marketing campaign. The TV campaign features a 30-second ‘Whatsnew?’ commercial produced by Now Screen and features popular presenter Rozz Switzer. Ringwood says the company’s research found that the consumers in this category are well-informed and have strong opinions, so it decided to forgo the usual “glitz and fluff”.
“It’s a very simple format that’s almost like an infomercial presentation with a very clear communication of the product in a kitchen environment, talking about the usage and health benefits,” he says. “We didn’t look for some kind of slick glitzy marketing campaign because we knew our [target] consumers are smart and they want a practical message.”
The campaign will be further amplified by a strategic PR and social-media program led by Icon International Communications which includes stakeholder and media relations, brand ambassador support, events, blogger outreach and experiential events.
In what could be considered a case of unfortunate timing, Sanitarium also brought out an almond milk as an extension of its So Good brand a few months ago, which it is supporting with both TV and print ads. Ringwood isn’t crying over spilt (almond) milk about being pipped to the post by a well-known local brand, but viewing it as a positive. He explains that there’s another big almond-milk brand in the US called Silk Pure Almond that has been beneficial in helping to raise awareness of almond milk, creating a category “in its own right” rather than letting the one brand be seen as a niche dairy alternative.
“Having a lot of advertising from both brands in the US has really helped grow consumer awareness and we believe the same thing will happen here,” he says. “We think there’s room for more than one brand.”
In the US, Almond Breeze’s marketing message has focused on the product containing only 40 calories per serving, half the calories of dairy milk. However, consumers are less focused on calories in Australia, so the message has been localised to focus on almond milk’s minimal saturated fat content and its benefits for cholesterol.
Interestingly, Sanitarium’s advertising for So Good Almond Milk centres on its calorie content.
Breezing into the future
Blue Diamond sells a number of other products in the US under the Almond Breeze brand. These include a vanilla and a chocolate almond milk and a new addition, almond and coconut milk blend, available in original, original unsweetened, vanilla, and vanilla unsweetened.
“We’ll probably launch those [other products] over here further down the line,” says Ringwood. “Right now, we’re concentrating on the lead products which we hope will resonate strongly with Australian consumers.”
He adds that Blue Diamond may also release its fresh chilled version of Almond Breeze in Australia, depending on demand.
“You have to go through the rite of passage and build up your run rate to justify to the retailers that the product should be given space in the refrigeration section,” he says.
Ringwood believes the success of Almond Breeze in America provides a good indicator of its potential in Australia.
“There’s a lot of similarities to the States in terms of health concerns and lifestyle, especially California where I used to live,” says Ringwood. “There’s subtle differences between the two markets with the US focusing more on calories and refrigerated products, but both countries want a great tasting healthy product – that’s sacrosanct.”
It’s early days, but it sounds as if Almond Breeze has the potential to become a firm Aussie favourite too.
