Dairy leads in Alternative Proteins, but differences emerge
“With the global population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, over a billion people will be at risk of protein deficiency,” warns A-INSIGHTS’ CEO Jeroen Lustig, highlighting the need for diverse protein sources.
Although alternative proteins currently make up only 2% of the entire protein market, they are expected to grow to 25% by 2050. The food sector's investment in this trend varies, with dairy being a clear trailblazer compared to Meat & Poultry, and Fruits & Vegetables.
Even within the dairy industry, investment levels differ among companies. We analyzed two leading dairy companies, Danone and Royal FrieslandCampina, and compared their investments in alternative proteins using our proprietary Workforce Intelligence and employee-per-€-billionsales index.
Danone: Undisputed champion
In recent years, Danone has increased their alternative protein team more than six-fold, becoming the second-leading company with 1.23 alternative proteins employees per billion in € sales according to the A-INSIGHTS proprietary index (average dairy: 0.25).
To support this growth, Danone has opened a new €1.7 billion plant-based beverage facility in France, developing a new production model and skills to meet consumer demands.
- With a concentrated focus on their plant-based business—spearheaded by their innovative Alpro brand—Danone now dominates the alternative protein dairy market, resulting in a 13% increase in net sales from 2021 to 2022.
- To support this growth, Danone has opened a new €1.7 billion plant-based beverage facility in France, developing a new production model and skills to meet consumer demands.
FrieslandCampina: Trailing behind
Royal FrieslandCampina took a bold step in July 2023 by creating a dedicated alternative proteins team. They achieved this by transitioning four development specialists and a development manager to this new initiative and even added one new team member. However, the co-op has since taken a step back following the internal reorganization announced in early 2024:
- The team shrank from 13 to 8 focused members, and as a result, the company now has 0.92 alternative protein employees per € billion in sales according to the A-INSIGHTS index.
- Monetization of some alternative protein products is not there yet, and tighter margins prevent RFC from investing in this market at the scale of Danone
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