Danone Brings Second Plant-Based Brand Alpro to China to Give Vegans Coffee, Tea Options
Liao Shumin
DATE:  Mar 31 2021
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Danone Brings Second Plant-Based Brand Alpro to China to Give Vegans Coffee, Tea Options Danone Brings Second Plant-Based Brand Alpro to China to Give Vegans Coffee, Tea Options

(Yicai Global) March 31 -- French multinational corporation Danone has launched Alpro, its second dairy-free brand in China after Vega, to tap the emerging plant-based food and beverage market.

The company intends to first promote three Alpro drinks, made of oats, almonds, and coconut, alongside tea and coffee through catering channels, the Paper reported yesterday. The brand also has plant-based yogurt, desserts, and cream.

Last May, the Paris-headquartered firm brought its brand Vega to China to offer plant-based protein powders as one of the companies that are testing the waters.

Plant-based concepts in coffee and tea beverages can effectively increase Chinese consumers' awareness as people tend to be willing to try new flavors in these popular categories, said Chen Yiying, Danone Asia's senior vice president of dairy and plant-based products.

Alpro could reach a lot of clients. China's plant-based milk market was worth CNY53.7 billion (USD8.2 billion) in 2019, and a compound growth rate of 2.7 percent is expected between 2019 and 2024, according to Euromonitor Consulting.

But protein-rich diets are also becoming popular. Sales volumes of China's vegetable protein beverage market widened by ninefold last year while the number of buyers rose by 10 times, contributing as much as 15.5 percent of the wider beverages market's growth, Tmall said late last year.

Danone China has reached sales and distribution deals with Dongguan-based Jierong Food, as well as Shanghai's Hiang Kie Coffee and Yitao Trading. "We chose to work with these distributors because of their years of experience in the coffee and tea channels, as well as their understanding of plant-based products and confidence in the market potential," said Chen.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi

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Keywords:   Danone,dairy-free brand,Alpro