Closing the taste gap, growing the category
How sensory performance is driving sales in plant-based dairy
Plant-based milk may feel like a modern invention, but it’s anything but new. For millennia, people around the world have made coconut, rice, soy, and almond milks. But over the past couple decades, plant-based milk has moved from niche to mainstream in the U.S., becoming a staple in many households—while other plant-based dairy products like yogurts and cheeses have become common in recent years.
Today, almost four in ten (38 percent) U.S. households buy plant-based milk in retail annually, and 75 percent do so repeatedly, according to SPINS.1 Plant-based milk commands significant shelf space in retail—typically next to conventional milk—and has become ubiquitous in restaurants and cafés. It’s become so normalized, in fact, that several major chains, including Starbucks and Dunkin’, recently dropped their surcharges for plant-based milk and creamer.
The total plant-based dairy category reached a substantial $5.2 billion in U.S. retail sales in 2025, with plant-based milk accounting for just over half, according to SPINS.2 Foodservice tells a similar story: the category has grown strongly in recent years, with plant-based milk and creamers capturing double-digit shares of their respective markets.
One of the biggest reasons plant-based milk broke through is simple: consumers like the taste.
While perceptions that plant-based milk is healthier and easier to digest help drive regular purchases, research from The Food Institute and Morning Consult reveals that taste is paramount. Most consumers choose it simply because they like it. Recent GFI research found that just as many plant-based dairy consumers say they choose it because it tastes better than conventional dairy as those who say they choose it because it tastes the same, suggesting that some products have not just closed the taste gap but outperform their conventional counterparts.3
However, taste gaps remain for many products across plant-based categories—including dairy—and continue to be one of the top reasons consumers give for not choosing plant-based options.
To better understand how taste influences the performance of plant-based dairy, GFI partnered with NECTAR—a research initiative of the nonprofit Food Systems Innovations that conducts large-scale blind sensory analyses of sustainable protein products. NECTAR recently gathered sensory data on selected products across ten plant-based dairy categories, which we analyzed alongside retail sales data.
The results show that stronger sensory performance (how closely products match conventional dairy in taste, texture, and functionality) is associated with stronger market performance.
Plant-based dairy categories with better-tasting products capture higher share.
The plant-based milk products tested by NECTAR are closer to their conventional counterparts in taste than products in any other plant-based dairy category, reinforcing that taste is fueling the category. And plant-based milk’s dollar share of its respective category (including conventional and plant-based milk) is up to 15 times larger than that of other plant-based dairy categories, according to SPINS. In contrast, plant-based categories with products that perform significantly worse than conventional equivalents on taste—such as plant-based cheese—have much lower market shares. While plant-based milk benefits from being a more established category—along with advantages like retail placement near conventional milk—the impact of taste is evident when comparing performance across plant-based dairy categories.
What this means for the future of plant-based foods
It’s clear that better taste translates into market performance.
Evidence from other plant-based segments reinforces this trend. For example, NECTAR found that plant-based burgers score closer to their conventional counterparts on sensory measures than any other plant-based meat format. And the retail market share of plant-based patties is several times the share of the plant-based meat category as a whole, according to GFI analysis.
Closing the taste gap is one of the biggest opportunities in the plant-based category. Getting there will take more investment and innovation—not only to better match conventional products on flavor and texture, but also to meet expectations on price and give consumers a compelling reason to choose these options.
There are promising signals on the horizon. For example, advances in precision fermentation now make it possible to produce animal proteins like whey, casein, egg white, and more using microbes. These ingredients can be incorporated into plant-based products to improve functionality and deliver a more authentic sensory experience.
While product-by-product improvements matter, the biggest gains come when entire categories move forward on taste—creating consistently great experiences that keep consumers coming back.
Related resource: Sensory evaluation of alternative proteins guide
Sensory science is critical for the success of alternative proteins. Integrating sensory testing throughout the product development lifecycle helps ensure products deliver on one of the strongest drivers of consumer choice–taste. GFI recently published a sensory best practices guide for researchers, scientists, and companies to rigorously evaluate and optimize the sensory performance of alternative protein products.
SPINS, National Consumer Panel (powered by Circana), All Outlets, 52 Weeks Ending 11/30/2025.
SPINS, Total market = Natural Supermarket Channel + Conventional Multi Outlet Channel + Convenience Channel (powered by Circana) | 52 Weeks Ending 11-30-2025. Custom categories created by GFI and will not align with standard SPINS categories. Plant-based dairy includes plant-based milk, creamer, yogurt, ice cream & frozen novelty, butter, ready-to-drink beverages, cheese, and cream cheese, sour cream, & dips.
GFI, Survey of n=3000 U.S. consumers aged 18-59, May 2024 - Survey question: Why do you eat plant-based dairy products (e.g., milk, cheese, yogurt, and other products made from plants, grains, or nuts)? Select 2-6; Among past 12 month plant-based dairy eaters
Great report! Now we just need to get dairy-free cheese (slices and shreds), queso and condiments.. in stores and restaurants. This is a huge challenge as there is still SO much work to do in this area to get texture, taste and pricing just right — but the world will be much better off when these come to fruition. There are plenty brands on the market but not all of them can be found everywhere and not all of them are a superior product, based on my own experience.. I’m still searching 👀