Recently, non-dairy-based milk has been growing in popularity, accounting for hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. According to an article from North Jersey.com, milk derived from hazelnuts, almonds and other plant-based sources are attractive because they are both seen as a health-conscious alternative to dairy milk and a boon to the lactose intolerant.
However, the article notes that there are some misconceptions that need to be cleared up for those who are coming to these beverages without any prior knowledge or experience. For one, “nut milks” aren’t “milk” at all, but rather a mixture of various nuts and water. Strangely, although it consists so much of nuts, almond milk is actually a lesser source of protein than dairy milk.
It’s also important that consumers understand that almond milk isn’t necessarily “healthier” than others. The source quotes nutritionist Peggy Policastro on the difference between the two.
“It’s the same benefits that we get from drinking skim milk,” she said. “But you really have to make sure that the nut milk is fortified. Natural milk is very high in calcium and vitamin D, and if you exclude that, your diet will be deficient.”
Even leaving aside these alternative ingredients, milk labels have to be more communicative to convince consumers of what their special terms mean. Even though they’ve been around for some time, the “whole” and “skim” varieties of milk don’t always mean the same thing to all shoppers.
With a color label printer, manufacturers can make the specifics of these products more well-known, especially to consumers with special dietary sensitivities. Whether they use the same terms as conventional milks or not, nut milk packaging should be clear about its contents.
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