As different varieties of oat and nut milk have been increasing in popularity amongst consumers, cows’ milk sales have been in decline as the nut and plant-based milk market continues to grow.
However, the popularity of sparkling water shows no sign of abating, and so, on the basis that innovation is key, milk producers have had to think ‘outside the box’ and in an effort to boost sales have come up with… fizzy milk! As milk producers are attempting to find trendy new ways to get us to buy milk, they have announced plans to sell a sparkling fruit and milk drink.
Given that we already have sparkling water and sparkling fruit drinks, perhaps it was just a matter of time…
By mixing fruit juice and milk before carbonating, the pink drink is ideal for experimental teenagers and use in cocktails (think White and Black Russian). The milk also is a type of whey with no fat, and if it is received well in the UK and Singapore it will be sold around the world.
The aim of this unusual idea is to relight the dwindling interest in milk and therefore boost milk sales by 2020. This is not the first time someone has attempted fizzy milk – in fact, in the late nineteenth century a drink made from milk, carbonated water and flavoured syrup became very popular – so perhaps fruit-flavoured fizzy milk isn’t too much of a stretch today.
The question is, will customers be convinced that what on the surface appears to be an utterly bizarre concept, is in fact, worth a try? Who knows, we may even find that a fizzy dairy product is what we’ve been waiting for – it’s certainly popular in the Middle East and has been for years.
While it’s unclear when we’ll be seeing fizzy milk drinks on the supermarket shelves, or requested at weddings it should be soon and it’s certainly something to look out for.
Whether it captures the imagination of a new generation of milk drinkers remains to be seen.