THE idea of ordering goat milk in your morning latte might be hard to digest, although for many it’s actually easier to digest, but in any case goats’ milk is on its way to becoming a mainstream food trend, according to goat formula maker Nuchev.

Just four years ago the goat milk infant formula market was worth around $3 million. Today, it sits at $105 million annually, making up about 10 per cent of the infant formula market in Australia, and about 5 per cent of the market in China, industry figures show.

Nuchev, based in Victoria, makes and sells a range of goat infant formula products into Australian and Asian markets, with plans to expand with other health and nutrition products, particularly catering to the diets of seniors.

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CEO Ben Dingle says their premium goat products meet consumers’ growing concerns for nutritional and quality milk products.

“Goat infant formula has quickly moved from niche to mainstream, and we see unmet demand in many markets across Australia and China,” Dingle said.

“Unsurprisingly, this is driven by the global thematic of health and nutrition, and the exponential focus mothers place on what is safe and beneficial for their little ones.”

After breeding goats for a number of years in the dairy hub of Northern Victoria, strong farming DNA provides the company with the capacity and security to respond to this increasing market trend as they also build a significant herd.

And with more people ditching dairy, the animal alternative offers greater choice between traditional cow milk and plant-based competitors.

“We see unmet demand for Oli6® and other goat products across the globe especially in Asia where intolerances to cow milk are high,” Dingle said.

“Increasingly we see goat becoming more mainstream as the digestive benefits of goat milk becomes more normalised.”

Compared to its “udder” competitor, goat milk contains similar levels of vitamins and minerals, but likely has a smaller environmental footprint, says Monash University Food Chemistry Professor, Louise Bennett.

“The environmental advantages of goat milk are because it is a smaller animal, and may cause less environmental damage,” Bennett said.

“However once any form of milk becomes a powdered product, there are changes involved. We have to be very conservative about making statements that one milk is better than the other.”

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