Dive Brief:
- Bolthouse Farms, a refrigerated CPG brand owned by Campbell Soup, is launching pea-based plant protein milks, according to Bev Net. The line features four flavors — original, unsweetened, vanilla and chocolate, and is on store shelves at a suggested retail price of $4.99.
- The vegan, soy-free beverages contain 10 grams of protein and 450 mg of calcium per serving, and will be sold in the dairy section. This is two more grams of protein per serving than Ripple’s pea-based milk — the line's main competitor.
- “By working with industry partners, we could source a yellow pea that would give us the lightness and taste and texture that would deliver for this product,” Suzanne Ginestro, chief marketing and innovation officer at Campbell's C-Fresh division, told Bev Net. “The industry and technology is moving so quickly that you are able to separate ingredients and get just the protein in a way that doesn’t compromise on other things.”
Dive Insight:
Campbell’s C-Fresh division needs a boost, and pea-based protein milk may just do the trick.
The division played an integral role in the company's efforts to make better-for-you products a larger part of its product selection, but it has struggled. C-Fresh saw Q2 sales decline because of "weather-related issues in carrots" and a Bolthouse Farms Protein Plus recall in June 2016.
Bolthouse Farms' move into the dairy section marks a first for the division. The line already has a strong presence in the deli and produce departments, where they sell Protein Plus beverages. The introduction of a pea-protein milk could be a game changer for the brand, and is well timed, as demand for plant-based milk is only increasing.
In order to thrive in this new segment, Bolthouse will need to outpace Ripple Foods, which has raised over $30 million in private equity funding solely based on the strength of its pea-based milks. The Campbell brand's protein levels could give it a leg up as consumer interest in nutritional value-adds grows.
It will be interesting to see if high protein and calcium counts will be enough to differentiate Bolthouse's line from more established plant-based dairy alternatives. The brand may need to develop a marketing campaign that demonstrates the quality and benefits of its products in order to stand out in the crowded segment. Ripple developed a retro-style 8-bit game meant to convince consumers that its pea-based milks are superior to all other nut-based, plant-based and dairy-based milk products. Whether or not this campaign contributed to Ripple's high status in the plant-based market is unclear, but it may be savvy strategy for Bolthouse to tout its extra two grams of protein in order to draw in nutritionally-conscious consumers.