Dive Brief:
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Demand for camel milk is increasing because the liquid is reportedly more nutritious than cow's milk and doesn't contain whey proteins that can trigger dairy allergies, according to The Washington Post.
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Camel milk is much more expensive than cow's milk since few farms in the U.S. produce it, and each one typically milks just two to 20 camels. Each camel produces five to six liters per day, compared to 16 liters for the average cow. Four eight-ounce containers of camel milk cost $60, not including shipping, the newspaper reported.
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Camel milk is available online in the U.S. in raw, pasteurized and powdered forms and as fermented kefir. It's for sale in some specialty stores in California, outlets in Texas, Ohio and Oklahoma, and at Whole Foods Markets in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Virginia and Ohio.
Dive Insight:
Plant-based beverages have become so ubiquitous in recent years that it's interesting to see an innovative animal-derived milk product gaining in popularity. Camel milk has long been popular in Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other Middle Eastern and African countries, but it's still a rarity in the U.S.
One of the product's assets is its nutritional profile. According to Desert Farms, which sells camel milk products, it has less lactose than cow's milk and also contains vitamin E, zinc and selenium. One cup of camel milk provides 70% of the daily value of vitamin B1 and 30% of calcium, the company said. Producers claim the lower lactose level makes camel milk suitable for those who are lactose-intolerant, but research in this area so far has been limited.
There could be an "ick" factor for some consumers who aren't used to the idea of drinking milk from camels. A number of other shoppers might be scared off by the high price for the product. However, plenty of consumers seem interested in trying alternative animal-derived milks — if only for the novelty factor, and to see what it tastes like — so these individuals may lend themselves to marketing outreach.
Specialty milks — sheep, goat, yak, pig, water buffalo, reindeer and elk — tend to have disadvantages, such as their price, high fat content, supply constraints or milking difficulties, which keep them from making more frequent marketplace appearances. As Slate points out, Americans get 97% of their dairy products from the cow due to the long history of domestication, ease of milking and quantity produced. Still, if more camels are bred and herd sizes increase, consumers could get used to seeing camel milk alongside cow's milk in the dairy case.