Taste of the Industry 2026 (NECTAR et al.)

Executive Summary / Abstract

[From Executive Summary]

Many dairy-free products are already worth celebrating: 27 products, roughly 25% of those tested, were recognized as TASTY Award winners.
Taste parity is becoming a reality across multiple categories: Califia Farms Oat Barista Blend attained taste parity with Horizon Whole Milk. There was no statistically significant difference in overall liking between the dairy benchmark and three additional dairy-free products.
Dairy-free barista milk, creamer, and milk can compete with dairy on taste: The leading dairy-free products in these categories were within 0.2 points of the dairy benchmark on overall liking.

R&D is still needed for most dairy-free products: The average dairy-free product was rated ‘like very much’ or ‘like’ by just 33% of participants, compared to 63% for the dairy benchmark.
R&D breakthroughs needed in mozzarella, yogurt, butter, ice cream, and cheddar: The gap in liking between the leading dairy-free product and the dairy benchmark was at least 0.5 points in these categories.
Taste improvements drive large financial returns: Improving taste was strongly correlated with higher market penetration (p<0.05). Milk, the best-tasting category, has 15x higher market share than cheese, the worst-tasting category.
Improvements in taste are clearly attainable: Across all categories, dairy-free leaders were rated 0.8 points higher than the dairy-free average.

R&D efforts should prioritize flavor: Compared to texture and appearance, flavor ratings were the lowest and were mentioned 2-4x more frequently as a 'dislike' in free-form responses.
Improvement opportunities vary by category with consistent themes: Enhancing richness and minimizing off-flavors will have the greatest impact for most categories. Textural improvements are most relevant for cheese, particularly mozzarella.
Ingredient and macronutrient levels had minimal impact on performance: Aside from protein, most attributes showed weak or no correlation with purchase intent and liking.

Health-centric marketing can drive the next wave of adoption: 48% of consumers 'strongly agree' that health is a factor in their purchase decisions; they were also significantly more likely to purchase dairy-free products.
Brands can boost appeal by evoking joy, comfort, satiation, and indulgence: Participants experience these emotions more frequently with dairy products, and these emotions were associated with a 0.6-0.9 point increase in purchase intent.