CPG Playbook   //   October 10, 2024

How Malk is expanding as the plant-based milk space matures

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Plant-based milk has reached a point of maturation — and Malk is helping take the products even more to the mainstream.

The company launched in 2015, starting first in a farmer’s market and expanding over a few years into retailers like Whole Foods and Sprouts. Now, the company’s products — which include almond, oat and cashew milk and creamers — are sold in nearly 10,000 stores around the country and is the official alternative milk used in Erewhon smoothies.

According to CEO Jason Bronstad, who joined the company in 2020, “[Grocery has] been the focus the entire time.” It’s a different track than competitors like Oatly, which grew thanks to distribution in cafes. “We believe that this product is for families,” he said. “This product is for people at home.”

Bronstad joined the Modern Retail Podcast and discussed Malk’s growth strategy and the plant-based milk space as a whole.

Almond milk, for example, is still the biggest seller for both the industry and Malk. While oat was growing for a while, it began to lose its grounding over the last year over a growing consumer wariness of seed oils. While many plant-based milks do use seed oils, Malk doesn’t. “Our job is to remind them that there is a great plant-based product that doesn’t have the oils that they can stay in the family with,” Bronstad said.

But even with these consumer shifts, more people are seeking out these products. According to Bronstad, Malk is focused on finding what he describes as health-conscious consumers.

“In every single grocery store in America, there is a health-conscious consumer looking to make a better decision for themselves and for their families,” he said.

Here are a few highlights from the conversation, which have been lightly edited for clarity.

Why grocery has always been the focus
“One hundred percent [grocery has] been the focus the entire time. We started with incredible partners at Whole Foods. So, for a clean organic product, starting in the natural channel with partners like Whole Foods and eventually into Sprouts — where you’re more likely to have the buy-in and acceptance — is critical. We believe that this product is for families. This product is for people at home. We’re not looking to go dominate the world with a marketing message in coffee shops. Maybe someday we’ll be there in the future, but we want families. We want people that want to make that healthy decision — to have it in their house and replace it with the other stuff that they may be buying that have questionable ingredients.”

Focusing on health-conscious shoppers
“Here’s a way that we choose to look at the category: There is a value tier within any category you shop; there’s a mainstream tier in any category you shop; and there’s a premium tier in any category you shop. It can be packaged meat. It can be chewing gum. It can be plant-based milks. If we go back 15, 20 years ago, people would go to their one grocery store. They were loyal to one store. And now, if you look at the way assortments continue to grow, people are actually starting to look at their health differently — they’re willing to explore: why is this product more expensive? Why do I pay 3x on a per-ounce basis for this simple ketchup versus this mainstream brand or the private-label brand? And our marketing message is #turnitaround. Look at the ingredients on the back. So, to your question about the value consumer: instead of calling them value consumers, we want to talk to the health-conscious consumers. Because, in every single grocery store in America, there is a health-conscious consumer looking to make a better decision for themselves and for their families.”

The Erewhon effect
“The origin story is that our senior director of sales called me in November of ’21 and said, ‘Hey, I have this opportunity with this account in California. I think it’s the right thing for us. What do you think?’ Well, let’s lean into it. Let’s test, measure and try. So we partnered in 2022 as [Erewhon was] launching their smoothie program and leaned into that opportunity. And it’s been phenomenal for us. So not only do we align with the ethos of Erewhon — with clean, simple, healthy products. It also is a great opportunity to be a base for smoothies where other phenomenal products are added in. One of our most recent smoothies had Matt’s organic orange juice in there, so Uncle Matt was in there with us. What a great combination of two dedicated, organic brands in a powerhouse smoothie with a great retailer. So on a macro, brand building is probably the biggest payoff for Erewhon smoothies.”