Functional plant-based drinks as milk substitutes: current state of production, features of consumer demand

The purpose of the study is to determine the current market situation in the national market, evaluate the range of products and determine the characteristics of consumer demand, taking into account the existing consumer opinion about herbal drinks, milk imitators. General scientific methods were used in the study, including methods of desk and field research, observation and abstraction. Statistical assessment methods were used to assess the state of the commodity market, and the consumer demand study was based on sociological analysis methods. An attempt was made to systematize the modern author's classification of the range of functional drinks - milk substitutes, assess the market supply and determine those consumer properties that shape demand in the commodity market. Based on the results of the study, this paper presents the results reflecting the state of the domestic market of herbal drinks - milk substitutes, identifies the main "players", notes the properties of the products that act as their competitive advantages over milk drinks, ensuring an increase in supply and demand in the future. The range of plant-based drinks - milk substitutes - is developing rapidly and is characterized by a wide variety of species. At the same time, there is no single classification of the product group, which complicates its species identification. A scientific approach to the classification of drinks is proposed, based on such features as the raw materials used, processing technology, production method, fat content of the product and its purpose. It was also established that the only standard (put into effect during this study), regulating the requirements for the products under study, does not cover the entire variety of drinks, as a result of which their functional definition is not of a normative and legal nature. The consumer properties of drinks are determined by their composition, which forms a biological value, which in some respects is not inferior to products made from natural milk. The properties of drinks are determined by the almost complete absence of contraindications, low calorie content and good digestibility, as a result of which the functionality of these food products can cover wide groups of consumers.