The China Study, a book praised as "the pinnacle of epidemiological research" by The New York Times, pointed out that milk and meat based animal source food can cause obesity, coronary heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and other chronic diseases, while plant-based food, such as natural nuts, beans, vegetables and fruits, can not only reduce the incidence of some chronic diseases, but help to alleviate the progression of some diseases. For consumers who are in pursuit of health and green food, plant-based yogurt is obviously a best choice.
Nongfu Spring started to work on yogurt products research as early as 2017. Actually, there were many R&D options in this market with a 10-billion market scale, but Nongfu Spring found a small number of people who were sensitive to dairy products when interviewing consumers about their demands. Although this part of consumers like yogurt, they can’t drink traditional yogurt on the market due to their special physical conditions. They represents a consumer group overlooked by the huge dairy market. So developing a yogurt product suitable for lactose intolerant people to drink became the direction of Nongfu Spring in this field. Nongfu Spring has always adhered to the R&D principle of “providing consumers with one more choice, not just one more product on the shelf ” throughout its development path, and over the three years of R&D and evaluation, it has tried more than 1000 formulas and organized over 4000 participants in the taste tests and product function experiments.
In April 2019, Nongfu Spring launched its plant-based yogurt product fermented with soybean, coconut milk, almond and other plant materials. As a rare mixed plant-based yogurt in China, Nongfu Spring Plant-based Yogurt subverts the health advantages of animal-based yogurt, arousing heat discussion in the industry. This yogurt product is made of plant-based materials, inoculated with yogurt strain and fermented. Compared with other dairy products, plant-based yogurt is more natural and healthy. Nongfu Spring Plant-based Yogurt is free from animal milk and cream, without cholesterol and harmful trans fat. It is easy to digest and absorb with rich natural dietary fiber.
Nongfu Spring pioneered the use of advanced grinding technology of the pharmaceutical industry in the product development research process, which enabled the plant-based yogurt to have a smaller particle size and a smooth texture just like the animal-based yogurt. By the innovative fermentation technology, Nongfu Spring solved the problem that plant protein products are easy to sour after fermentation, delivering a fresh taste just like animal-based yogurt. So Nongfu Spring Plant-based Yogurt was well-received by consumers once it debuted on the market.
Beyond that, plant-based yogurt has another advantage. The plant protein as raw material is more environmentally friendly and healthy compared with animal protein. With less carbon dioxide emission and comprehensive nutrition, this plant-based yogurt is more attractive to vegetarians and environmentalists.
Plant-based yogurt, just like plant protein beverage, stands as one of the future direction of food industry. It possesses good health value as it is in line with the healthy and sustainable trend of consumption as a whole and meets the demand of food consumption upgrading. Plant materials are widely distributed in China, providing a solid base for plant yogurt production. If Nongfu Spring can make the best of this resource advantage to constantly upgrade its products and accelerate the growth of plant-based yogurt in China, it is expected to set a new health trend among consumers.