Goat Milk to record US$17 billion in sales by 2025

Goat milk, once a very tiny niche segment compared to the mainstream dairy industry, is now projected to be a US$17 billion industry globally by 2025 with a CAGR of more than 7% from the period 2019-2025, according to a report by Arizton Advisory and Intelligence.
The US is currently the largest single market for goat milk products accounting for 24% share of the global market followed by China.
The growing awareness via increased marketing campaigns, advertisements, and digital marketing is expected to boost the sale of goat milk products. In addition, the increasing use of nutrient-rich goat milk powder in infant formulas and the growing number of lactose-intolerant population are likely to contribute to the growth of the market further. Goat milk has high protein content and is easily digestible compared to cow and breast milk.
The market is currently witnessing a surge in demand from emerging economies like China. The shifting preference for packaged branded dairy products is another factor propelling the growth in emerging markets.
Goat cheese currently accounted for the largest product segment and approximately 38% of the global goat cheese revenue comes from chevre or fresh goat milk cheese.
In addition, rapid urbanisation and the improvement in chillers and cold chain logistics for categories such as yogurt and fresh milk have increased the availability of dairy products, thereby boosting the demand. Product freshness plays an essential part in the growth of goat milk products as more nutritious and shelf-stable variants are being made available, especially in the Asia Pacific market, where rising health consciousness is gaining traction.
The yogurt, milk powder, and drinking dairy products categories are expected to emerge as important revenue contributors to the global goat milk products market over the next few years. Goat milk infant formulas are highly popular in Asia Pacific especially in China. In 2019, the goat milk powder segment contributed around 56% of the total market revenue in this region.
By 2025, the Asia Pacific region is expected to surpass Europe in terms of goat milk product revenue to become the leading goat milk product market globally, generating an additional revenue of over US$2 billion. The region is also expected to be the fastest growing market with China alone contributing an additional revenue of more than US$1 billion by 2025. Currently, Europe is the largest regional market for goat milk products in 2019 contributing approximately 31% of the market revenue.
In terms of distribution channels, goat milk products are distributed via online and offline channels. While offline channels like supermarkets account for the majority revenue shares, specialty stores and online channels are expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period.
Nevertheless, despite the huge potential, the market still faces several challenges in terms of food safety, government regulations, and logistics. Growing incidences of food safety scandals relating to goat milk in the past few years are expected to hinder the growth of this category during the forecast period.