If you think Malaysians stop drinking milk after their toddler years, then this revelation will surprise you – in Tetra Pak’s sixth Dairy Index, it was revealed that our countrymen have the highest per capita flavoured milk consumption in the region. Flavours like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and coffee account for 41% of liquid dairy consumption in our country, compared to 21% for white milk and 20% for baby and toddler milk. The growing demand for flavoured dairy drinks has seen interesting new flavours emerge in the market, such as peach, mango, pineapple and green tea, while the most popular flavours remain chocolate, strawberry and vanilla.
The less popular white milk, on the other hand, is heavily consumed by children aged 3-12, with a majority of milk consumption being done during breakfast. An interesting point caught our eyes during Tetra Pak’s sixth Dairy Index media briefing session: while 72% of 1,000 Malaysians believe that dairy was an important part of a balanced diet, only 38% would consume it on a daily basis. As white milk consumption decreases with age, health experts hope that flavoured milk would be the key to boost the popularity of dairy consumption among Malaysians.
Those who have doubts about the health benefits of flavoured milk can now be assured of its goodness: according to the National Dairy Council in the United States, flavoured milk provides the same nine essential nutrients as unflavoured milk. Essential in your daily diet, these nutrients include calcium, potassium, phosphorus, protein, vitamins A,D, B12, niacin and riboflavin.
Other striking facts from Tetra Pak’s 6th Dairy Index:
- 66% of flavoured milk consumption in 2012 came from developing countries, with China, South Asia and Southeast Asia drinking more than half the world’s flavoured milk.
- Flavoured milk consumption in Malaysia is at 21.3 litres per year compared to around 2.7 litres globally.
- Today, white milk accounts for roughly 70% of global Liquid Dairy Product (LDP) consumption.
