The global dairy and soy food market will rise from $617.9 billion in 2015 to US$773.4 billion by 2020, representing a CAGR of 4.6 percent, according to market analyst Canadean.

This growth is being driven primarily by emerging and developing markets in Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and East European regions, in contrast to West Europe and North America, whose economic fragility has resulted in risks of weaker market growth, researchers say.

“Changing consumer preferences and purchase patterns due to socio-economic and demographic changes have created new market dynamics,” says Kiran Akkineni, analyst for Canadean. “While the key markets of Western Europe and North America have witnessed stagnancy in liquid milk consumption paired with fast growth in processed and soy products, developing countries have recorded steep growth in demand for dairy products owing to their fairly low per capita consumption.”

Consumption of milk in North America is currently declining as consumers opt for alternative beverages such as juices and vitamin-infused water. By contrast, the rise in per capita consumption of dairy by the growing middle-class population in developing markets in the APAC, MEA and Eastern Europe regions will drive growth in the dairy and soy foods market.

Canadean’s analysis reveals that consumers in developed markets tend to base their beverage choices on their level of personalization, whether they can be consumed on-the-go, and whether they can provide a novel experience. Consumers in emerging countries including Brazil, China and India, on the other hand, place a greater emphasis on nutritional value, following health and wellness trends.