The powdered milk market - France

The powdered milk is a milk that has been dehydrated which consists mainly of the dry matter of milk and is used in the food industry. The powder produced can come from "whole" milk, "semi-skimmed" milk or "skimmed" milk, it can also be sweetened or contain additives such as vitamins D. While milk is composed of more than 80% water, dehydration reduces this concentration rate to only 3%. The global market is in a period of strong growth, a trend which will continue going forward. Indeed, until 2025 the market will expand at a CAGR of 4.27%. The key triggers to this growth include the usage of powdered milk in baby food, but also that urbanisation is increasing where consumers seek a fast, cheap and durable way of consuming milk. The United States is the largest producer of powdered milk in the world. In France, 15.5% of the milk produced is dedicated to the transformation into powdered milk. This can be compared to 35.3% for cheese for example. Several hundred thousand tonnes of milk powder are produced in France every year, whereas it takes about 10 litres of milk to produce 1kg of skimmed milk powder. The French market has regained positive momentum in the last years after a period of stagnation. Owing to some of this upheaval is the price increase which seem to have had little effect on French consumers. The market for milk powder is closely linked to the adjacent market of milk in France. Here, France is the second largest European producer of milk after Germany. The market for milk powder is dominated by agri-food giants and to the dairy industry which leaves little room for new entrants. In France, the sector consists of 53 companies, but the large brands (Nestlé, Lactalis, Arla, etc.) dominate sales.