Who doesn’t love a bowl of cold, delicious, ice cream … especially this time of year! Most consumers would agree but a growing number are choosing non-dairy products – and the dairy industry isn’t happy about it.

According to Nielson, “U.S. based non-dairy sales in the grocery and supermarket sectors rose 46 percent in the 52 weeks leading up to the end of April,” and according to a recent report by research firm Packaged Foods, “free from” products are driving the most growth in the $28-billion ice cream market.

The dairy industry seems to be taking notice and recently launched a campaign called “Undeniably Diary,” in which they seemingly imply that other options don’t taste as good as dairy. This is evident on their website with statements such as “from a thick slice of cheddar on a burger,” and “a cold glass of milk with warm cookies.” These statements are quite obviously a desperate attempt at convincing the public that these experiences are only possible through traditional dairy milk. What they fail to mention are the harmful effects this type of propaganda has on farm animals, the environment, and consumer health. Even with these claims, however, the public has continued to speak loud and clear on where they choose to spend their money. This is an indication of what’s in store and it couldn’t have come at a better time with some 30 million to 50 million Americans being lactose intolerant.

Thankfully, Danone, the parent company of So Delicious Dairy Free, the makers of dairy-free ice cream, yogurt, creamers and other products, also made a bold move. They’ve invested in a multi-million dollar branding campaign for the dairy-free company which includes the new tagline, “Nothing Compares.”

Though Danone is a world-leading food company that owns several brands (including dairy brands) they understand this is a smart move as the number of Americans opting for non-dairy alternatives continue to rise for moral, dietary, and allergy reasons. The new campaign will focus on expelling the notion that in order to eat healthily you have to sacrifice taste and that is just not the case.

With products like the Salted Caramel Cluster Cashew Milk and Cookie Dough Coconut Milk, we are confident that won’t be a problem. These mouth-watering products are not only dairy-free but they are also gluten-free and organic. Creative Director of Duncan Channon, who took on the branding project stated, “the ‘Nothing Compares’ campaign is a bold declaration of confidence that decadence and wellness can absolutely go together.”

The company will be rolling out Facebook ads, video ads, radio ads and magazine print ads over the coming months and we look forward to seeing the impact it will have on the diary-free market. In just the last couple of months, So Delicious has already seen frozen dessert sales increase by 15 percent and its overall product sales jump 21 percent, according to Neilson. With this in mind, we’re sure there will be many more vegan ice cream products to come out of So Delicious – and well, if you ask us, nothing really does compare to digging into a pint of dairy-free goodness!

Learn more about the So Delicious campaign by visiting their website here.

Image source: So Delicious/Facebook