Brazil is one of the largest consumers of cow's milk in the world. But with an 860% growth since 2015, the plant-based milk market is booming. First soy-based, it is ...

In Brazil, the plant-based milk boom

Audio 19:30

With 86,000 tonnes in 2020, the State of Ceará is the largest producer of cashew nuts in Brazil.

By: Sarah Cozzolino Follow

5 mins

Brazil is one of the largest consumers of cow's milk in the world. But with an 860% growth since 2015, the plant-based milk market is booming. First soy-based, today it is available with typically Brazilian products, such as cashew or coconut. Between environmental, social and nutritional concerns, plant milks are invading mass distribution.

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From our correspondent in Rio de Janeiro

The cashew season is coming to an end in this hot December. The town of Cruz, 300 kilometers west of Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará (Northeastern Brazil) is among the largest producers of cashew nuts in the country. In their field, Mardone and Maria-Cecilia rest in the shade of an apple-cashew tree, this typical tree of the region, of medium size and with well bushy foliage.

“It's really beautiful in high season,

remembers Maria-Cecilia,

when there are red and yellow cashew apples in the trees”.

The cashew apple tree produces two fruits: the cashew apple, a juicy fruit that is eaten or drunk in juice and which is actually the stalk of another fruit, the cashew nut.

With a production of nearly 86,000 tonnes in 2020, the state of Ceará is the largest producer of cashew nuts in the country.

But small producers like Mardone and Maria-Cecilia are sometimes far from imagining all the riches of the cashew nut.

"The fewer ingredients, the more complicated"

Since 2015, the company "A Tal da Castanha", based in Fortaleza, has specialized in the production of organic cashew milk. At the head of the young brand, Felipe Carvalho scrutinizes the mountains of cashew nuts in the drying phase:

"Here we exploit 100% cashew nuts,"

explains the co-founder of the brand, a pioneer in his field.

We remove the nut from its shell, we use its shell to generate energy for the plant ... And inside the shell we find a liquid called LCC, liquid from the cashew nut. A very rich oil used for several functions around the world. It exports to
É
United States, Europe, Japan ... and it is used as an alternative to fossil ingredients. "

When Felipe Carvalho wanted to launch his plant-based milk, Brazilian consumers could only find soy-based products, or even imported ones. But all these milks included a large number of ingredients: vegetable oils, stabilizers, acidifiers, artificial flavors… 18 to 20 additives on average. The milk it produces contains only two ingredients: water and cashews. A formula that has been developed in laboratories for almost a year and a half.

“The fewer ingredients there are, the easier it will be to think,”

laughs Felipe Carvalho.

Except it's the other way around. The easiest way is to use a lot of ingredients, because we already know how to do it, we know that it will keep well, remain stable ... but we, we opted for the more difficult path, but this is what makes us different. "

Today, there are more than ten Brazilian brands of vegetable milk.

If soy milk still dominates the market, it loses consumers every year, worried about the impact of this culture on the environment.

Like "A Tal da castanha", some brands focus on the organic and healthy aspect, by offering milks made from Brazil nuts, coconut, almonds, or even oats, others on laboratory-designed substitutes that get as close as possible to the texture and taste of cow's milk.

And although these milks are often more expensive, they still won over consumers during the pandemic.

Healthier lifestyle

In the suburb of Fortaleza, Natália Rocha is active in the kitchen, with her 8 month old baby that she carries on her stomach. She is about to mix her cashews to make milk that she will then give to her child, already vegan, like her.

“I find that wonderful,

enthuses Natália,

cooking is magic! I transform one ingredient and get another! ".

Since changing her diet seven years ago, Natália has developed a great deal of expertise in alternatives to animal products.

“At that time, in Fortaleza, there were no vegan 'industrial' products,”

recalls Natália.

So I learned to make legume steaks, cashew or coconut milk, fermented almond cheeses… ”

A new horizon of flavors

In baking, artisanal coconut milk is the most frequently used substitute for cow's milk.

Jordana Dembogurski was one of the first to create an offer of vegan pastries and cakes in Fortaleza in 2018. In 2021, “Mazô”, her pastry shop, had a long waiting list and she decided to pass on her passion and her knowledge. -To do.

“All my recipes are original, I designed them while practicing,”

Jordana confesses.

I threw so many cakes before I got there! "

The 26-year-old now teaches classes: from the recipe for her artisanal coconut milk to pieces assembled for weddings, including caramel truffles, she reveals all the secrets of vegan cuisine.

“The plant world really offers endless possibilities,”

emphasizes Jordana.

With coconut we can make sweet and savory dishes, fermentations ... Besides, we have recently been working with fermentations too, I am learning to make cheeses from fermented cashew nuts, a ricotta of fines ... And all this obviously adds flavor, texture to the pastries.
It is something very tasty.
"

Because its customers are not only vegans, they are sometimes intolerant to dairy products, or simply curious about a more vegetal cuisine.

Big report - In Brazil, the plant-based milk boom

In Brazil, the plant-based milk boom

"The fewer ingredients, the more complicated"

Healthier lifestyle

A new horizon of flavors

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