Business Environment Profiles - United Kingdom
Published: 19 May 2025
Liquid milk consumption per capita
1198 Millilitre
-2.0 %
This report analyses per capita dairy milk consumption in the United Kingdom - that is, liquid wholemilk and skimmed milks. The data is sourced from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), in addition to estimates by IBISWorld. Figures represent average annual dairy milk volume purchased and presumably consumed per person per week. Due to changes in the origins of data, as collated by Defra in its Family Food Survey, the figures are presented in either calendar and financial years within the time series, contingent on the source used - that is Defra used Adjusted National Food Survey data between 1990 through 2000 (i.e. calendar years for all years in this period); the Expenditure and Food Survey 2001-02 to 2007 (i.e. 2001 = 2001-02 and reverts back to calendar years in 2006); and the Living Costs and Food Survey from 2008 onwards (i.e. calendar years through 2015, whereby 2016 = 2015-16 and financial years thereafter).
We measure the upstream and downstream ramifications on thousands of industries so businesses can monitor their external operating environment. Explore membership options today.
Our industry reports include 35+ pages of data, analysis and charts, including:
In 2025-26, it is estimated that milk consumption in the United Kingdom will equate to 1198 millilitres (ml) per person per week. Liquid dairy-based whole milk and skimmed milk consumption is influenced by health and social trends; consumption of complementary foodstuffs, or otherwise interest in alternative and substitute products (e.g. plant-based milk); and, to a lesser extent, farmgate and or retail prices - according to Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), UK farmgate milk prices have generally increased over the period, reaching 39.88ppl in May 2022, a 32.7% increase on May 2021. According to trade association Dairy UK, 96% of adult Britons purchased milk in 2018.
Notwithstanding intermittent annual growth, presumably driven by spikes in consumption of select complementary products, per capital milk consumption has trended downwards for the past few decades. However, the AHDB claims that where people have cut back on dairy, they are unlikely to be aware of it - the AHDB found that only 15% of "milk reducers" in Britain, measured by genuine change in consumption over time, did so consciously, meaning that, for most, any decline seen has been due to changing needs and habits. The AHDB also states that British people, particularly among younger demographics, starting to lose their love for the traditional cuppa with a splash of milk has contributed to the seemingly terminal decline of milk consumption. However, there are other notable factors which have accelerated the decline in per capita milk consumption.
Arguably the most prominent impetuses to the decline in dairy liquid milk consumption have been social and health trends which have given rise to dairy alternatives, colloquially known as "alt-milks" (i.e. soy, almond, oat and other plant-based milk). Whether to combat health issues; in consideration of animal welfare; of the belief that alternative consumption habits will contribute to the preservation of the planet; or due to changing lifestyles and tastes in general, evermore consumers have substituted traditional dairy milk out of their diets for plant-based milk alternatives - in 2021, 30% of Britons used plant-based milk alternatives, up from 19% in the corresponding period in 2018.
Consequently, concerns around health, ethics and the environment, in addition to a trend towards veganism, have effectively contributed to the decline in per capita dairy milk consumption in recent years. This is because the growing popularity of vegan and vegetarian diets has seen an increase in consumption of non-dairy milk alternatives, such as soy milk, almond milk, oat milk and rice milk, which has weighed on milk consumption over the past five years. Consumer attitudes towards dairy products, which are partly driven by health consciousness and public concern over environmental issues, have reduced the level of milk consumption in United Kingdom.
Milk consumption was not expected to be substantially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is despite the UK Government forcing the total closure of food-service establishments over much of 2020-21. These actions severely influenced the milk consumption in the UK as food-service establishments, especially cafes, are a key channel for milk and cream producers and therefore milk consumption. However, consumers increased their consumption of liquid milk at home as a result of spending more time at home. In 2023-24, IBISWorld estimates that the per capita milk consumption shot up by 14.5% due to sharp decline in prices as inflation eased. Consumption has trended downwards mainly due to the population switching to alternatives.
Including an expected 3% decline in 2026-27 alone, per capita milk consumption is forecast to fal...
Gain strategic insight and analysis on thousands of industries.