Trendspotting at The Healthy & Natural Show: Could macadamia milk knockout almond milk?

Milkadamia is a non-GMO, gluten and soy free nut-based milk made by family-owned Jindilli farms near the eastern coast of Australia, the same region where where the macadamia trees originate. 

Sustainably farmed​

The trees used to make the nut milk are watered only by rainfall, instead of using a mechanical irrigation process, which can be detrimental to the environment by depleting surrounding groundwater supply, Milkadamia's VP of sales Blair Jackson told DairyReporter at the Healthy & Natural Show in Chicago last week.

Jackson explains that Milkadamia's nuts are native to Australia and naturally irrigated by rainfall. 

Tastes like milk​

Consumers are looking for a product that tastes like milk, Richards said, and especially consumers who are inclined towards non-dairy but have not made the switch yet.

"Taste was very important to us, again it's got to be similar to milk to attract the milk users, which is what we wanted to do. The category is fairly flat, we didn't want to just shuffle the deck in terms of just getting another milk alternative from almond over to macadamia,"​ Jackson said.

Packaged in 32-oz cartons, the shelf-stable Milkadamia formula comes in two flavors, original and unsweetened, in order to appeal to a larger consumer audience. 

"Most companies do a natural and unsweetened, they're very different demographics. People like a little bit of sugar, hence the sweetened. But there's also a big consumer segment coming out of people who do not want sugar, hence the unsweetened,"​ Jackson said. 

Nutrition profile

Another benefit of consuming macadamia milk is the omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids the nut contains, Jackson said. Macadamia nuts are rich in monounsaturated fats with the lowest carb content, and are also high in vitamin B1, magnesium, and manganese, according to Dr. Joseph Mercola who spoke at the Healthy & Natural Show.