Gone are the days when milk alternatives were a fringe choice in coffee shops. Today, consumers expect a variety of alt dairy options for their drinks while alt dairy brands use the channel to reach new and lapsed users in a low-stakes environment.
But among the oatmilk lattes and the matcha-flavored plant-based frappes, a new player has emerged: Strive Freemilk. Founded by dairy and processing veteran Dennis Cohlmia, the company is among the pioneers of animal-free milk alternatives.
Strive Freemilk is made with a precision fermentation-derived protein, giving it a dairy-identical taste and functionality without relying on traditional agriculture to produce it.
The product contains 10g of protein per serving – more than most plant-based alternative – and is also identical to dairy milk in terms of functionality while being vegan.
Strive Freemilk is the only US cow-free milk alternative to be used in both foodservice (through a partnership with New York coffee roaster Joe Coffee among others) and retail (across New York and Kansas City, with a Walmart listing up next).
In coffee, Strive Freemilk excels in cold-foam drinks – an area where even barista-friendly plant-based alternatives struggle.
How did the partnership with Joe Coffee come about? “I met the founder and we started talking about our product, ending up doing testing on heat frothing and also cold foam,” Cohlmia told us. “Our product foams like nothing else. Because we don’t have any casein in our product – we have strictly whey – our foaming capabilities are outstanding.”
Strive has since partnered with several other coffee stores in New York, we were told. “We are growing that business – we are testing with a variety of chains, including drive-throughs.”
The product’s appeal – being both vegan and bio-identical to dairy – also introduces a subtle challenge: it still contains a dairy allergen. All that is communicated in an information card at each Joe Coffee location while also clarifying the cow-free narrative.
“We are ‘dairy without the cow’ – we try to simplify the message,” Cohlmia said. “At the same time, we have to claim a dairy allergen on our product because our protein is bio-identical.”
Protein content, at 10g per serving, is another key USP. “All coffee chains are looking for protein now,” Cohlmia said. “Starbucks is driving it and Dutch Brothers too, so it’s a big part of business. Every coffee shop wants to make a protein latte and we are in the process of working on a barista protein milk alternative.”
How has Strive’s entry into foodservice supported its retail strategy? The two channels are entirely different beasts, Cohlmia told us; so much so that he’s now got a foodservice-specific team to oversee this part of the business while the company is also scaling its retail presence.
“In a coffee shop, you’re behind the counter,” Cohlmia said. “If you want to be in foodservice, you’d better be ready to put your ego aside and just take care of your partners with a product that they need – without worrying about your brand being on it.”
There’s an example with Oatly, the Swedish oatmilk brand, which struck a deal with Starbucks in 2021 to serve its product at cafes nationwide. The plant-based milk company has since doubled-up on its foodservice focus by introducing BaristaMatic, an oatmilk product for automatic coffee machines, and broadened its barista portfolio significantly.
But Cohlmia implied that Oatly’s struggles in the US may have been caused by scaling into retail too aggressively. “They were very strong in foodservice,” he said. “When they started pushing into retail, they hurt their foodservice side because then other oatmilks started coming in.”
So it’s a delicate balance – but there’s plenty to play for in retail, too.
The brand is stocked across New York and Kansas City and most recently landed in Walmart.
But instead of competing with plant-based and traditional dairy, the product is being positioned as a functional beverage. “Our research showed us that because we have a double-digit serving of protein, that the perception is of a functional beverage,” Cohlmia said.
“In retail, we are sitting right next to Fairlife [Coca-Cola’s market-leading high-protein dairy brand] because we have an enhanced protein profile and we’re lactose-free, as well as reduced-sugar.”
Beyond beverage, the company is testing out several other formats, including ice cream and yogurt.
But foodservice is likely to remain a core pillar in its long-term strategy. “The coffee shop business, we see it as a growth lever and a volume lever,” Cohlmia told us. “In our business, no matter what anybody says, volume makes margin.
“If a chain wants to use our brand, all the better – but at this point in time, they want to use their own brand.”
Securing continuous supply of cow-free protein is also crucial in the long run. The animal-free dairy industry has been constrained by regulatory and investment challenges in recent years, but there are now signs that confidence in ingredient suppliers is starting to pick up.
For Strive Freemilk, there’s no risk of running out of cow-free protein, Cohlmia said. “We’ve been developing our own sources for protein production,” he added.
“We’re really in the protein business. It’s the most functional part of milk and we feel like that’s where our future lies.
“At the same time, we are not trying to take dairy’s business away – we are trying to be part of their world.”
