Unilever Israel has decided not to enter the soy milk market this year, due to high investments costs, especially for production lines, special packaging and the fact that two large Israeli companies plan to enter the market later this year.
A report in Globes notes that Unilever will reconsider entering the market following a feasibility study it will conduct after Strauss and Tnuva enter the market, anticipating a rise in consumption following the entry of these two big companies.
Industry sources estimate Israel’s soy milk market at NIS60m (US$13.4m) a year, in consumer prices, noting that the market has been growing by 25%-40% a year in the past three years and predicting a rise between 30-50% in 2003. Soy milk accounts for only 2-3% of Israel’s milk market.
