The sector of vegetable drinks is constantly looking for innovations, driven by the growing popularity of alternatives to traditional cow’s milk. This trend is fueled not only by people who follow a vegan diet, but also by those who, due to lactose intolerance or for health reasons, choose 100% plant-based solutions.
As the share of consumers looking for more sustainable and/or healthy products increases, it is natural that companies are increasingly motivated to seek out and launch new products. The latest comes from California, where theForça Foods companyspecialized in the production of innovative plant-based drinks, has launched the world’s first “milk” based on watermelon seeds.
Known as MILKishthis vegetable drink stands out not only for its excellent nutritional properties but also for its low environmental impact.
Ingredients and nutritional properties of watermelon milk
MILKish is a drink without sugars and carbohydrates but with a notable calcium content. With just 50 calories per serving (about 42% less than reduced-fat cow’s milk), it is particularly suitable for those looking for a milk variant that is light but nutritious. Watermelon seeds are in fact known for being rich in proteins, antioxidants and vitamins, however the drink is not made with watermelon seeds alone.
This the list of ingredients of watermelon milk:
The environmental benefits
Compared to other water-intensive crops, such as almonds, watermelon seeds require 99% less water, helping to reduce the ecological footprint of plant-based milk production.
The idea behind MILKish is the result of an intuition by Guilherme Maia Silva, a young Brazilian entrepreneur with an education in Plant Sciences at UC Davis. Silva, deeply affected by the environmental impact of water-intensive crops such as almonds, decided in 2021 to found Força Foods, focusing on more sustainable plant-based alternatives. After a year of research, he discovered the potential of watermelon seeds and MILKish was born.
View this post on Instagram
Uses of watermelon milk and how much it costs
MILKish lends itself to multiple uses and is therefore a perfect substitute for cow’s milk. It can be used in hot or cold drinks, frothed for cappuccinos and lattes, added to cereals, or drunk on its own. Versatility is certainly a strong point of this product.
MILKish is available in two variants: Original and Vanilla, both unsweetened. The product is sold in 32 ounce packs (just under 1 liter) at a price of $29.99 for six packswhich can be purchased directly on the company website. A product certainly not for all budgets.
Who knows if it will also arrive in Italy or if some company in our country will take inspiration to produce something similar.
