Pink, Fizzy Milk?

Have you ever found yourself sipping a glass of milk and thinking, “Hey, this would be so much better if it were fizzy and, I don’t know, maybe … pink?”

No matter, carbonated milk the color of a sunset may soon be a supermarket-shopping option anyway.

Arla, a giant Scandinavian dairy company (it’s one of the world’s largest dairy-product producers), is set to introduce a drink it is describing as “sparkling fruit and milk” in hopes of turning it into the next big beverage trend, the Telegraph reports.

The fizzy milk, first announced a year ago, will make its debut in the United Kingdom, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates ahead of a worldwide rollout.

Arla is apparently hoping it will boost a sagging milk industry, as the rise of non-dairy almond, soy, rice and coconut “milks” increasingly encroach into the territory traditionally traversed by cow’s milk alone. (You could say they’re mooooving in, but I won’t. Oh, wait — unless that counts?)   

Arla believes the bubbly beverage, part of a new lineup that includes a tea-milk drink and a protein energy drink, could be a big hit. The company is targeting sales at 700 million euros (more than $824 million U.S.) by 2020, according to the Local.

The carbonated-milk concept faces some headwinds, though. Consumers have repeatedly rejected similar drinks — including one launched by soft-drink maker Britvic (Tango Strange Soda) in 2003 and another by Coca-Cola (Vio) in 2009, neither of which managed to stick around. (Actually, Vio, while unsuccessful in the U.S., may still be a thing in India.)

But maybe at this point the world is a bit more ready for milk that is blush-colored, sparkling and a little fruity? We’re pretty into our kefirs and drinkable yogurts, after all.

​Food Network