New Research: The Generational Divide Hitting Australian Cafés

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SYDNEY, 20 October 2025 - New research from Australia's top plant milk brand, Milklab, reveals a fresh generational divide as Gen Z 'Matcha Ravers' embrace Insta-worthy iced beverage creations and signature drinks, while their Millennial counterparts continue sipping latte and cappuccino cafe staples.

The Milklab Gen Z Survey, 2025 reveals the rise of an emerging generation of café consumers, attracted by curated café beverages (37%) and social media-driven experiences - that are growing in influence and shaping a new age of coffee culture in Australia. 

While lattes and cappuccinos remain the undisputed staples of Australia's café scene, new beverage flavours are increasingly popular among 18-24-year-old café goers, with 40% of this age group ordering Matcha and 36% ordering flavoured iced Matcha in the last six months. A third already say Matcha is their favourite beverage, while only 15% prefer flat white.

While taste (30%) remains the leading motivation to choose a new café beverage, the novelty of new flavours (29%) and the aesthetics of a drink (26%) hold significant sway for Gen Z, with 46% motivated to take a photo or video of their drink based on the way it looks.

Plant-based milk coffee and iced beverages are increasingly commanding prime position on café menu boards, with 58% of Gen Z café goers reporting that the brand of milk or plant-based milk influences their choice of café. Almond milk (30%) and Oat milk (26%) are the plant-based milks of choice for Gen Z.

For Gen Z, meeting at cafés with friends is a regular social activity, with a majority gathering  at least once a week (61%). A third of Gen Zs say they go to cafés for "the vibe", which is driving the creation of events such as Milklab Coffee Shop Sets - the latest global trend of morning DJ sets paired with speciality hot and iced coffee drinks - that are popular among this age group.

Interestingly, when asked what they would rather have for life, Gen Z reported free coffee (32%) and free Wi-Fi (31%) as their top choices, with free phone upgrades (24%) and free streaming subscriptions (13%) trailing behind.

Milklab's Almond Milk and Oat Milk sit comfortably as the #1 and #2 preferred barista milks in Australian cafés, respectively. Milklab Lactose Free is also showing increased consumer interest with an 8.4% growth last year. With 6 cups of Milklab milk sold every second*, Milklab's Head of Marketing, Natalie Latimore says that new trends, driven by Gen Z consumers, are reframing café experiences.

"At Milklab, we are seeing Gen Z reimagine the café experience. It's no longer about sipping hot lattes and cappuccinos for an early morning kick start to the day. We're seeing iced coffees and signature drinks take pride of place on cafe menu boards as the beverage options that are driving foot traffic into cafés - for consumption both morning and afternoon."

"We're noticing MILKAB Oat Milk is extremely popular amongst 18 to 24 year olds because its subtle sweetness pairs so well with the earthy notes of the in-demand Matcha and flavoured iced signature beverages. Our MILKLAB Oat Iced Strawberry, Mango and Blueberry Matchas and Oat Pistachio Iced Latte were overwhelming favourites at recent Milklab Coffee Shop Sets, morning events that we host at Milklab partner cafés where people can enjoy their morning café beverage with the backdrop of DJ-inspired music."

This year Milklab celebrates its 10th anniversary, marking a milestone in the brand's decade-long journey of becoming Australia's preferred plant-based milk and a global juggernaut in the making.

"After 10 years of plant-based and dairy milk innovation in collaboration with baristas and coffee roasters, Milklab barista milks are preferred among Australian baristas because they have been developed to texture, pour and pair perfectly with espresso coffee, while also having the versatility to work well in other café beverages.

"Milklab's rapid growth to become Australia's number 1 barista plant-based milk brand is a testament to 10 years of collaboration with cafés, baristas and coffee roasters as well as our dedication to stay on top of global trends and beverage innovation to ensure we're elevating the coffee and café experience for Aussie consumers."

Milklab is the flagship plant-based milk brand of leading Australian food and beverage company, Noumi. In the past year, Milklab has experienced 28% revenue growth and is showing strong international demand. Today, Milklab Almond is #1 barista almond milk in Australian cafés with availability in over 12,000 cafés, while Milklab Oat sits at #2 barista oat milk in Australian cafés, with availability in over 8,000 cafés across the country.

To learn more about Milklab and Noumi, visit www.milklabco.com or www.noumi.com.au.

ENDS

For more information, or to arrange an interview, contact Blue Planet Public Relations:

Maria Crema - maria.crema@blueplanetpr.com.au or +61 402 239 929

Sophie Blue - sophie.blue@blueplanetpr.com.au or +61 416 006 821 

More about Noumi

Noumi (ASX: NOU) is a leading Australian FMCG company with a mission to create quality, on-trend, responsibly produced dairy and plant-based milks, nutritional products and ingredients used across the health and fitness industries. The Company operates manufacturing facilities in Victoria and NSW and produces key brands including the Milklab range of shelf-stable dairy and plant-based milks, Australia's Own, So Natural, Crankt, Vital Strength, UPROTEIN and PUREnFERRIN lactoferrin. https://noumi.com.au/  

More about Milklab

MILKLAB began in 2015 when the brand offered its first range of premium alternative milks to the hospitality industry. Since inception, MILKLAB's goal has been focused on elevating the café coffee experiences for baristas and consumers alike with a range of high performance, barista milks. The MILKLAB range includes Almond, Oat, Soy, Macadamia, Coconut, Full Cream Dairy and Lactose Free milks. And they're all made for baristas, to deliver high performance, texturing and stretching with a creamy mouthfeel to complement espresso coffee. Today, milklab is Australia's number 1 barista plant milk brand.

* 1L = 4 cups of regular coffee (250ml per cup); 55,000,000 x 4 = 220Million; 275M / 365 / 24 / 60 / 60 = 6.97 cups per second