US plant-based milk total retail salesUS self-published books per year
Oat milk in the carton, novella in the queue, both produced in steadily larger quantities by people who have very recently decided to take a hobby seriously. The dairy aisle and the Kindle store, two confessions of intent. Both rising on the same Wednesday.
US plant-based milk sales roughly doubled between 2012 and 2021 as oat milk overtook almond and soy as the category leader, with brands like Oatly and Chobani's oat line moving from coffee-shop niche to default supermarket shelf. Self-published titles climbed on the same kind of curve as Amazon KDP and falling production costs put publication within an afternoon's reach. Both reflect the same disintermediation pattern of the 2010s: the dairy industry and the publishing industry both lost their automatic stranglehold on the category, and a wave of small entrants filled the space. Different gatekeepers, simultaneous retreat.
Two industries quietly opened up at the same time. The carton and the cover both got more options.
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