New peanut milk hits stores – including Walmart – in January

Nut-milk processor Elmhurst debuted the new Milked Peanuts beverage at the American Peanut Council’s Winter Conference, giving attendees their first taste of two new varieties at a luncheon sponsored by the National Peanut Board. 
“The launch of the Elmhurst brand of Peanut Milk products truly opens up a new product category for our industry,” said Bob Parker, National Peanut Board president and CEO. “This new category introduction is important to our industry because the peanut market is mature in the U.S., with peanut butter on the pantry shelves in 94 percent of American households.”
Milked Peanuts has 31 peanuts per eight-ounce glass and uses runner peanuts with no emulsifiers or additives, according to Kimberly Behzadi, product manager for Elmhurst. The product contains filtered water, peanuts, cane sugar, natural flavors and salt; while Milked Peanuts-Chocolate adds cocoa (Dutch-processed) to the ingredient list.
Casey Cox, a peanut farmer from Camila, Ga., said at the luncheon, “Peanut milk is delicious! It’s smooth and creamy with a rich, nutty flavor. And it always makes a great product when you put peanuts and chocolate together.”
Elmhurst has a patented cold-milling process that uses water to separate and draw out all the nutrients from the whole, raw ingredients. Once the water is released, the nutrients re-combine naturally to form a smooth, creamy beverage without the use of chemicals or thickeners.
Milked Peanuts and Milked Peanuts-Chocolate will be in thousands of retail stores in January, according to Elmhurst, including Walmart, Big Y in New England, Gelson’s Markets on the West Coast, Giant Eagle Supermarkets and The Fresh Market, both along the East Coast. Consumers also can buy the products online through Amazon, Walmart or Elmhurst’s website.
“Because our product is shelf-stable (up to six months, unopened), it can be easily shipped anywhere in the country,” said Behzadi.
“We believe peanut milk has the potential to increase consumption by one-to-two percentage points in the coming years,” said Parker. “Consumers are looking for more plant-forward products, and as they see the nutritional advantages and great taste of peanut milk, we believe it will be widely accepted.”
National Peanut Board played a key role in guiding the development of the plant-based peanut beverage and securing a company to bring peanut milk to market. NPB will be supporting the marketing efforts of Elmhurst throughout 2018.