Milk or not milk, that is the question here: Alpro is renaming "Not Milk"
A ruling by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court is forcing Alpro to rename its oat drink due to the risk of confusion. The names of vegan meat alternatives are also under fire. Time for a brief overview of these non-products.
A white beverage carton, on which the words "NOT M💧LK" are emblazoned in large, blue letters: This is how the packaging for the plant-based oat milk alternative from Alpro presents itself. No happy cows far and wide, no term like "whole milk". Not even a glass of white liquid is depicted, but rather the words "plant-based" and "oat".
Source: Alpro
And yet, in this specific case, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court sees a risk of confusion with cow's milk. In March 2026, it rejected an appeal by Alpro against the stricter interpretation of labeling regulations. Now, Alpro is renaming the white liquid that tastes like udder secretion from cows. The product with the full name "Shhh… This is not milk" will be called "Shhh… This is tasty" in the future. All ambiguities resolved.
The parent company Danone announced the renaming. Only the Swiss market is affected. In the press release, the company points out that since the introduction of "Not milk" ... you know what ... five years ago, no complaints regarding confusion with cow's milk had been received.
In any case, if you want to buy the Alpro ... my goodness ... the Alpro-Tasty-thing from us in the future, you will have to get used to a new search term. Or you can simply save the following products in your favorites. The drink is also available in a reduced-fat version and as a barista variant.
What is milk, anyway?
The Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) provides a precise definition of milk: "Milk is the product obtained by one or more milkings of the normal udder secretion of one or more animals of the mammalian species according to Article 2 letter a." It is clear that a milk alternative made from oats does not come from udders or from animals at all. Accordingly, oat milk is not milk and may not call itself that.
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court prohibits "negative labeling" for the names of plant-based alternatives, such as the term "This is not milk". Typographical changes, like the drop instead of the "i" in the word "Milk" used by Alpro, are also taboo.
The association Swissmilk, which represents Swiss dairy farmers, is pleased with the ruling and writes, somewhat awkwardly phrased: "The term milk is a natural product of animal origin and may not be used for plant-based alternatives." – one is familiar with this from coconut milk and sun milk. By the way, Alpro also has a barista milk alternative with coconut milk in its range.
Eggs and meat also occupy the courts
A similar case is causing a stir in Germany, but with a different outcome: On September 15, the Schleswig-Holstein Higher Regional Court supported the term "liqueur without egg" for an alcoholic beverage.
A startup is successfully defending itself against a lawsuit from the protective association of the spirits industry, which wanted to take action against the name. They argued it was too reminiscent of egg liqueur, which must contain eggs. Therefore, anything that does not contain eggs should not pretend to. "Egg liqueur alternative" or "no egg liqueur" would not be permissible due to the use of the term egg liqueur. Complicated, I know. The protective association intends to continue the lawsuit in the next instance.
Milk and liqueur are just two battlegrounds in the scramble over the names of plant-based alternative products. In Switzerland, the landmark ruling from 2025 establishes that names with animal names are not permissible. In the court's view, this includes "planted.chicken" or "like pork". In July 2026, the judges extended the ban: Accordingly, terms like "vegan salami" and "vegan mortadella" are also inadmissible.
In the EU, product names like "veggie sausage" remain permitted for the time being. An initiative wanted to enforce that only meat products could be called schnitzel, sausage, and burger. The EU Parliament rejected this for now, but could vote on it again. Specific animal names like "chicken" or "pork" for meat-free products also remain controversial.
Bans against the trend towards flexitarian nutrition
Ultimately, the Alpro ruling raises the question of whether the whole debate is actually about the risk of confusion. Although plant-based alternatives have been standing right next to cow's milk on the shelf for years, no major cases have become known in which consumers have grabbed the wrong product en masse.
At the same time, flexitarian nutrition is a trend. Those who occasionally forgo animal products often orient themselves towards familiar taste and appearance when choosing alternatives. Terms like "milk alternative", "plant-based steak", or "veggie sausage" help to quickly categorize products. They describe their function rather than their origin.
The renaming from "This is not milk" to "This is tasty" shows the dilemma well: The new name is legally safer, but reveals significantly less about what is inside the packaging. How the ban on certain terms is supposed to contribute to better orientation in the supermarket is a mystery to me.
Feels just as comfortable in front of a gaming PC as she does in a hammock in the garden. Likes the Roman Empire, container ships and science fiction books. Focuses mostly on unearthing news stories about IT and smart products.
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