The fresh milk market has been trapped in such fierce involution that even the thin creamy milk skin layer on the surface of milk has become a new core point of competition.

The competition in the fresh milk sector has become so fierce that it has even targeted the thin layer of milk skin floating on the surface of milk.

In the past, dairy enterprises adopted the homogenization process to make the fat in milk distribute more evenly, reducing fat floating and stratification. Nowadays, some enterprises have started to bring back this layer of milk skin, printing it on the front of product packages, hoping it will become a new reason for consumers to pick a bottle of fresh milk.

For example, Jiemian News found on Sanyuan Co., Ltd.'s home milk delivery platform "Sanyuan & Express" that it launched a new product called Beijing Milk Skin Fresh Milk, priced at 8 yuan for a 200ml recyclable glass bottle. Apart from the home milk delivery channel, Jiemian News visited major supermarkets in Beijing and found that the Sanyuan Milk Skin Fresh Milk has not been widely stocked for now. Compared with the milk skin concept that has gained certain popularity in the yogurt market, this new product is still in the early stage of market cultivation.

Source: Sanyuan & Express Mini Program.

On supermarket shelves, other players have already launched their own milk skin fresh milk products.

Jiemian News observed at Beijing Hema Fresh that its "Milk Skin Fresh Milk" is produced by the milk plant of yogurt brand Wudao, priced at 15.9 yuan for 800g. The similar product at Yonghui Supermarket is custom-produced by Adopt a Cow, priced at 19.9 yuan for 950g. Both products highlight "no adjustment process" or "non-homogenization process" on the front of their packages, and remind consumers that phenomena such as floating fat particles and wall adhesion are normal.

In fact, "milk skin" is not a truly new concept.

In the past two years, it has become a hit selling point in the yogurt market. Some brands have repackaged the familiar dairy fat stratification into a new consumer experience through thick milk skin, cheese chunks, rich taste and other means.

The non-homogenized fresh milk further extends this concept to the fresh milk track.

Conventional milk goes through homogenization, where large fat globules are broken up by mechanical force to disperse more evenly in the milk, reducing fat floating and stratification, and giving the milk a uniform appearance and smoother taste. Non-homogenized milk skips this step, allowing the fat in the milk to naturally aggregate and float to the surface, forming the familiar "milk skin" after standing for a period of time.

Hema's milk skin fresh milk product. (Photo by Zhao Xiaojuan, Jiemian News)

From the perspective of enterprise product innovation, enterprises that launch milk skin fresh milk hope to turn the "milk skin" that was eliminated by modern dairy processing technology in the past back into a perceptible differentiated selling point for consumers.

In April this year, when Wudao officially announced the launch of Hema's milk skin fresh milk, it linked the product to people's childhood memories of waiting for milk to cool down and then peeling off the milk skin, describing the floating dairy fat as having an ice cream-like taste. Compared with explaining complex production parameters, this kind of description makes it easier for consumers to form a concrete imagination of a bottle of milk.

However, there are still obvious differences between such products and milk skin yogurt.

Song Liang, head of the expert group of China State Farms Dairy Alliance, analyzed to Jiemian News that if low-temperature fresh milk skips the homogenization process, although one production step is omitted, it does not mean that the overall production becomes simpler. On the contrary, to ensure product quality and stability, enterprises need to invest more in other links such as milk source, sterilization, storage and transportation, and the difficulty of production and cost control may also increase accordingly.

The more critical problem is that the consumption scenarios of fresh milk and yogurt are different. The reason why milk skin yogurt is easier to become a hit is related to the strong snack and dessert attributes of yogurt itself, and the product is more suitable for scenarios such as afternoon tea and snacking.

But fresh milk ultimately comes down to freshness, taste, nutrition and price. Therefore, whether "milk skin fresh milk" can become a reason for consumers to make continuous purchases amid the competition of various concept-based fresh milk products still needs to be verified by the market.

A Beijing consumer told Jiemian News that she had tried Hema's milk skin fresh milk before, and did see grease floating on the surface after standing for several days, but the actual taste was not as outstanding as she expected.

"Fresh milk should be drunk when it is at its freshest, the longer it is stored, the fewer active substances it contains. Instead of spending 15.8 yuan on a bottle of milk skin fresh milk, I would rather buy Hema Daily Fresh Milk for 7.9 yuan, and with the same budget I can also choose A2 milk or high-protein milk," she said.

In the low-temperature fresh milk sector, differentiated concepts such as A2, high-protein, and organic are becoming increasingly common, and dairy enterprises need to constantly explore new product value. Milk skin fresh milk is exactly a microcosm of the continuous attempts to innovate products amid such competition.

For enterprises that already have a fresh milk business foundation, new products provide opportunities to further segment consumer demand.

Sanyuan disclosed in its 2026 semi-annual report that it focused on deploying low-temperature fresh milk, yogurt and other categories through the "Truly Fresh & Alive" brand strategy. Among them, its Beijing fresh milk products highlight self-owned milk sources, 72℃ pasteurization process, as well as production, distribution and shelf placement all on the same day, with its revenue in the first half of the year increasing by 61.6% year-on-year. Products such as milk skin fresh milk add new product options outside its existing fresh milk business.

In addition, Sanyuan is also trying to revitalize the time-honored IP "Beijing Municipal Milk Company". In 2025, Sanyuan opened tea shops under the name of "Beijing Municipal Milk Company" that mainly serve freshly dispensed fresh milk and drinks, with the first batch of stores located at Gulou and Beijing West Railway Station, aiming to get close to young consumers by leveraging Beijing's cultural characteristics and the scenario of freshly made drinks. According to statistics from Jiemian News, there are currently 6 "Beijing Municipal Milk Company" stores in Beijing.

Jiemian News visited one "Beijing Municipal Milk Company" store at Beijing West Railway Station. In addition to packaged products such as Sanyuan fresh milk, Beijing yogurt and milk skin yogurt on display, the most attractive part for customers is the restored "freshly dispensed fresh milk" scenario. The bar counter also offers ready-to-eat products such as yogurt bowls, fresh milk tea and yogurt smoothies, priced between 19.9 yuan and 39.9 yuan.

"Beijing Municipal Milk Company" store at Beijing West Railway Station. (Photo by Zhao Xiaojuan, Jiemian News)

"Beijing Municipal Milk Company" store at Beijing West Railway Station. (Photo by Zhao Xiaojuan, Jiemian News)

From dairy enterprises to retailers that cooperate with factories to develop products, all are trying to win over consumers with more specific differentiation. Behind the layer of milk skin are the increasingly segmented selling points on fresh milk shelves, as well as the product development and consumer education carried out around these selling points.

Fresh milk can continue to be segmented, but consumers' daily drinking demand may not necessarily increase accordingly. Whether new products bring more total consumption, or just shift the same spending between different products, will determine the commercial value of such innovations.

Milk skin can make a bottle of fresh milk easier to notice. To stay on consumers' daily shopping lists, it still needs to provide reasons for repeat purchases after the first try.

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "Jiemian News", Author: Zhao Xiaojuan, Editor: Yahan Xiang, authorized for release by 36Kr.