What you need to know
Estimated at £2.1 billion in 2019, the UK spoonable and drinking yogurt market grew by 3.9% over 2014-19, driven mainly by inflation. Volume sales of spoonable yogurts are expected to rise in 2019, while those of drinking yogurt are estimated to remain largely flat. Further inflation is expected for 2019-24, though limited by retailer price competition, fuelling value growth of 8% to £2.2 billion. Meanwhile, the ageing UK population will hinder volume sales growth, forecast at a modest 2% over the period to 732 million litres.
Eight in ten UK adults eat spoonable yogurts, while a quarter drink yogurt drinks. There are a number of different health-related reasons for eating/drinking these products, with treating oneself also important for spoonable yogurts. A strong on-pack emphasis on live cultures is needed for companies to fully capitalise on consumer interest in digestive health.
The amount of packaging waste generated by yogurt/yogurt drinks concerns 72% of users/buyers, while a third have cut back on dairy yogurts for environmental reasons. This puts the onus on brands to demonstrate their environmental commitments.
Products covered in this report
This Report examines the UK retail market for yogurts and yogurt drinks. Sales through foodservice establishments are excluded.
Mintel’s definition of yogurt includes spoonable yogurt, fromage frais and yogurt drinks. Functional fermented milk drinks such as Yakult are included in the Report since cultures similar to those contained therein feature in products positioned as yogurt. The market size includes quark as it is a fermented dairy product, however its share of the market is small.
