Yogurt - China - 2021

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Key issues covered in this report
Covered in this report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The market
Growth recovered to pre-COVID levels
Figure 1: Retail market value of yogurt, China, 2016-2026
Figure 2: Market volume of yogurt, China, 2016-2026
Ambient yogurt continues robust growth while chilled segment faces challenges
Figure 3: Retail market value of ambient yogurt, China, 2016-2026
Figure 4: Retail market value of chilled yogurt, China, 2016-2026
Companies and brands
Yili extends its lead
Ambient and plant-based segments get more crowded
Figure 5: Market share of leading yogurt players, by value, China, 2019-2021
Targeted product innovation on the premise of health
The consumer
Ambient yogurt leads in usage frequency but faces threat from chilled drinking yogurt
Figure 6: Consumption frequency, 2021
Most consumers look to improve digestion and supplement protein
Figure 7: Consumption purpose, 2021
The biggest market lies in mid-range yogurt products
Figure 8: Spending habits, 2021
Convenience stores show up with opportunities
Figure 9: Purchase channels, 2021
Brand claims are trustworthy to consumers, especially for chilled drinking yogurt
Figure 10: Brand trust, 2021
Low penetration of new yogurt formats
Figure 11: New yogurt format penetration, 2021
What we think
ISSUES AND INSIGHTS
Premiumise with alternative functions instead of indulgence
The facts
The implication
Increase high protein claims in chilled drinking yogurt
The facts
The implications
Figure 12: Examples of chilled drinking yogurt with high protein claims, 2021
Add beauty benefits to new yogurt formats
The facts
The implications
Figure 13: Example of Blueglass product with beauty-enhancing claims, China, 2021
MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST
Growth bounced back in 2021
Figure 14: Retail market value of yogurt, China, 2016-2026
Premiumisation continues in the market
Figure 15: Market volume of yogurt, China, 2016-2026
MARKET SEGMENTATION
Ambient returns to pre-COVID levels and growth will remain robust
Figure 16: Retail market value of ambient yogurt, China, 2016-2026
Chilled yogurt has a slowdown in growth
Figure 17: Retail market value of chilled yogurt, China, 2016-2026
MARKET FACTORS
Retail consumption is recovering
Figure 18: YoY growth (%) in retail sales of goods, China, July 2020 - June 2021
Improved health management due to COVID-19
Raw milk price keeps increasing
Companies focus less on yogurt business
Figure 19: New dairy product launches, by type, China, July 2016 – June 2021
MARKET SHARE
Yili solidifies its leading position while Mengniu sustains performance
Figure 20: Ambrosial’s marketing campaign with Bilibili, May 2021
Junlebao and New Hope gained market share
Bright and Hokkai Pastures introduced new ambient yogurt brands
New entrants in the plant-based segment
Other strong players
Figure 21: Market share of leading yogurt players, by value, China, 2019-2021
MARKETING ACTIVITIES
“Chilled” ambient yogurt
Figure 22: Ambrosial in the freezer section of a convenience store, China, 2021
Diversified methods to advertise probiotics
Figure 23: Examples of marketing materials that quantify the number and types of probiotics, China, 2021
Figure 24: Meiji’s yogurt products that highlight specific strains, Japan, 2020
Yogurt taps into other categories
Figure 25: Moving annual trend in percentage of products with co-branded claims in total food and drink launches, China, July 2016 – June 2021
Yogurt plus noodles
Figure 26: Ambrosial x Cai Lin Ji Yogurt Plus Noodles, China, 2020
Yogurt plus tea drinks
Figure 27: Product examples of “A Yogurt Cow”, China, 2021
NEW PRODUCT TRENDS
Flavour and ingredient innovation
Increasing “minus” claims
Figure 28: “Minus” claims of yogurt, July 2016 – June 2021
Figure 29: New yogurt launches with “minus” claims, China, 2021
Festival-themed products
Figure 30: Examples of festival-themed yogurt, China, 2020
Niche flavours come into play
Figure 31: Examples of niche-flavoured yogurt, China, 2020-2021
Plant-based yogurt in the global market
Figure 32: Percentage of different plant protein sources in total plant-based yogurt launches, Global, July 2016 – June 2021
Figure 33: Examples of plant-based yogurt, 2020-2021
Health-related and functional innovation
Focus on skin and body care
Figure 34: Examples of yogurt with skin and body care claims, 2020-2021
Target specific diseases
Figure 35: Examples of yogurt targeting specific diseases, 2020-2021
Private label on the rise
Figure 36: Percentage of branded and private label in total yogurt launches, China, July 2016 – June 2021
Figure 37: Percentage of private label in total yogurt launches, by selected market, July 2020 – June 2021
Figure 38: Examples of private label yogurt, China, 2020-2021
CONSUMPTION FREQUENCY
Ambient yogurt leads in penetration and usage frequency
Figure 39: Consumption frequency, 2021
Figure 40: Consumption frequency – more than once a week, by gender and age, 2021
Chilled drinking yogurt is less attractive to consumers in their 40s
Figure 41: Consumption frequency of non-users (a), by age groups, 2021
Ambient yogurt and chilled drinking yogurt are close substitutes among heavy users
Figure 42: Consumption frequency of chilled drinking/spoonable yogurt, 2021
CONSUMPTION PURPOSE
Top purpose is to improve digestion
Figure 43: Consumption purpose, 2021
Men focus on gut health while women target beauty enhancement
Figure 44: Consumption purpose, by gender, 2021
Extra functional benefits can increase consumption frequency
Figure 45: Consumption purpose – repertoire analysis, by consumer frequency, 2021
Figure 46: Consumption purpose, by consumer frequency of ambient yogurt*, 2021
Gen Z ask for indulgence
Figure 47: Consumption purpose, by age groups, 2021
Increasing functional needs with age
Figure 48: Yakult milk flavour bifidus drink, Japan, 2021
High protein content helps attract more consumers
Figure 49: Consumption purpose, TURF analysis, 2021
SPENDING HABITS
Mid-range products have the largest market space
Figure 50: Spending habits, 2021
Gen Z tend to spend less on yogurt
Figure 51: Spending habits – below RMB10, by age groups, 2021
Pay more for alternative functional benefits, not for indulgence
Figure 52: Consumption purpose of ambient yogurt, by typical spend on a single-serve yogurt, 2021
Figure 53: Consumption purpose – for indulgence, by typical spend on a single-serve yogurt, 2021
PURCHASE CHANNELS
Offline channels still dominate
Figure 54: Purchase channels, 2021
Target Gen Z via convenience stores
Figure 55: Top three purchase channels, by age groups, 2021
BRAND TRUST
The majority of consumers think branded claims are credible
Figure 56: Brand trust, 2021
Chilled drinking yogurt leads in brand trust
Figure 57: Brand trust – “very credible”, by consumer groups, 2021
People consume for indulgence believe less in functional claims
Figure 58: Brand trust in functional-related claims – “very credible” or “somewhat credible”, by consumer groups, 2021
NEW YOGURT FORMAT PENETRATION
New yogurt formats haven’t penetrated much
Figure 59: New yogurt format penetration, 2021
Figure 60: New yogurt format penetration, by city tiers and monthly household income, 2021
Penetration is higher among women than men
Figure 61: New yogurt format penetration, by gender, 2021
Figure 62: New yogurt format penetration, by gender, by age groups, 2021
Yogurt users are more active in exploring new formats
Figure 63: New yogurt format penetration – across all formats, by users and non-users of yogurt, 2021
APPENDIX – MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST
Figure 64: Market value of yogurt, 2016-2026
Figure 65: Market volume of yogurt, 2016-2026
APPENDIX – MARKET SEGMENTATION
Figure 66: Market value of ambient yogurt, 2016-2026
Figure 67: Market value of chilled yogurt, 2016-2026
APPENDIX – METHODOLOGY AND ABBREVIATIONS
Methodology
Abbreviations