Dive Brief:
- Manufacturers are capitalizing on the clean eating movement and starting new trends within the cultured dairy market, according to Prepared Foods.
- In the yogurt category, flavor mash-ups, snacking options and yogurt drinks are expanding the traditionally spoonable dish's consumer base.
- Other growing trends in the category are probiotics, higher nutrient density — adding things like vitamins and high-protein — more transparency from food companies and hidden vegetables.
Dive Insight:
Yogurt's days of being nothing more than a predictable fruit-sweetened snack are history. Industry-wide, yogurt manufacturers are innovating to capitalize on broad consumer food trends like probiotics, convenience, grass-fed dairy and spicy flavor profiles.
Drinkable yogurt, which has long been popular elsewhere in the world, is taking the U.S. by storm. Analysts expect it to become a major player in the category, something the industry has already seen coming. Sales of yogurt drinks increased by 62% between 2011 and 2016 to $893 million, according to a new report from Mintel.
A study by Transparency Market Research showed that the North American yogurt market was valued at $11.18 billion in 2015 and is projected to reach $14.59 billion by 2024, growing at a compound annual growth of 3% from 2016 to 2024. Many analysts foresee the category will benefit with more product diversification and improved packaging methods that enhanced the product's shelf life.
But even as the yogurt market expands, some large yogurt manufacturers, most notably General Mills' Yoplait brand, have reported lagging sales. Though both manufacturers have launched new products to stay on-trend, sales in the category have continually been disappointing. Embracing these latest trends may help them dig themselves out of trouble — though consumers may give a better reception to some smaller brands that can build their corporate mission around some of these trends.