Global Lifestyles Fuel Yogurt Growth Opportunities

 Yogurt, yoghurt, yoghourt: Spelling isn’t the only thing that changes when you look at yogurt from a global perspective. New research reveals that around the world, consumers eat yogurt for different reasons and in different forms, indicating new opportunities for dairy companies.

The new report from DSM, as part of its DSM Global Insight Series, surveyed consumers around the world to determine how yogurt preferences and eating occasions differ between countries and cultures. Countries included in the survey were China, the United States, Brazil, Poland, France and Turkey.

Results indicate that 53 percent of the consumers surveyed are eating more yogurt than before. Although this figure is higher in emerging dairy markets like Brazil and China, the absolute amount and frequency of yogurt consumed is lagging behind, compared to more mature markets like France and Turkey.

The occasions consumers eat yogurt vary per country, from a dessert in France (87 percent), to a snack on-the-go in Poland (73 percent) to a beverage in China (47 percent). In fact, drinking yogurt dominates the Chinese yogurt market, as 49 percent of people mainly prefer drinking yogurt, whereas just 11 percent mostly eat spoonable yogurt. The favorite type of yogurt also differs per country: Greek yogurt is increasingly popular in the United States (36 percent), however the Chinese have been eating more probiotic yogurt over the last three years (54 percent). As emerging yogurt markets are embracing dairy desserts in different ways, this may open innovation and consumption opportunities that are not available in mature yogurt markets.

“We see a very dynamic yogurt market all over the world. Yogurt is not limited to one occasion anymore; people eat it for breakfast, as a dessert, snack or a beverage and we see new products introduced on a daily basis," said Dominik Grabinski, global marketing manager at DSM Food Specialties. “We help our dairy customers to identify ways in which their products can be consumed at least daily, and we inspire them to translate successful concepts from one country to others."