The global yogurt market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.41% to reach US$163.770 billion by 2025, from US$112.808 billion in 2019. Despite the propensity of consumers to opt of traditional homemade yogurt in countries of the emerging economies like of that of India, packaged spoonable and drinkable yogurt has gained grounds over the past few years because the market players have capitalized on the preference traditional tastes and invested in communicating the health benefits that are equivalent to that of the traditional ones. In the other parts of the world, the surging concerns for animal welfare, environment, and global warming coupled with an aversion to dairy has shifted the consumers' preference towards newly formulated yogurt products which are increasingly doing away with artificial additives and preservatives. The other aspect that increasingly enticing for the growing health-conscious consumers around the world is a formulation with relatively low sugar content. For instance, Arla Bio Nur, a reported trendsetter made available to consumers in Germany by Arla Foods, in 2018 comprises 75% organic yogurt combined with 25% organic fruit per cup with only 6.8 - 7.7 grams of sugar per 100 grams. During the same year, General Mills announced that it is introducing YQ by Yoplait, a yogurt brand with up to 17 grams of protein and as little as 1 gram of sugar in a 5.3-ounce container.
Moreover, the rise of dietary preference with alternative protein has further made ample room for food ingredient companies to bring about new offerings facilitating and incentivizing the players in the yogurt market to invest in non-dairy based yogurt and consequently increase their product portfolio, respectively. The market for plant-based protein in Europe has been steadily gaining steam because of a huge number of consumers who have developed a taste for plant-based alternatives of a few food and beverage products. Further, as a response from the end of the value chain, there are certain aspects such as improvement of the nutritional value of the product; intake of amino acids; intake of fibers; low saturated fat content; improvement of the ratio protein/fat that has further added to the potential for the yogurt makers to venture into plant-based alternatives. The plant-based or nondairy alternative has gathered such momentum that the Plant-Based Foods Association (PBFA) based out of San Francisco CA, USA, has released a set of voluntary labeling standards for plant-based "yogurts" – another product category whose labeling terminology has been caught in the crossfire of the ongoing battle over the appropriate labeling for plant-based “meats” and “dairy.” To this extent, it may be noted that as latest as of June 2020, Kerry, a taste and nutrition company, has announced that it will be expanding its nutritional plant protein range, which will broaden the company’s scope of proteins for food and beverages which is inclusive of but not limited to yogurt, among others.
Further, in cognizance of this consumer trend that is surging upward, various developments have taken place in the global yogurt sector that is poised to fuel a healthy growth of the market during the forecast period, driven by the human end-user perspective. As recent as 2020, Greek yogurt brand Ellenos received an $18 million investment from Equilibra Partners Management. Further, the 2018 investment from Monogram Capital Partners was also reportedly $18 million. Thus, conclusively the company has brought in at least $36 million to date to expand beyond the current extent of its retail presence. Again in 2020, AYO Almondmilk Yogurt was launched by AYO FOODS, LLC which reportedly enlivened with organic strawberries, organic blueberries, organic peaches, and organic Madagascar Vanilla, offering a smooth, clean flavor and likely the only almond milk yogurt available in the market.
In 2019, Danone launched a line of oat milk yogurts under its So Delicious brand, made available in four flavors like Triple Berry, Spiced Pear & Fig, Strawberry Rhubarb, and Sweet Mango. Each flavor is reportedly nut-free, soy-free, vegan, gluten-free, and Non-GMO Project Verified. The product was launched to contribute to the company's growing dairy alternative portfolio, which among others includes another yogurt brand from Oat Yeah. Along the same lines of capitalizing on the recent wave of oat which the consumers of alternative dairy have been so fervently in pursuit of, Chobani too, during the same year announced the plan to launch at-based yogurts, traditional Greek yogurt with the popular cereal grain on the bottom. Again, during the same year, Noosa Yoghurt announced its launch of a new high-protein, low-sugar range of yogurt called HiLo which features 14 grams of protein and 12 grams of sugar per 5.3-ounce cup (except for the plain varietal). Moreover, the company uses rBST-free milk with premium ingredients such as wild blueberries and wildflower North American honey making the line in six flavors: vanilla bean, blueberry, mixed berry, strawberry, plain and peach. Again in 2019, first Icelandic-style yogurt in USASiggi’s, which has been owned by Groupe Lactalis since 2018 has come up with plant-based yogurt that is reported made form from a proprietary blend of coconut, macadamia, and pea protein and is laden with a notable nutritional credential. Earlier during 2019, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone had reportedly invested in Drum Foods International Pvt. Ltd, the maker of flavored yogurt brand Epigamia, as part of a strategic partnership that will also see her endorse the brand. The investment has been made through KA Enterprises Llp, Padukone’s strategic initiative arm. Epigamia, which makes flavored yogurt, Greek yogurt, smoothies, and mishti doi, (a sweetened variant of yogurt that originates from East India) will use the money to scale up its presence across cities.
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