According to a recent article on FoodBusinessNews.net, yogurt is the fastest-growing product in the dairy category, with Mintel’s Global New Products Database logging 265 new products in 2007, up from 244 in 2006 and 189 in 2005. The same article cites data from Information Resources, Inc., Chicago, stating that for the year ending July 2008, yogurt sales in channels excluding Wal-Mart were up 9% from the previous year, topping $3.5 billion.
Mintel’s GNPD lists spoonable yogurt as the second most-active subcategory among all U.S. functional foods launched in 2007
Yet, while U.S. yogurt consumption has grown 33% during the past five years—doubling roughly every 7.2 years—research from The Dannon Company, Inc., White Plains, NY, indicates that Americans still consume only about 11 pounds of yogurt per capita annually, putting our consumption at about one-seventh to one-sixth that of France.
Perhaps that’s because Americans aren’t natural-born yogurt eaters. With its roots planted in Southern and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Central Asia, yogurt long struck us as vaguely foreign. But that perception has changed. “Decades ago, yogurt gained a foothold in the U.S. in health-food stores with natural products,” explains Joe Klemaszewski, dairy applications food scientist, Cargill Texturizing Solutions, Wayzata, MN. “Today, as dairy companies and retailers market natural and organic products, there are an increasing number of yogurts in these categories. These yogurts appeal to a broader audience than the products introduced in the 1970s, as today’s products are sweeter, have a creamier texture, and a wider range of flavors.”