Germany’s feel for dessert
Yogurt consumption in Germany is growing almost twice as fast as other dairy products; a trend that is set to continue. According to a new report from Canadean, the taste and texture of yogurt is more important than price and calorie count.
Yogurt is set to grow fast in the otherwise fairly slow growing and saturated German dairy market. Yogurt is expected to register the highest growth across all dairy categories at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.7% during 2012–2017 in EUR terms, which is twice as fast as growth in milk at a CAGR of 1.4% and more than three times as fast as in cheese at a CAGR of 0.8%.
In a new study on German consumer preferences in dairy products, Canadean found that ‘indulgence’ is the leading trend motivating 35% of consumption by volume. This underlines the importance of taste, texture and emerging product categories such as frozen yogurt and dairy desserts. Price and value for money is the second most important motivation, however, with 22% it is significantly less important than the desire to indulge. The desire to treat oneself with tasty products is particularly important in emerging categories like frozen yoghurt, which is considered to be a healthier alternative to other snacks and desserts. Products such as the successful Berlin frozen yogurt upstart, Wonderpots, are gaining popularity by emphasising the flavours and textures offered rather than calorie count. According to Veronika Zhupanova, Analyst at Canadean, simply being healthier isn’t enough. “Consumers want to enjoy the most indulgent experience with other concerns secondary to this.”
In Germany, consumers aged 55 and over eat 34.9% of dairy products by volume. In contrast, consumers aged 0-15 years old eat only 16.0%. When tracking how often consumers from different age groups eat dairy products, Canadean found that consumers aged +55 are the most frequent dairy consumers among adults. Over half of their total consumption was the result of eating dairy products at least once a day. With the +55s increasing their share of the German population from 33.7% to 36.6% between 2012 and 2017, the importance of this group will only grow.
According to Veronika Zhupanova, the fast-growing yoghurt category can liven up the saturated German dairy market. “With a large number of older consumers seeking to treat themselves, manufacturers need to emphasise flavours and textures to make the most of the slow-growing German dairy market.”