Walk down any supermarket yoghurt aisle and the products aimed at children are easy to spot. Cartoon characters, playful, colourful imagery and familiar branding all compete for attention. Parents could reasonably assume that products marketed so directly to children would also be among the healthier options on offer.
Too often, that is not the case.
Our latest analysis of 104 children’s yoghurts found sugar levels ranging from 4.7g to 14.1g per 100g, with one product containing almost four teaspoons of sugar per serving. While some sugars will be naturally occurring lactose, just two products were low in total sugars. Some contained around three times as much sugar as others, despite sitting side by side in the same category.
There has been some progress. Average sugar levels across the products surveyed fell from 9.2g per 100g in 2021 to 8.2g in 2026, an 11% reduction. Some companies have gone much further. The Collective reduced average sugars across its children’s range by 32%, while Lidl’s Milbona Squeezy Pouches Strawberry cut sugars by 43%.
These achievements should be recognised. They demonstrate that reformulation is both feasible and commercially viable. But they expose the weakness of the current system: voluntary reformulation has taken us as far as it can. Progress depends on whether individual companies choose to act. Some do, some do not. The result is an uneven playing field where responsible businesses invest in healthier products while others face little pressure to follow suit.
The government’s previous voluntary sugar reduction programme delivered a 13.5% reduction in yoghurts between 2015 and 2020, falling short of its 20% target. While voluntary initiatives can deliver some improvements, they have repeatedly failed to achieve the scale and consistency of change needed to improve the national’s health.
What’s more, this is not just a campaigners’ concern as public frustration with the food environment is growing. Polling undertaken as part of the Recipe for Change campaign found that 60% of people say eating well is difficult today, while 79% do not trust food companies to cut sugar, salt and saturated fat without government action. Nearly three-quarters support regulation of sugar and saturated fat, and 71% back limits on salt.
These views are reflected in the Recipe for Change Citizens’ Charter, developed through public workshops and national polling, which calls on ministers to make healthy food more affordable and available, strengthen regulation and ensure large food companies play their part. The charter will gather signatures before being presented to MPs at Downing Street this autumn.
Debates about food policy are often framed as a choice between government intervention and consumer freedom. But in reality, many people are asking for stronger safeguards. They recognise that individual choice is shaped by the food environment around us, and that businesses should not be left to decide for themselves if and when to act.
The grocery sector has repeatedly shown that it can innovate quickly when there is a strong commercial or regulatory incentive. Reformulation should be no different. What is needed now is a level playing field through mandatory reformulation targets, transparent reporting and meaningful enforcement.
Children’s yoghurts are not the problem in isolation. They are simply one example of a wider food system that still makes it too easy to market unhealthy food products to families and too difficult for consumers to identify healthier options.
The lesson is clear. Voluntary action can deliver pockets of progress, but it cannot guarantee progress across the board. The public has already told policymakers what it wants: a healthier food environment, greater accountability from industry and stronger action from government.
Sonia Pombo is head of research and impact at Action on Salt & Sugar
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