Focus On Yoghurts & Potted Desserts: 1 April

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yoghurt

Publishing: 1 April

Copy deadline: 16 March

Advertising deadline: 23 March

Contact: Nick Hughes (nickjhughes@hotmail.co.uk)

The Story

Size matters in yoghurt. Brits have forked (or spooned) out an extra £40.3m (12.1%) on big pots in the past year. Why? Which brands and retailers are driving this? What impact is this having on the wider market? Success depends on much more than size of pot… doesn’t it? How are other yoghurt and potted desserts performing and why?

Key themes:

Big pots: Big pot sales continue to do very well. What impact is this having on volumes? Which brands, retailers, flavours and trends are driving this growth? To what extent had NPD been behind the growth of the past year?

Greek: About a third of yoghurt consumed in Britain is now Greek or Greek style, following years of impressive growth. Which retailers and brands have been driving this? How long will it continue and what are players doing to sustain the growth? Why is it so popular?

Retailers: Central to this feature will be an exploration of how different retailers are approaching the category and to what effect. Particular attention will be paid to branded and own label ranges and how ranges may have changed in the past year. Have there been any major delistings?

Dairy free: This is another part of the market that’s flying, as the market leader goes from strength to strength and a number of new players move in. Coconut based products are also in strong growth. What’s driving all this and how long will it continue?

Luxury: How are yoghurt products positioned at the luxury end of the market doing? Can the drive towards indulgence be reconciled with consumer desire to cut back on sugar and sweeteners? What can the sector do to return to growth?

Kids yoghurts: Brands in this part of the market are struggling thanks to concern over sugar and the introduction of free school meals. Who’s been hardest hit? Is anyone in growth? What will it take to put kids yoghurts back in growth?

Potted desserts: Value is up at a higher rate than volume. Why? Does the rise in average price reflect a move towards more premium, indulgent products? What are the biggest brands doing to inject some life back into the sector?

Own label: Own label is outgrowing brands at the moment. This feature will explore the reasons for this, from the extension of premium, pricier own label lines (average prices have risen over the past year) to the growth of the discounters, who rely more heavily on their own lines.

Innovation: This will be key to this feature. We will be investigating how new product development has shaped the category over the past year and what is in store for shoppers in 2017. We will be profiling 16 of the most interesting launches in a separate innovation panels covering yoghurt, potted desserts and dairy-free innovation.

Promotions: This feature will explore how the promotional strategies of retailers and brands have changed over the past year. Attention will be paid to the promotional strategies of retailers and how this has affected average prices over the past year.

Advertising and marketing: This feature will also investigate how the marketing and advertising strategies of the category’s biggest brands have evolved over the past year and how they will develop in the coming year to sustain growth or return brands to growth.

The hottest new flavours: Please write a rundown of how flavours are evolving in this market. Ask all brand owners, own label suppliers and retailers about their most successful new flavours have been in the past year and how they see this developing in the coming year.

Key questions the feature is likely to address: