Making yoghurt trendy
Consumers between the ages of 20-24 are an important segment for companies and brands across various industries, as they represent the future—and this certainly applies to the yoghurt market.
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Photo by Dennis Klein on Unsplash
Mintel research reveals that Chinese consumers in their early 20s are fans of yoghurt products; four in five Chinese consumers aged 20-24 enjoy ambient yoghurt (a variant that does not require chilling and can either be eaten with a spoon or drunk directly from the pack) and chilled drinking yoghurt. Moreover, yoghurt consumption among this consumer group increased between 2017-18.
Interest in new formats, flavours and ingredients is the driving force behind this increase. Here, we discuss some of the latest trends that yoghurt brands can leverage to appeal to China’s younger consumers.
Creating buzz with novel flavours
Younger consumers in China are on the lookout for new, novel yoghurt flavours. Mintel research shows that they consider exotic flavours (eg matcha, sea salt caramel) to be a feature of premium yoghurts, and are willing to fork out the extra money for seasonal flavoured, limited edition dairy products.
Introducing exciting flavoured products is one way to create buzz among China’s early 20s, especially on social media platforms. Terun, for instance, is a domestic yoghurt brand that rose to fame on social media with its range of yoghurts that come in unique flavours. The product range features ten yoghurt flavours including some unconventional ones, such as melted ice cream, shredded chocolate and cookies, among others. The interesting range of flavours, combined with fun product names, contributed to the products going viral on social media, drawing the attention of younger consumers in China.
Aesthetic packaging matters
A visually-appealing product design plays a major role in encouraging young consumers to post on social media. As discussed in Mintel Trend ‘On Display’, online sharing is prominent, especially among young people, and is something that brands can take into consideration with product packaging.
One quarter of early 20s show interest in exquisite packaging, according to Mintel research. Packaging can deliver many messages including a product’s positioning, value, or even a manifestation of a particular lifestyle.
LePur, one of the most expensive yoghurt brands in the Chinese market, dedicates itself to providing consumers with high-quality, premium Greek yoghurt. That aside, it has caught the attention of consumers with its well-designed packaging which aesthetically displays the product’s ingredients and flavour on the pack.
Beauty from the inside out
Today’s young consumers are placing great importance on their personal appearance. As discussed in Mintel’s 2019 Global Food and Drink Trend ‘Through the Ages’, consumers are turning to food and beverage products with benefits that can enhance their health and personal appearance.
Moving forward, yoghurt brands can explore more opportunities in developing better-for-you (BFY) products, especially ones that offer benefits in enhancing a consumer’s personal appearance.
Local company Momchilovtsi Flower Secrets launched a rose flavoured yoghurt in 2018 which taps into the well-built perception of rose’s beauty functions. It claims to contain imported rose essence said to help nourish skin.
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