Dairy Products Are Having A Health Renaissance
With all the focus on global commodity markets and its negative impact on the farm gate price, it’s easy to forget dairy is having a health renaissance. Three trends have recently been key in driving dairy marketing: European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) health claims, protein and aging population.
The bad news with EFSA health claims is that companies are no longer able to connect yoghurt products with pre and probiotic digestive health. These claims have fallen from 10% of new launches in 2009, to just 2% in 2013. As a result, dairy companies have become more pioneering when marketing health claims and manufacturers have pushed the health benefits of fiber, calcium and vitamins in yoghurt. Protein is another key driver of dairy marketing, because many Europeans believe that need more in their diet due to protein’s current positive health profile. An increasing number of manufacturers have been using the protein claim in their dairy products, although this trend is more dominant in the US. According to, in Europe 1.33% of new dairy product launches contained high protein claims in the US.
By 2015 there will be 50% more 55 to 74 year olds than 15 to 24 year olds, and this is shifting the way dairy brands look at their consumer base. More companies are beginning to market products with easy-to-open formats and single portions to fit the needs of the aging population.
