High-protein yoghurts take off

While few new product launches are sporting high-protein claims, yoghurt product launches have had a particularly high proportion of high-protein claims, according to new research from Innova Market Insights.

The US leads the pack in high-protein yoghurt new product launches, where more than one-third of introductions were marketed using this positioning in the 12 months to September 2103. Globally, more than 10% of launches used protein claims, with just over 6% of launches in Western Europe carrying high-protein claims.

According to Innova, only the UK is starting to move in the same direction as the US in terms of high-protein claims for yoghurt.

“The rise of Greek and Greek-style strained yoghurts, which are inherently higher in protein than standard lines, has paved the way for the positioning of yoghurts on a high-protein platform,” said Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova Market Insights.

“Although most of these are also ‘probiotic’, once also a key marketing positioning, problems over health claims in this area have caused companies to divert attention away from digestive health in many instances; often toward nutrient content. This has tended to lead to a focus on the higher protein content of Greek-style products, alongside the traditional focus on their creamy and indulgent image.”

Interest in Greek-style yoghurt has boomed in the US, even spawning a new category of high-protein yoghurt - dubbed ‘brogurt’ - that is aimed at men, particularly those interested in fitness.

US company Powerful Yogurt launched a Greek yoghurt for men in March 2013 which featured a ‘man-sized’ 8-ounce cup and 25 g of natural protein per cup.

The market has also seen increasing emphasis on protein levels in yoghurt styles other than Greek. The EU health claims legislation has resulted in products offering a more general health and wellbeing image, including a focus on protein content as one of a range of benefits.

An early entrant in this area of the market is Emmi, which launched its Good Day range in Switzerland in mid-2013, encompassing reduced-fat, high-protein and lactose-free yoghurt, yoghurt drinks and milk.

Other developments include the launch of frozen yoghurts with high-protein positioning, such as ProYo in the US, and other strained high-protein yoghurt options. These include the Smari Icelandic yoghurt brand and a new protein variant of General Mills’ Yoplait Go-Gurt children’s handheld yoghurt, which offers twice the protein of the standard range.

“With high-protein foods one of the most sought-after nutritional choices at the moment, and the need for strained yoghurt to find new ways of promoting itself in the wake of difficulties over the ‘Greek’ descriptor in some instances, the high-protein yoghurt market seems ripe for further development,” Williams said.