Australians going natural when it comes to yoghurt

Despite the vast array of flavoured yoghurts that accost consumers in the chilled aisle of the supermarket, more people are starting to opt for natural or plain yoghurt, Roy Morgan says.

In the year to March 2014, 59% of Australians aged 14+ consumed flavoured or fruit yoghurt in the past 12 months, down from 65% in 2010. By contrast, those who had consumed natural or plain yoghurt increased from 47% to 51% in the same period.

About a third (31%) of Australians say they still consume flavoured yoghurt on a daily or weekly basis, compared to only 21% who eat natural or plain yoghurt with the same frequency, despite more consumers eating the plain variety than they were five years ago.

Australians’ consumption frequency of flavoured/fruit vs natural/plain yoghurt over the last 12 months. Source: Roy Morgan Single Source, April 2013-March 2014, n=19,084.

“Although consumers of flavoured/fruit yoghurt still outnumber those of natural/plain yoghurt, the trend for flavoured/fruit yoghurt is declining while natural/plain yoghurt is increasing. This may be related to growing public awareness of the high sugar content of flavoured yoghurts or part of a larger trend towards consuming more natural foods in general,” said Angela Smith, Group Account Director - Consumer Products, Roy Morgan Research.

“However, despite the growing number of Australians consuming natural/plain yoghurt, they’re consuming it far less frequently than those who eat flavoured/fruit yoghurt.

“To grow their brand in this increasingly competitive market, yoghurt companies need to stay abreast of these distinct trends and changes in Australians’ yoghurt-consumption habits.”