November 12, 2025 – In the global food and beverage market, yogurt remains an everyday staple. The category is witnessing annual sales growth worldwide, and innovators are continuing to use yogurt products as carriers of added health ingredients. Innova’s “Yogurt- Global” report analyzes the key trends driving the yogurt category and how brands can innovate to remain competitive in the market.
Global Macro Drivers
For consumers around the world, certain key, macro factors are influencing food and beverage choices. Globally, personal health and well-being rank as the top worries for consumers and continue to drive food and beverage trends. Economic uncertainty also poses challenges for consumers in the wake of global conflicts, prompting them to choose affordable treats over premium items. Finally, the state of the environment is the number one overall concern for consumers around the world, and this is driving preferences for products that support sustainable practices or reduce environmental impact.
Lifestyle Themes Impacting Yogurt Trends
Various lifestyle factors are also influencing the development of yogurt products globally. Consumers are increasingly taking a more proactive approach to their health, from seeking healthier diets to prioritizing exercise and better sleep. Yogurt trends show that as cost-of-living pressures rise, consumers are prioritizing daily moments of happiness and smaller, healthier treats. Modern consumers also value quality, so for brands, elevating the eating experience is an important element and can be achieved through sensory benefits, indulgence, and feel-good factors. Finally, as environmental concerns are top of mind, sustainable sourcing is important to consumers, and products with local, hand-made, and traditional attributes are increasingly valued.
Regional Attitudes and Behaviors
According to Innova’s food trends research, global sales of yogurt have demonstrated solid growth. The Asian market boasts the top global sales, but China leads with the highest market value. Other key countries include India, the US, and Japan. However, compared to the rest of the global yogurt market, more than three-fourths of annual sales in China can be attributed to drinkable, rather than spoonable, yogurts. In the Western market, the UK and Germany have the highest penetration of drinkable yogurts, but when it comes to per-capita yogurt intake, the Middle East and Europe lead the way.
Yogurt’s Inherently Positive Health Image
When asked why they buy and consume yogurt, 48% of consumers responded because it is healthy, surpassing those who purchase it for taste. Additionally, yogurt trends reveal that over half of consumers who are increasing their yogurt consumption are doing so for health reasons, with health and taste being the top drivers of consumption.
Health messaging is gaining share as the primary positioning for yogurt. Protein and low-fat claims are important and valued in new product development for spoonable yogurts. No added sugar, and lactose-free are other key claims that have risen in significance. However, active or positive health claims are more established in drinkable yogurts, with this subcategory seeing an increase in launches with probiotic, gut health, or immune health claims.
Growth in Indulgent & Premium Flavors
In the global yogurt market, strawberry is the number one flavor choice dominating both spoonable and drinking yogurts. Although fruit flavors remain popular flavors in new yogurt launches, indulgent and dessert flavors are experiencing growth, as consumers are increasingly seeking improved taste experiences. Sweet bakery and chocolate flavors are on trend, with launches tracked with cake, cookie, and pie flavors increasing by almost 25% and dessert flavors rising by 15%. Brown flavors, such as salted caramel, honey, and caramel, are also benefiting from consumers’ preferences for indulgent flavor experiences.
Protein as a Primary Focus
Over 1 in 5 yogurt consumers lists protein as an attractive claim, and this is reflected in new product developments. 27% of launches carry a high-in or source of protein claim, and increasingly, yogurt products are highlighting specified protein qualities on the front of packs. Innova’s research indicates that this yogurt trend is particularly relevant in the European market. For example, Aldi’s private label brand, Brooklea, recently launches two Greek-style protein yogurts in the UK. The front of the vanilla-style pack boasts 50g of protein per 500g sharing pot, while the natural variant has 55 g of protein per pot.
Digestive Health Claims Intensify
As gut health claims increase, prebiotic fibers and kefir cultures are popular ingredients being used to establish strong gut health positionings for yogurts. Yeo Valley has a collection of kefir products with granola that carry a “Love Your Gut” tagline. Danone’s Activia brand in the US has expanded to include new products with both prebiotics and probiotics for its Proactive line. They are low in fat and include 10g of protein, bifidobacterium Lactis probiotics, and prebiotic chicory fiber root to support gut health.
Adding Value to Core Flavors
In the global yogurt market, brands are seeking a competitive edge by adding extra value to existing, popular flavor choices. For example, the Oui by Yoplait brand of premium yogurts has capitalized on the popularity of strawberry flavors, releasing a limited-edition variant in the spring of 2025, blending strawberry and lemon for a twist on the classic flavor. Manufacturers are also adding value to vanilla in different ways, such as specific types of vanilla like Madagascan. Others are leveraging vanilla as a base for delivering add-ins. For instance, in Mexico, Danone launches its DanMix vanilla yogurt with Oreo cookie pieces in the lid.
What’s Next for Global Yogurt Trends?
As yogurt has an inherently healthy image for global consumers and is ideal for functional ingredients, brands can expand this trend to include skin and brain health benefits. In addition, the rise of GLP-1 use also offers another opportunity that brands can tap into. In North America, Danone has launched yogurt drinks to support consumers on GLP-1 medications. For example, products with high protein and fiber content, with low fat and sugar, can tailor to their specific nutritional needs.
This article is based on Innova’s Yogurt – Global report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more.