The International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association (IDDBA) has released its latest annual trends publication, What’s in Store 2014. The report reveals that yogurt is a significantly growing category in the dairy sector with expected growth of 17% by 2017 and sales reaching $9.1 billion. Of all yogurt sales, Greek yogurt is expected to account for 35% of total sales. The report states that there are approximately 12,000 – 13,000 new dairy product introductions annually, with the spoonable yogurt category accounting for 20% of all new dairy product introductions globally. Spoonable yogurt is followed by hard and semi-hard cheese introductions (11.7%), and drinkable yogurts (10%). Dairy processors will be promoting dairy’s health benefits beyond calcium and weight management, and dairy’s “to-go” trends will include products with longer shelf life and utensils included. A shrinking middle class, an aging population, and growing minority populations will all pose challenges for the dairy industry in the coming years requiring new product formulations and micro-targeting and marketing.
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