the yoghurt market | Belgium

1.1 Presentation and estimation of the market

Yoghurt is a coagulated dairy product obtained after fermentation of milk by bacteria. The players on the global dairy market are also generally present on the yoghurt market.

Competition is strong in this sector because major groups such as Danone and Nestlé have to face new players wishing to embark on new trends based on the desire to eat healthier in Belgium.

The players are looking for organic growth through innovation and the multiplication of the products on offer.

The organic products market continues to grow strongly, benefiting the organic yogurt sub-segment. This appeal is unlikely to diminish in the future.

According to the figures analysed by GfK Belgium (study concerning the purchasing behaviour of 5,000 Belgian families on behalf of the VLAM). Belgian households' annual expenditure on dairy products averages 271 euros per inhabitant, i.e. a global market of around 3.08 billion euros in the same year.

If we look at the breakdown of this total, we see that cheese is the main item of expenditure with 110 euros spent in 2017, followed by yoghurt ( 29 euros ) then the milk (28 euros)

We can therefore estimate that the overall yoghurt market in Belgium amounts to around 329 million euros in 2017 .

In addition, among the growing segments, we can mention drinking yoghurts, which saw their turnover increase by 5.5% in 2016 although per capita consumption is only 0.9 litres per year (compared to an average of 45.7 litres of milk per year in 2016).