RED DEER — Canadians are drinking less milk, but their taste for yogurt is growing, says a University of Alberta food market researcher.
“Yogurt is the one product that is having this absolutely massive year over year increase in sales, particularly from about 1997,” Ellen Goddard said at the Western Dairy Conference held in Red Deer March 5-8.
Sales of dairy products in Canada show a large decline in fluid milk sales, especially for two percent milk. Consumption has dropped from 98 litres per capita in 1980 to 71 litres in 2011.
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A national consumer study of more than 1,700 people found that most recognized the nutritional benefits of dairy products but saw milk and yogurt as different products.
The survey was part of a master’s thesis for graduate student Shannon Allen.
“We are either milk people or yogurt people, and there doesn’t seem to be much in between,” Goddard said.
Yogurt is marketed as a branded product and offers more flavours and may come as a drink, frozen product or dessert. Labels also offer expanded nutrient information and often carry the Heart and Stroke Foundation health check.
Yogurt is also fortified with extra vitamins and minerals and fibre.
However, Goddard quoted a study in Food in Canada magazine that said product innovations in yogurt from 2010-12 showed most of the innovations treat yogurt more like a dessert.
“Health is disappearing as an innovation in yogurt to a very great extent,” she said.
“So perhaps it is all about taste and variety and choice that is making yogurt attractive.”
Milk has equal nutritional attributes but is seen more as a generic product.
Food companies promote yogurt to the tune of $45 million a year, while milk advertising is also generic and costs Dairy Farmers of Canada $25 million a year.
“Given the differences in how yogurt and milk are marketed, then retail fluid milk sales might rebound if different marketing strategies were pursued,” she said.
Personal preference was the common response in the survey when people were asked why they didn’t drink milk. They worried about its short shelf life and fat content and also said it is expensive.
“The real price of milk is steadily widening the gap between itself and other beverages,” Goddard said.
She said consumers want the healthiest beverage possible, but milk is going up in price compared to other drinks such as juice, which are getting cheaper.
People participating in the survey knew calcium is found naturally in dairy products but believed fortified products such as orange juice, cereal and bread are equally good.
