Yoghurt and Sour Milk Products in Chile

PROSPECTS

Yoghurt benefiting from new law

Aided by manufacturer reformulation in order to avoid the new black food labels warning consumers of high levels of sugar, sodium, saturated fat or calories, yoghurt was a notable beneficiary of the food labelling law introduced in 2016. Yoghurt managed to remain on sale in schools and expanded to fill the gap left by newly prohibited products, including high-sugar soft drinks.

Manufacturers aim to take category upmarket

Towards the end of the review period, manufacturers increasingly focused on promoting the premiumisation of the category. With consumer-awareness of the ingredients and nutritional value of products enhanced by government measures to tackle the country’s obesity crisis, this increasingly involved marketing and new product development focused on health and wellness.

Wide-ranging consumption occasions offer platform for expansion

Yoghurt is already consumed throughout the day in Chile. While it is most commonly eaten as a healthy mid-morning snack, it is also consumed at breakfast, as part of a dinner prepared with fruit, muesli and/or cereal, as a dessert and, sometimes, as a cooking ingredient.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Soprole retains lead

Soprole retained the lead in yoghurts and sour milk products in 2018, expanding its value share as consumers attracted to the category in an increasingly health-conscious environment looked to its established brands, which are widely available through the company’s extensive distribution network. Moreover, Soprole is engaging in innovation aimed at taking advantage of the opportunities presented to yoghurt through new health-focused food legislation, including launching the new probiotic children’s drinking yoghurt, Uno Colación, in 2018.

Watt’s builds on Danone deal

Having risen from fifth to second in the rankings in yoghurt and sour milk products in 2017 with the acquisition of Danone Chile’s assets and a licensing agreement for the use of the Activia, Danone and Danone Light brands in Chile, local player, Watt’s further expanded its share in the final year of the review period. The deal, which included a plant in Chillan and the Calan brand, fits the domestic company’s broader development strategy, which is focused on adding value to its portfolio.

Opportunities for healthy children’s products

As parents become increasingly conscious of the nutritional value of their children’s food and products such as high-sugar soft drinks are no longer available in schools, yoghurt manufacturers are set to focus strongly on the development of healthy snack products for children. In 2018, category leader, Soprole, notably launched a new probiotic drinking yoghurt for children, Uno Colación, in an 80ml Tetra Pak container.

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