Finns now like Greek yogurt.
The classic flavors are the best sellers year after year. Adobe Stock / AOP
Yogurt is part of the everyday life of many Finns. But what kind of yogurts are popular at breakfast tables now? We asked Arla and Valio.
Valio’s business manager Iina Korhonen says that Finns’ yogurt taste is quite traditional, and familiar yogurt flavors are popular year after year. However, yogurt buyers are also willing to experiment and want new flavors to change the yogurt selection. Consumers are also interested in more exotic yogurt flavors.
– Valio’s best-selling yogurts are the classic flavors fruit bomb, strawberry and banana.
Classic berry and fruit flavors can also be found among Arla’s best-selling yogurts.
– Pear and raspberry in particular are among the best sellers. Vanilla is also a perennial favorite, says Arla’s marketing director Kati Janhunen.
Greek is trendy now
Greek yogurt can be called trending yogurt with good reason, because Janhunen says that the demand for unflavored Greek yogurt is growing both at Arla and in the market as a whole.
– Greek yogurts are trending both as unflavored and flavored layered products, Korhonen also confirms.
People are also interested in treats, which is reflected in the growth of layered yogurts at Arla.
– At the same time, the well-being and healthiness of the intestines is also important to people, which can be seen in the popularity of yogurts with added bacteria. The amount of sugar in yogurts has also decreased over the years, says Janhunen.
At Valio, drinkable snack products have also been noticed to increase in popularity.
– Along with regular yogurts, kefir in particular is trending, says Korhonen.
– The popularity of yogurts is also influenced by international trends. The growing popularity of unflavored and Greek yogurts is strongly driven by the wellness trend and consumers’ increased health awareness. For example, high protein content and low fat content are of interest to more and more consumers, he continues.
What about fat and sugar in yogurts?
From a nutritional point of view, Turkish and Greek yogurts are often fattier than other yogurts.
– Finns get quite a lot of saturated, hard fat. It’s worth thinking about yogurt as well, said the licensed nutritionist Kirsi Englund recently in an interview with Iltalehti.
Englund reminded that even the fattiest yogurts usually have nutritional properties and stated that yogurt can be eaten daily.
– Yogurt containing sugar is not dangerous if the consumption of sugar is low anyway, and the total amount of sugar remains moderate. Same for fat. If there is a lot of fat from other sources, it is better to choose a lower-fat yogurt. If the diet is low-fat anyway, you can choose yogurt with a moderate fat content, he comments.