Packaging and branding as important as health benefits to sales, expert declares

PACKAGING and branding could be as important as the use of fortifiers like Omega 3 and probiotics in influencing future dairy product sales in Europe, according to one leading industry expert.

Joe Collum, marketing director with Glanbia Consumer Foods Ireland, said recent reports on European dairy consumption were interesting, but served up some contradictory consumer trends. For instance, consumption of milk products fortified with Omega 3 and some vitamins are increasing, but sales of sweetened milkshakes and flavoured milk products are also up.

A recent report by global consumer data analysts Mintel suggests that milk consumption is declining across Western Europe.

However, Mr Collum is slow to align that shift to any specific change in eating habits and/or the availability of alternative drinks.

“There are a lot of contradictions in consumer buying patterns,” said Mr Collum.

“The fact is that dairy as a beverage is a category that is alive and kicking right across Europe. It is not unusual to see a variation in buying trends. For example, Omega 3 has been around for a while, and it has lost a lot of ground to probiotics.

“Fortification may be on the increase, but there have also been a lot of failures on that road. Fortified milk is up, but there is also growth in premium flavoured milks which don’t contain fortification.”

He also notes that milk offers a high level of satiety (or a sense of being full), but this cannot currently be marketed as a health benefit under current EU regulations.

Danone, Unilever and other food companies have been lobbying for an amendment that would allow advertising which would promote the natural appetite suppressing qualities of healthy foods in the battle against rising global obesity. There are also many other factors influencing trends.

“Satiety plays to milk’s natural advantages, but at present that is not allowed as a health message,” notes Mr Collum. “Health is a big driver of sales, but so too are indulgence and convenience. There is also a big issue around shelf life. In France, you are also up against large scale plants with large volumes of highly competitive product.

“Packaging innovation will have a greater effect on sales in the long term. A lot of dairy products are in paper platforms.

“Plastic tends to do better with dairy beverages. PET or plastic will be the packaging of preference. Packaging and branding will be central to building new dairy sales in Europe.”

The Mintel study says France has the highest per capita consumption of yoghurt in Europe at 400g per capita, with the Spanish on 330g. Consumption is much lower in other countries, with Britain on 175g per week and Italy on 130g.

Annette Kenny of Bord Bia’s consumer foods division said: “Looking ahead to the next five years, the best prospects for growth in Western Europe seem set to be in Spain and Italy, as these countries have still some ‘catch up’ to do.

“This would be in the area of value-added product such as yoghurt. This is all in keeping with the key consumer trend of healthy eating.

“The strongest growth rates are expected to be in Central and Eastern Europe, as these countries are not as saturated. European sales of soy milk and other non-dairy drinks have increased by 25% over recent years, with some new product developments focussing on soya juice mixes as well as fresh soya drinks.”