Dairy sector sees sales of kids’ products fall

Sales of dairy products aimed at children fell by 1% in 2000 to 78,700 tons, according to market analyst AC Nielsen. This is in contrast to 1999 when the sector achieved a growth of 17% over the previous year.

Nearly all product types took a dive with whey items losing much of the ground they had gained in 1999 when sales increased by just under 50%. The bottom line in 2000 was a drop of around 53%.

Milk drinks and dairy desserts retained much of their popularity and only lost a fraction of sales between the two years.

Sales of children’s yogurts, however, increased by 25%, saving the sector’s performance figures from looking much worse. The children’s yogurt sector remained one of the most attractive for dairy processors with sales representing 21% of the total market. This is an example of a sector where processors have kept up with creative innovations. Danone, for example, relaunched its Fruchtzwerge line in 2000, changing it from the quark to the yogurt sector.

The days of spectacular increases for the sector as a whole have gone, said industry experts who blame the stagnating sector on a drop in innovative sales-grabbing ideas.