By Sally Lyons Wyatt, Global EVP & Chief Advisor, Consumer Goods & Foodservice Insights and John Crawford, SVP, Client Insights, Dairy

Kefir and yogurt drinks, no matter how you pronounce the former, are dairy aisle darlings and bearers of the healthiest of halos in the beverage category thanks to their satiety and digestive benefits. Kefir’s household penetration (HHP) grew 15%, and yogurt drinks’ HHP grew almost 9%, versus a year ago, for the 52 weeks ending September 8, 2024. Sales grew for both in that period: Yogurt drinks grew 7.3% versus a year ago, and kefir grew 24.7% over last year. As recent acquisition bids for a leading kefir manufacturer suggest, these drinks demonstrate strong growth potential – and the benefits they bring to the table are clear. Consumers have shown they’re willing to pay premium prices for these products, which means marketers are doing something right.

Four thing kefir and yogurt drink marketers do right

Kefir and yogurt drinks are versatile, since they straddle the dairy and beverage categories. Their availability in different sizes, formats, flavors, and alignment with multiple wellness trends help them meet several consumer needs at once. Kefir and yogurt drinks have been successful not just because of the array of benefits they deliver, but also because of smart marketing strategies that have implications for other entrants in this category. Those strategies include:

1. Emphasizing inherent health benefits

Kefir and yogurt are loaded with live and active cultures including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria, which have high antioxidant potential and enhance gut health, improve digestion and energy, and help prevent infections. Promoting these health benefits on product labels appeals to consumers who look for probiotics that occur naturally in a product (as opposed to sodas, where probiotics are added during processing). Kefir is also high in calcium and low in lactose and sugar, attributes that are well communicated in packaging, as well as by influencers and nutritionists on TikTok and other social media platforms where consumers turn for insights and inspiration.

Makers of beverages like tea, pomegranate juice, and kombucha have leaned into their superfood reputations in their marketing, but dairy milk is one area ripe for improvement. Consumer awareness about the importance of calcium and its naturally high levels in milk has declined, which means milk packaging and marketing needs to more clearly communicate its benefits. High consumer awareness of kefir and yogurt drinks’ myriad functional benefits, and the way brands communicate about them, can be a model for other products.

2. Expanding usage occasions

Kefir and drinkable yogurt’s pleasant taste (especially if you enjoy kefir’s tang) and ability to be parlayed into sweet and savory recipes and uses adds to their versality. They’re popular as breakfast items and a lunch accompaniment, and they’re increasingly being adopted as snacks in other dayparts. Yogurt drinks ranked highly in our Snacking Survey in 2024, which found 64% of U.S. consumers sometimes have a beverage as a snack. Online, recipes abound for adding kefir to smoothies, cereals, or in combination with fruits and nuts. If other products can add even one more use occasion as these products have, they can elevate a whole category. We saw this when cottage cheese surged in popularity after viral campaigns. Now it’s being used in ice cream and incorporated into smoothie recipes, making it one of the fastest-growing categories in the store.

3. Innovating with packaging

It’s easy to forget that drinkable yogurt started as a snack for kids, sold in single-serve pouches. Now yogurt drinks come in sleeker single-serve bottles, multi-serve packages, and shot-sized servings with higher doses of probiotics. This variety helps consumers customize their consumption to their wellness goals and cater to different consumption occasions. Some Asian brands have gotten even more creative, selling yogurt drinks in baby bottles.

4. Targeting specific demographics

For a fermented dairy beverage originating in Turkey and Eastern Europe, kefir’s growth among Hispanic and Asian shoppers, where it’s currently over-indexing, has been fascinating. This suggests the messaging around health benefits is landing with a range of consumers. Kefir and yogurt drinks also over-index with millennials, Gen Z, and households with children, shown by our OmniConsumer™ Scan Panel for the 52 weeks ending September 8, 2024. Other categories should regularly conduct analyses to identify growth opportunities among different demographic groups and tailor marketing strategies to resonate with these groups.

During the pandemic, yogurt struggled because most yogurt sales are single servings. However, as mobility improves and as more people head back to the office in 2025, the future is bright for quick, portable, versatile beverages that help consumers feel full and get their nutrients on the go.

For a deeper dive on beverages, listen to our recent webinar, Sips: Changing Consumer Beverage Preferences. And for more beverage insights, check out our two recent Growth Insights podcast episodes exploring our beverage research.

Do you have any questions for Circana? Email GrowthInsights@circana.com.