Greek-style yoghurt sales around the world are sky-rocketing.
Yoghurt company Chobani Australia whose factories are in Dandenong South in Victoria has seen strong demand for it’s product locally and overseas and just recently started exporting the product to Singapore and Malaysia.
The company has also recently expanded in factory to meet growing demand in Asia.
“Every market is unique, but what is consistent so far is that all early indicators show strong demand for Chobani Greek Yoghurt in Asia,” Peter Meek, Managing Director, Chobani Australia said.
In the US, sales shot up from just 1 per cent in 2007 to 49 per cent this year, according to a report by Bernstein Research.
Greek consular authorities in Washington estimate total turnover in the US grew to $2.66 billion last year from just $35.4 million seven years before.
Fage, the Greek dairy manufacturers who pioneered the strained type of yoghurt in the US, now face strong competition from companies such as Chobani, General Mills and Danone. The firm expects that an investment in Johnstown, New York, will expand its capacity from 85,000 tons to 160,000 tons annually by the end of September. It has also started producing for private label distributors.
According to data compiled by Nielsen, the turnover of Greek-style yoghurt in the UK rose to 265.4 million euros last year from 150.7 million in 2011. After a two-year litigation in that country, FAGE obtained a court ruling forbidding Chobani from using the term ‘Greek yoghurt’.
According to a survey by GfK, 7.23 million German households bought Greek-style yoghurt between June 2012 and June 2013, up 37 per cent from the year-earlier period.
Source: Ekathimerini