Happy International Frozen Yogurt Day! We have the perfect article for IFYD from Rhian Williams, Business Development Director for Plas Farm Ltd (the UK’s leading frozen yogurt manufacturer) and the IFYA’s UK/European Product Development Expert. Rhian takes a look at the European frozen yogurt market, including its development, key trends and outlook.
Overview of the European Frozen Yogurt Market
By Rhian Williams
There are few markets anywhere in the world that have enjoyed growth as rapid as frozen yogurt in Europe since around 2008-2009. I remember reading an article in 2007 titled “the taste that launched 1000 parking tickets” about the meteoric rise of Pinkberry in LA, and thinking it was only a matter of time before the frozen yogurt craze caught on over the pond, too. And it did.
People questioned at first whether the UK and Northern Europe’s notoriously poor weather would prevent frozen yogurt from catching on, but those fears proved unfounded. First London, then Berlin and Barcelona, Alicante and Amsterdam, Manchester and Madrid; the soft serve frozen yogurt market exploded. For a few years, it was confined to just the biggest cities, but not any more. There are frozen yogurt stores all over Europe, from shopping centres to seasides, and from high streets to hamlets.
Our own experience at Plas Farm, the UK’s leading frozen yogurt manufacturer, tells us that growth since 2008 has been somewhere in the region of 1000%. In other words, the frozen yogurt market in Europe was almost ten times bigger in 2013 as it was in 2008. That’s quite remarkable growth by anyone’s standards! But the best thing is that it’s still growing, and developing. The bulk of the growth over the last 5 or 6 years has been in soft serve, but now we’re seeing retail frozen yogurt start to establish itself too. This is not unexpected. Foodservice tends to be the avenue through which new product categories emerge, and following on from this, the retail side follows suit. Supermarkets across Europe are now starting to stock frozen yogurts, and it is showing some unexpected trends! Perhaps the biggest retail success so far has come from Sweden, with Yollibox. This is encouraging for the rest of Europe, as Sweden’s cooler climate means that retail frozen yogurt should show significant resilience to temperature trends. Great news for those of us in the UK!
We’ve recently returned from the SIGEP show in Italy – the International Exhibition for the Artisan Production of Gelato, Pastry, Confectionery and Bakery. This is one of the largest frozen desserts exhibitions in the world. It proved to us one thing – that the frozen yogurt market is becoming more and more popular. Even the staunchly gelato-orientated Italian market is starting to open up to soft serve frozen yogurt. The Nordic countries are already hooked. Germany is developing fast. Spain has shops scattered all around, and the sunshine means that success is all but guaranteed. And Greece is famous for its yogurt, so it’s great to see Greek Frozen Yogurt doing so well too.
With all of that in mind, it’s no surprise that the International Frozen Yogurt Association want to name 6th of February not just “National Frozen Yogurt Day,” but “International Frozen Yogurt Day!”
About Rhian Williams
“Plas Farm Ltd is the family company, and so frozen yogurt is something I’ve grown up with. With that sort of upbringing, it’s impossible not to have a passion for producing the best possible frozen yogurts, and I’m really proud of the work we’ve done in helping the European frozen yogurt market grow into the success it is today. My professional experience in business development, product development and account management at Plas Farm is backed up with a BSc in Chemistry (useful for those delicate recipe calculations) and an MBA from the University of Liverpool.”
About Plas Farm
Plas Farm are the UK’s leading frozen yogurt manufacturer, producing fantastic zero fat frozen yogurts, in the widest range of flavours and formats. From humble beginnings on an Anglesey farm, delicious frozen yogurt is now exported worldwide. With over 20 years experience in frozen yogurt production, Plas Farm are considered experts in the field. From custom-flavour, zero fat, soft serve frozen yogurt, to luxurious lower calorie alternatives to ice cream, Plas Farm have the expertise required to provide the best frozen yogurt and the best service in the frozen yogurt world.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Frozen Yogurt Association.
