Data from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has shown that, over the last year, the dairy sector experienced “modest” value growth of 2%, despite a 0.5% decline in volume.

AHDB highlighted that while overall volumes were in decline, there were a number of key drivers for growth. These included an increased demand for higher protein content, rising interest in gut health, growing scepticism towards ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and a surge in demand for “naturalness”.

As a result of these trends, products such as cottage cheese, whole milk and kefir yogurt saw “noticeable” growth, AHDB found.

High protein trends gives cottage cheese a boost

The cottage cheese category experienced year-on-year increases of 26.2% in value and 29.4% in volume (NIQ Panel on demand, 52 w/e 22nd March 2025), with AHDB pointing out that this growth was amplified by rising social media trends such as meal prepping.

The cheese gained share within the cow cheese category, now accounting for 4.3% of volume sales, as total cow cheese saw a 4.5% year-on-year increase in volume (NIQ Panel on demand, 52 w/e 22nd March 2025). AHDB said the growth was partly driven by rising health consciousness, as consumers increasingly prioritised protein content in their food choices.

AHDB said that plain cottage cheese had supported the protein trend, reporting that as of December 2024, 28% of shoppers reported actively boosting their protein intake, with a further 29% indicating plans to increase it throughout 2025 (IGD ShopperVista, December 2024).

The demand for high protein foods was also confirmed within AHDB’s Consumer Tracker, where 21% of respondents said they were concerned about protein content when choosing food. This was a 3% increase compared to the last quarter (AHDB/YouGov Consumer Tracker, February 2025).

Kefir yogurt appeals to health-conscious shoppers

Looking to kefir yogurt, AHDB said that while it was a smaller segment within the yogurt category, it saw a strong performance as its value and volume increased by 37.1% and 34.7% respectively on the year. According to Nielsen, cow’s yogurt saw a year-on-year increase of 7.9% in 2024 (NIQ Panel on demand, 52 w/e 22nd March 2025).

AHDB also found that 75% of breakfast consumers found breakfast foods that supported breakfast health appealing (Mintel, British Lifestyles, 2025), and 75% of consumers agreed that there was an “abundance” of foods with added ingredients that make them unhealthy (IGD, ShopperVista, April 2025). In its Consumer Tracker, AHDB observed 16% of respondents looked to reduce dairy intake to avoid processed foods (AHDB/YouGov, February 2025).

However, kefir benefitted from this shift as it has high levels of probiotics that support gut health, positioning it as a healthier choice that appeals to trends.