During the course of the past decade, the American yogurt category has grown to approximately $8 billion. Danone North America, White Plains, N.Y., said it conducted a review of total dollar sales for all of the innovations launched across the entire yogurt category between 2010 and 2019, and its Light & Fit Greek yogurt earned the top spot as the best-selling yogurt innovation of the decade (factoring in both dairy- and plant-based innovations).

To celebrate this achievement, the company said it convened media and influencers on Dec. 12 to unveil a portfolio of yogurt innovations to kick off the next decade, celebrate the company’s 100-year history of yogurt making and formally introduce Pedro Silveira, the company’s new president of yogurt. Additionally, for every person in attendance at the event, Danone North America will make a donation enabling City Harvest to rescue and deliver 100 pounds of food for New York City residents in need.

“From smartphones to influencers, momentous changes have moved American culture during the 2010s. And in supermarkets one place where culture has changed forever is the yogurt aisle,” Silveira said. “Today, Danone North America makes one in every three yogurts sold in the U.S. Our amazing house of brands, which includes yogurts and yogurt alternatives such as Activia, Dannon, Danimals, Light & Fit, Oikos, Silk, So Delicious Dairy Free and Two Good, has positioned us to give consumers what they want and offer them choices — for example, to support flexitarian eating patterns as they gain popularity. Acting in response to consumers through our house of brands has driven our ability to grow the category overall.”

Danone North America said its market share in the yogurt category (dairy and nondairy) evolved from 27% percent in 2007-2008, when the company was the No. 2 player, to more than 33% in 2019, earning Danone North America the position as market leader. Looking ahead to 2020, the company unveiled a rich portfolio of yogurt and yogurt alternative innovations meeting consumer demand for lower-sugar and plant-based options, as well as more sweetener options and more. The innovations, all of which will be on retail shelves before or during January, include:

• Activia Less Sugar & More Good and Activia dairy-free yogurt alternatives.
• Danimals organic smoothies.
• Light & Fit Icelandic style skyr yogurt.
• Oikos nut butter blends and Oikos sweetened with honey, maple.
• Silk “almondmilk” yogurt alternative Mix-ins.
• So Delicious “coconutmilk” yogurt alternative pairings.

“For the past 100 years, we have always put the diverse interests of consumers first, and year after year, our innovations are leading the category — growing it and bringing consumers into the yogurt aisle — whether they are new or returning,” said Silveira. “We’re incredibly proud to have started and ended the 2010s with breakthrough innovations and look forward to making the yogurt aisle a vibrant and exciting destination in the American supermarket as we enter a new decade.”