Dairy retail performance – 25 January 2025

Cow’s milk volumes continue to decrease (-1.8%) year-on-year (NIQ, 52 w/e 25 January 2025) with a corresponding decline in spend of -4.6%, driven by a decline in frequency of purchase and volume purchased per trip. Declines were seen for both semi-skimmed and skimmed cow’s milk, while whole milk continued to see volume growth (+2.8%). 

Cow’s cheese remains in volume growth, up 4.2% year-on-year, and spend increased by 2.5% despite average prices decreasing by 1.6% (NIQ, 52 w/e 25 January 2025). Cheddar, which represents 41.4% of all cow cheese volumes, saw a 5.0% increase in volumes. Almost all cow cheeses saw volume growth which the except of Stilton and British blue cheese that declined 1.1% year-on-year. 

Cow's butter, at a total level, saw a volume decline of 3.4% and a spend decline of 0.1% (NIQ, 52 w/e 25 January 2025), driven primarily by a decline in sales of butter spreads (-7.3%). Block butter, however, continued to see volume increases of 7.0%.  Plant-based spread volumes also continued to increase (+7.7%), potentially driven by lower average prices.  

Cow's yoghurt, yoghurt drinks and fromage frais volumes continue to grow (+6.2%), with spend increasing by 7.7% (NIQ, 52 w/e 25 January 2025).  All products saw volume growth during the period, with the exception of fromage frais. Cow’s standard plain yoghurt saw the fastest growth of 21.9% year-on-year, while cow’s healthy yoghurts saw the greatest actual growth with a 16.0% increase year-on-year. 

Cow's cream volumes grew by 1.9% year-on-year, primarily driven by increased frequency of purchase and increased in volume per shop (NIQ, 52 w/e 25 January 2025). Double and sour cream experienced volume growth.  

See the full data and these insights visualised on our GB household dairy purchases retail dashboard.  

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