UK: Dairy retail performance on 5 October 2024

The article, drawing on Nielsen data, highlights a slight increase in average prices not sufficient to offset volume drops in the cow’s dairy sector. Specifically, cow's milk expenditure fell 0.1%, with a 6.6% decrease in spending and a 1.9% drop in volumes. Semi-skimmed milk was a key contributor to this decline. In contrast, whole milk saw a 2.3% rise, attributed to more buyers and increased purchasing frequency. Cow's cheese experienced growth, with a 3.7% increase in volumes and a 3.6% rise in spending, led by cheddar which saw a 3.9% surge in volumes sold. Cow's butter volumes fell by 3.5%, but this was offset by a 5.7% rise in block butter. Plant-based spreads attracted more volumes, likely due to switching from cow’s butter. Cow's dairy products like yoghurt, yoghurt drinks, and fromage frais experienced growth, with standard plain yoghurts seeing the fastest growth at 21.7%. Cow's cream also experienced growth, driven by existing shoppers buying more.

Growth in average prices (+0.6%) was not quite enough to balance volume losses as spend on cow’s dairy declined 0.1% according to Nielsen. Spend on cow's milk continues to decrease (-6.6%) and volumes declined by 1.9% year-on-year (52 w/e 5 October 2024). Semi-skimmed cow’s milk accounts for 59.6% of volume sales but contributed most to the decline, while whole milk continued to see growth (+2.3%), driven by an increase in buyers as well as an increase in purchase frequency. Cow’s cheese remains in growth with volumes up 3.7% year-on-year, and spend to rising by 3.6% (NIQ Homescan POD, Total GB). Cheddar saw a 3.9% increase in volumes sold driven by an increase in volume per shop up 2.9%. This drove cow’s cheese performance as cheddar accounts for 41.7% of all cow cheese sold. Speciality and continental, processed cheese and British regionals also saw growth. Cow's butter saw a volume decline of 3.5%, despite a decrease of average prices (-1.0%). However, block butter saw volumes ...