Dairy products and alternatives in 2025: The big picture
Value sales of dairy products and alternatives in Ethiopia rose in 2025, supported by strong underlying demand, population growth, and the increasing modernisation of Ethiopia’s food system. However, growth was constrained by persistent challenges around affordability, inflation, and supply disruptions. Prices of dairy products surged by 30-40% compared with the previous year, making many products unaffordable for the majority of households. Inflation in animal feed, coupled with foreign exchange shortages, raised production costs and limited milk availability for processors. This in turn led to significant underutilisation of capacity across Ethiopia’s dairy plants. Security concerns in dairy-producing areas such as the Sebeta belt further undermined stability in raw milk supply.
Key trends in 2025
The consumption of dairy products in Ethiopia continued to show strong seasonality in 2025, reflecting the influence of Orthodox Christian fasting traditions. During Lent and other fasting periods, many consumers abstain from dairy altogether, creating sharp fluctuations in demand that complicate production planning for processors. To manage these cycles, commercial milk processors often face the challenge of adjusting capacity while dealing with unstable supply from farms, which remains a structural constraint in the industry.
Competitive Landscape
The Ethiopian dairy industry in 2025 remained fragmented but anchored by a handful of prominent local players. Lame Dairy, with its Shola Milk brand, Sebeta Agro-Industry with Mama Milk, and Mamokacha were leading names in milk, while Holland Dairy and YorGo were notable in yoghurt. Kaldis Coffee also diversified into dairy with its Loli Milk brand. In baby food, international brands such as Enfamil, Aptamil, and NIDO retained a presence in formula through imports, though affordability restricted their consumer base. In the area of dried baby food, international names such as Gerber competed with locally produced alternatives, which captured share by offering cheaper, more accessible options.
Channel developments
Distribution of dairy products in Ethiopia continued to reflect a dual structure between modern and traditional trade. For restaurants, cafés, and many households in Addis Ababa, direct selling from farms and milk agents remained the primary channel. However, pasteurised products were most commonly purchased from traditional grocery retailers, which dominate everyday shopping. Supermarkets and pharmacies played a growing role in the baby food category, particularly for formula and dried products, offering wider assortments and catering to urban middle- and upper-income households.
What next for dairy products and alternatives?
Value sales of dairy products and alternatives are set to rise over the forecast period, although growth will be tempered by supply-side constraints and persistent affordability issues. Demand for milk is expected to remain strong, as population growth and rising urbanisation continue to outpace domestic supply. However, production challenges linked to animal feed costs and security risks will keep prices high. Growth will also be driven by value-added categories such as flavoured yoghurt, which has quickly gained traction among younger consumers, and by UHT milk, which is expected to become more widely available as local processors expand their capabilities.
Delivery:
Files are delivered directly into your account soon after payment is received and any tax certification is verified (where applicable).
This report comes in PDF with additional info in Excel included.
Overview:
Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Dairy Products and Alternatives industry in Ethiopia with research from Euromonitor International's team of in-country analysts – experts by industry and geographic specialisation.
Key trends are clearly and succinctly summarised alongside the most current research data available. Understand and assess competitive threats and plan corporate strategy with our qualitative analysis, insight and confident growth projections.
Data and analysis in this report provides further detailed coverage dedicated to a comprehensive range of core packaged food categories.
If you're in the Dairy Products and Alternatives industry in Ethiopia, our research will help you to make informed, intelligent decisions; to recognise and profit from opportunity, or to offer resilience amidst market uncertainty.
The Dairy Products and Alternatives in Ethiopia report includes:
- Analysis of key supply-side and demand trends
- Detailed segmentation of international and local products
- Historic volume and value sizes, company and brand market shares
- Five year forecasts of market trends and market growth
- Robust and transparent research methodology, conducted in-country
This report answers:
- What is the market size of Dairy Products and Alternatives in Ethiopia?
- Which are the leading brands in Dairy Products and Alternatives in Ethiopia?
- How are products distributed in Dairy Products and Alternatives in Ethiopia?
- How is the rise of e-commerce and/or the expansion of modern grocery retail impacting traditional retail?
- What are the key health and wellness concerns driving, or challenging, sales in Dairy Products and Alternatives?
- How significant are vegan and vegetarian dietary requirements in determining sales growth in Ethiopia?
- How has COVID-19 impacted consumer demand? To what extent have lockdown, home seclusion and stockpiling boosted sales? Will the longer term economic repercussions of the pandemic stimulate or suppress future growth?
- Where is future growth expected to be most dynamic?
- How significant will values-based claims, such as sustainability and ethical labelling, be in supporting future growth and brand equity?
Dairy Products and Alternatives in Ethiopia
Dairy products and alternatives in 2025: The big picture
Key trends in 2025
Competitive Landscape
Channel developments
What next for dairy products and alternatives?
DISCLAIMER
Key Data Findings
2025 Developments
High prices and limited awareness constrain formula uptake
Faffa maintains leadership, while new entrants expand the market
Traditional retailers dominate sales, while e-commerce gains traction in baby formula
Prospects and Opportunities
Rising urbanisation supports dried baby foods, but formula faces affordability barriers
Greater focus on nutritional quality in baby food
Legislative developments provide greater regulatory clarity
Category Data
Key Data Findings
2025 Developments
Rising prices and underutilised capacity weigh on growth
Innovation and rebranding help companies strengthen their market positions
Traditional channels dominate, but urban supermarkets and digital platforms expand
Prospects and Opportunities
Sales of dairy are expected to rise, but affordability pressures will persist
Emerging interest in health-focused dairy products
Limited legislative and sustainability developments on the horizon
Category Data
2025 Developments
Prospects and Opportunities
Category Data
The following categories and subcategories are included:
Dairy Products and Alternatives
-
- Dried Baby Food
- Prepared Baby Food
- Other Baby Food
-
-
- Liquid Standard Milk Formula
- Powder Standard Milk Formula
-
- Liquid Follow-on Milk Formula
- Powder Follow-on Milk Formula
-
- Liquid Growing-Up Milk Formula
- Powder Growing-Up Milk Formula
-
- Liquid Special Baby Milk Formula
- Powder Special Baby Milk Formula
-
-
-
- Butter
- Cooking Fats
- Margarine and Spreads
-
- Spreadable Cheese
- Processed Cheese excl Spreadable
-
- Packaged Hard Cheese
- Unpackaged Hard Cheese
- Soft Cheese
-
-
- Dairy Only Flavoured Milk Drinks
- Flavoured Milk Drinks with Fruit Juice
-
-
-
- Fat-free Fresh Milk
- Semi Skimmed Fresh Milk
- Full Fat Fresh Milk
-
- Fat-free Shelf Stable Milk
- Semi Skimmed Shelf Stable Milk
- Full Fat Shelf Stable Milk
-
- Goat Milk
-
- Powder Milk
-
-
- Sour Milk Products
-
- Drinking Yoghurt
- Flavoured Yoghurt
- Plain Yoghurt
-
-
- Chilled Dairy Desserts
- Shelf Stable Dairy Desserts
- Chilled Snacks
- Coffee Whiteners
-
-
- Flavoured Condensed Milk
- Plain Condensed Milk
- Evaporated Milk
-
- Cream
-
- Flavoured Fromage Frais and Quark
- Plain Fromage Frais and Quark
- Savoury Fromage Frais and Quark
-
-
-
-
- Soy Drinks
- Other Plant-based Milk
- Plant-based Yoghurt
- Plant-based Cheese
-
Why buy this report?
- Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders
- Track key industry trends, opportunities and threats
- Inform your marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales and supply functions
This report originates from Passport, our Dairy Products and Alternatives research and analysis database.
NEW REPORT GUARANTEE
If you purchase a report that is updated in the next 60 days, we will send you the new edition and data extraction Free!