Dairy products and alternatives in 2025: The big picture
Overall, dairy products and alternatives in South Africa is projected to show robust retail current value and volume growth over 2025, driven by strong and rising demand across key categories, such as cheese, drinking milk products and yoghurt and sour milk products. These dairy items are considered household staples and they enjoy frequent repurchases, even in the face of rising prices across many dairy lines. However, it is important to consider the impact of price increases in complementary categories, such as breakfast cereals, bread, tea and coffee, which South African consumers often consume alongside dairy products. As prices in these adjacent categories rise, they are likely to have at least some influence on overall consumption patterns and purchasing behaviour within dairy in the market, potentially affecting volume growth rates, despite strong underlying demand.
Key trends in 2025
Snacking occasions within dairy categories are becoming increasingly important to local consumers in South Africa, with brand owners responding through targeted innovation and new product developments. In this light, Lactalis SA (Pty) Ltd’s Parmalat Protein+ range, including high-protein yoghurt and flavoured milk drinks, exemplifies the trend by offering convenient, nutrient-dense options that cater to on-the-go consumption and health-conscious lifestyles. Similarly, cheese, the largest category in retail value sales terms, is seeing more snackable formats geared towards children’s lunchboxes, supporting both convenience and nutrition. In addition, yoghurt, particularly in smaller pack sizes, remains a staple in lunchboxes due to its portability and appeal across age groups. These developments reflect a broader shift toward functional snacking, where consumers seek products that combine taste, convenience and added health benefits.
Competitive Landscape
Lactalis is projected to remain the leading player in dairy, and dairy products and alternatives overall, at the end of the review period. This is largely due to the strength and breadth of its flagship brand, Parmalat, which is present across nearly all major dairy categories, including drinking milk products, yoghurt and cheese. Parmalat enjoys strong brand heritage and consumer trust, having been well established in the market for decades. In addition to its wide product portfolio, Lactalis continues to invest in price promotions for both Parmalat and Président, making their products more accessible to cash-strapped consumers. These promotional strategies, combined with brand familiarity and availability, reinforce Lactalis’s strong position in the highly competitive dairy landscape. However, the leading player’s retail value share and overall is set to continue to drop over 2025, as consumers have looked for cheaper options in an inflationary environment towards the end of the review period.
Channel developments
Over 2025, despite a small dip in retail value share, Supermarkets is projected to remain the dominant distribution channel for dairy products and alternatives in South Africa. These large modern grocery retailers offer widespread accessibility across both urban centres and smaller, rural communities. Their extensive footprint allows them to serve a diverse consumer base, making them a key sales driver for dairy products and alternatives, including baby food, nationwide. Supermarkets also play a strategic role in influencing purchasing behaviour through targeted promotional activity, particularly during mid-month and end-of-month periods, when consumer footfall typically increases. These promotions, often featuring multibuy deals, discounts, and in-store activations, are designed to attract price-sensitive shoppers and boost retail volume sales across dairy products and alternatives.
What next for dairy products and alternatives?
Retail value (constant 2025 prices) sales of dairy products and alternatives in South Africa are projected to rise strongly, if at a gradually slower rate, over the forecast period. Growth is set to be supported by population growth and the successful introduction of products that attract new consumers to the category, such as lactose-free offerings. As more consumers seek dairy options that align with their dietary needs and health goals, their appeal is expected to broaden. At the same time, pricing will remain a key consideration, not only for dairy products, but also for complementary items like breakfast cereals, bread, tea and coffee, which influence consumption patterns. Core categories like milk, yoghurt and cheese are expected to maintain their status as household staples, while plant-based dairy alternatives are set to grow steadily in popularity as more consumers adopt alternative lifestyles and seek out functional, ethical, and allergen-friendly options.
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Overview:
Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Dairy Products and Alternatives industry in South Africa 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 South Africa, 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 South Africa 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 South Africa?
- Which are the leading brands in Dairy Products and Alternatives in South Africa?
- How are products distributed in Dairy Products and Alternatives in South Africa?
- 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 South Africa?
- 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 South Africa
Dairy products and alternatives in 2025: The big picture
Key trends in 2025
Competitive Landscape
Channel developments
What next for dairy products and alternatives?
APPENDIX
DISCLAIMER
Baby Food in South Africa
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Other baby food sees innovation to emerge as the fastest-growing category
Nestlé leads but faces challenges
Retailers use loyalty programmes and promotions to incentivise purchases
Growing-up milk formula to gain momentum
Prepared baby food and other baby food to benefit from modern lifestyle demand trends
Changes to food labelling regulations to foster healthier choices
Butter and Spreads in South Africa
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Butter and spreads offers dynamism despite demand stagnation
Siqalo Foods leads with a strong portfolio of heritage brands
Convenience retailers make retail value share gains
Butter to lead overall rebound in retail volume sales
Slow move towards functional positioning for butter
Butter and spreads players await changes to food labelling regulations
Cheese in South Africa
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Cheese enjoys resilience in terms of demand
Lactalis offers price promotions to resist growing competition
Supermarkets dominate, but Makro gains from price advantages
Cheese to continue to benefit from high popularity and innovation
Robust, if quite niche demand for high-end cheeses
Impending food labelling regulations to affect cheese players and consumers
Drinking Milk Products in South Africa
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Players expand the consumer audience for flavoured milk drinks
Lower-priced products gain traction in an uncertain economic environment
Warehouse clubs gain momentum with aggressive pricing and targeted marketing
Demographic and lifestyle trends to play significant roles in driving drinking milk products
Health and wellness to foster new product developments
Food labelling legislation to increase the focus on health in drinking milk products
Yoghurt and Sour Milk Products in South Africa
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Functional and cultural aspects push fast growth for sour milk products
Private label’s offer develops along premiumisation lines
Forecourt retailers make gains by catering to modern lifestyles
Strong investments in flavours and packaging to meet changing consumer demand
Health and wellness to shape new product developments
Food labelling changes to help consumers make healthier choices
Other Dairy in South Africa
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Cream shows dynamism through innovation, cooking trends and packaging
Lancewood offers innovation and economy packaging to pique the interest of consumers
Retailers time promotions to drive footfall and sales
Premium, functional and indulgence products to spur retail volume and value sales
High-protein and lactose-free options to add dynamism to the offer of other dairy
Other dairy awaits new food labelling legislation
Plant-Based Dairy in South Africa
KEY DATA FINDINGS
Other plant-based milk enjoys health, ethical, format and lifestyle competitive advantages
Lower-priced options gain momentum in plant-based dairy
E-commerce emerges through dynamic platforms
Positive outlook as plant-based dairy anticipates diversification
Functional benefits to spur adoption and category growth
Manufacturers, retailers and consumers await food labelling changes
The following categories and subcategories are included:
Dairy Products and Alternatives
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- Dried Baby Food
- Prepared Baby Food
- Other Baby Food
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- Liquid Standard Milk Formula
- Powder Standard Milk Formula
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- Liquid Follow-on Milk Formula
- Powder Follow-on Milk Formula
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- Liquid Growing-Up Milk Formula
- Powder Growing-Up Milk Formula
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- Liquid Special Baby Milk Formula
- Powder Special Baby Milk Formula
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- Butter
- Cooking Fats
- Margarine and Spreads
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- Spreadable Cheese
- Processed Cheese excl Spreadable
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- Packaged Hard Cheese
- Unpackaged Hard Cheese
- Soft Cheese
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- Dairy Only Flavoured Milk Drinks
- Flavoured Milk Drinks with Fruit Juice
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- Fat-free Fresh Milk
- Semi Skimmed Fresh Milk
- Full Fat Fresh Milk
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- Fat-free Shelf Stable Milk
- Semi Skimmed Shelf Stable Milk
- Full Fat Shelf Stable Milk
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- Goat Milk
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- Powder Milk
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- Sour Milk Products
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- Drinking Yoghurt
- Flavoured Yoghurt
- Plain Yoghurt
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- Chilled Dairy Desserts
- Shelf Stable Dairy Desserts
- Chilled Snacks
- Coffee Whiteners
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- Flavoured Condensed Milk
- Plain Condensed Milk
- Evaporated Milk
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- Cream
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- Flavoured Fromage Frais and Quark
- Plain Fromage Frais and Quark
- Savoury Fromage Frais and Quark
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- Soy Drinks
- Other Plant-based Milk
- Plant-based Yoghurt
- Plant-based Cheese
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This report originates from Passport, our Dairy Products and Alternatives research and analysis database.
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