Mintel: functional claims reach 27% of European dairy-drink and alternative launches
Mintel’s latest report describes a blurring of food and drink categories as consumers choose products to support wider wellness objectives, including longer-lasting energy, improved sleep and weight control. Alice Pilkington, the company’s associate principal for food and drink, identified nutrition tailored to different life stages and interest in fibre as opportunities to combine health benefits in dairy beverages. In the UK, 30% of consumers expressed interest in milk offering additional benefits suited to their life stage, such as menopause or older age; 25% were interested in fibre-enriched milk.
Pilkington cautioned that combining numerous claims could overwhelm shoppers when a single product promises to address several needs. She favoured careful formulation over trying to deliver too many nutritional outcomes at once. Her comments concerned the practice of “benefit stacking”, in which manufacturers bring several functional attributes together in one product, as they adapt to changing consumer priorities and the use of GLP-1 weight-loss medicines.
Support for immunity and bones accounted for the most prevalent functional claims during the year ending in September 2026, Pilkington said. Claims concerning immunity frequently accompanied fortification with vitamin D or B vitamins. Those concerning bones drew on calcium naturally present in dairy, or calcium added to plant-based alternatives. She also linked the expansion of claims about muscle development and weight control to dairy’s existing protein content and consumers’ continuing interest in protein.
Digestive-health claims featured on 7% of dairy-beverage introductions over the same period, with manufacturers making greater use of the digestive attributes of fermented products, according to Pilkington. She cited German consumer research in which almost 70% of respondents said they had experienced a digestive condition during the six months ending in February 2026. More than 40% intended to take a more proactive approach to managing their digestive health. Pilkington described these findings as evidence of a receptive audience for such drinks.
Dairy-based meal replacements have increasingly reached mainstream retail outlets, Pilkington said. She described opportunities to combine convenient nutrition with consumers’ growing attention to nutrient density. For people using GLP-1 medicines, and others seeking to lose weight, she highlighted the importance of nutrient-dense products in limiting muscle loss and avoiding malnutrition. As an example of product development in the United States, she cited Oikos Fusion: its dairy drinks contain a patented combination of whey, leucine and vitamin D designed to support muscle building and retention during weight loss.
Linnaea Peterse, Dairy Food Category Development Manager at Tate & Lyle, also identified opportunities to combine benefits in dairy beverages. She said consumers already associate drinkable yoghurt, flavoured milk and fermented drinks with nourishment and satisfaction, alongside ease of use and portability. In her assessment, these formats provide a platform for extra protein, added fibre or reduced sugar when the changes feel consistent with the existing product.
Peterse singled out fibre for its connection to several consumer needs, particularly digestive wellbeing, which she described as a major influence on functional-food and beverage choices worldwide. She said fibre is well suited to fermented dairy products because consumers already associate both yoghurt and fibre with support for gut health. That existing association, in her view, lends credibility to dairy drinks fortified with fibre.
