Cartons favoured for flavoured milk

Cartons have become the established packaging format for flavoured milk, according to Tetra Pak, which has noted a significant rise in the use of cartons in the market sector in its latest Tetra Pak Dairy Index.

The sixth edition of the company's Dairy Index revealed carton formats accounted for 62 per cent of ready-to-drink (RTD) flavoured milk packaging in 2012.

This represented a steady rise from the 57 per cent of the market using cartons in 2009.

Looking ahead, the index predicted carton use would rise to above 64 per cent of the sector in 2015. Portion packs, meanwhile, are expected to reach 81 per cent of RTD flavoured milk consumption by 2015.

The latest Tetra Pak Dairy Index focussed on flavoured milk, finding consumption would grow at double the rate of white milk globally between 2012 and 2015, creating opportunities for the industry to improve profitability.

“With white milk increasingly commoditised, flavoured milk offers dairies the opportunity to provide value not only to consumers but to their bottom line,” the president and CEO of Tetra Pak Group, Dennis Jönsson, said.

While demand for flavoured milk is forecast to rise globally, the company is forecasting that demand in developing countries, particularly across Asia and Latin America, is set to outpace that of developed countries in North America and Europe.

Seven of the world’s top 10 flavoured milk markets are developing countries, Tetra Pak research shows, and the trend is set to continue from 2012 to 2015. China, South Asia and Southeast Asia drink more than half the world’s flavoured milk.