Greek yogurt producers look to China and Japan as Asian demand grows

Greek yogurt turns toward Asia

Greek yogurt producers are widening their geographic reach after building substantial markets in Europe and the United States. China and Japan are now considered the main Asian opportunities for the category, according to Kathimerini, as companies seek new consumers for Greek yogurt and Greek-style products.

The drivers differ between the two markets. In China, yogurt is associated with a Western lifestyle followed particularly by middle- and high-income consumers. In Japan, demand is linked more closely to interest in healthy foods. Japan’s large elderly population also supports consumption, reflecting a pattern already visible in Europe, where older consumers traditionally eat yogurt.

The expansion comes as the worldwide market for Greek yogurt and Greek-style yogurt continues to grow. Kathimerini put its value at $38.29 billion in 2025 and reported a projected compound annual growth rate of 8.33% for 2026-2034. The forecast provides producers with an incentive to develop distribution beyond their established Western markets, although success in Asia will depend on matching products and positioning to distinct local demand.

Italy and the UK remain the export base

Asia represents the next stage of international development, but Europe remains the core export market for yogurt shipped from Greece. In 2025, Italy received 38.26% of Greek yogurt export volume and accounted for 39.67% of export value. The United Kingdom ranked second, taking 29.55% of volume and 27.26% of value.

Together, those figures show how concentrated the current export business remains. Italy and the United Kingdom absorbed 67.81% of volume and generated 66.93% of value. For manufacturers and distributors, expansion in China and Japan offers a route to diversify sales, while the European business continues to provide the category’s commercial base.

Yogurt has become one of Greece’s principal exported food products, with export value beginning to approach that of feta. It also plays an important role inside the Greek dairy industry. For years, growth in yogurt has helped offset losses in the domestic fresh-milk market, where sales have been declining since the end of the 2000s.

Decades of investment built the category

FAGE began exporting yogurt to the United Kingdom and Italy in 1983, a milestone that introduced Greek strained yogurt to a broader group of consumers outside Greece. The company later stopped producing fresh milk in April 2008 and began manufacturing yogurt at its plant in New York state. FAGE’s US sales reached 101,575 tonnes in 2025, almost six times the 16,666 tonnes recorded during the plant’s first year of operation.

Other Greek dairy companies subsequently followed the international route. Kri Kri’s development was shaped by the fire that completely destroyed its Serres factory on Christmas Eve in 2013. The rebuilding of production capacity became part of the company’s subsequent growth, and the producer is now associated with the effort to extend Greek yogurt’s presence from Europe into Asian markets.

The Asian opportunity is therefore an extension of a long export cycle rather than a replacement for established markets. Producers have a growing global category, strong positions in Italy and the United Kingdom, and evidence from the United States that local production can support scale. China and Japan add different demand profiles: lifestyle positioning in one market and health-oriented consumption in the other. How companies adapt their products and distribution to those differences will determine whether Asia develops into another major pillar for Greek yogurt.