FDBusiness.com

Arla Foods is to expand its successful Finnish brand, Ihana, into new markets with the premium yogurt range being launched in Denmark and the UK. Meaning ‘wonderful’ in Finnish, Ihana was launched through an extensive brand launch in 2016 in Finland with an iconic new design.

Indulgence is one of the few areas in growth within the yogurt category as consumers look for something new and different. With its range of unique sorbet-style flavour combinations such as pink lemonade and papaya & lime, the bold flavour creations, striking packaging and dessert-style approach to yogurts ensure it is perfectly positioned to offer retailers unique products and shoppers a distinctive choice at the fixture.

Betina Karvinen, Brand and Category manager at Arla Foods, comments: “Finland is very innovative when it comes to the dairy industry and has previously seen trends travel across markets to benefit Arla’s growth. Our successful protein range began as a Finnish initiative born out of consumer trends and we have seen that become one of Arla’s most successful brands, so we certainly have the same aspirations for Ihana.”

“Being able to rollout successful brands into new markets and share innovation with other countries is a key focus for Arla as part of its ongoing strategy and growth,” adds Betina Karvinen.

Made with natural ingredients and lactose-free, Ihana taps into key trends that fit with consumers’ lifestyles. Offering authentic yogurts that provide an indulgent treat with a thick and creamy texture, the products come with Arla’s farmer owned credentials and made with the best possible ingredients.

Expansion and growth in yogurts is an important part of Arla’s Good Growth strategy. Following the announcement of the Calcium transformation programme which aims to create more efficiencies in the business, one of the ambitions is to reduce complexity across the business. With Ihana packaging being shared across markets and the teams becoming more collaborative, sharing success stories across borders is going to play a crucial role in Arla’s future development.

In addition to the new market rollouts, product innovation will also continue as the brand looks to move even further away from the breakfast associations of yogurt. Having just launched a lemon pie variant in Finland, there are further plans to move into a range of dessert-style products with the aim of adding incremental growth to the category and engage more consumers in enjoying yogurt for multiple occasions.

In the UK, the launch of the Ihana range marks the next step in Arla’s ambition to expand its offering across the different sub-categories within yogurts.

James Quayle, Brand Manager for Arla yogurts UK, comments: “The role of the Ihana brand is to offer something new and different to the existing options within the luxury yogurts market, primarily driven by the ‘sorbet style’ inspired flavours such as pink lemonade. This is based on the insight that consumers are looking for flavour inspiration and new eating experiences within yogurts. Arla’s ambition is to role the range out across the UK retail market over the course of 2018-2019 and a view to expanding the number of variants in line with the other market offerings once the brand is established.”