Webinar preview: FrieslandCampina Ingredients on functional yogurts and rising immunity trends

Functional foods are booming across categories, particularly transforming yogurt. Ahead of its webinar, Nutrition Insight speaks with FrieslandCampina Ingredients to learn about untapped personalization themes in yogurt formulation and branding. We explore market insights, fortification strategies, microencapsulation solutions, gaps in the market, and what consumers demand from this humble yet heroic food. 

Registration is now open for the webinar “The Future of Yogurt: How Functional Yogurt Offers Solutions for All Ages,” which will take place on October 1 at 15:00 CEST.

Jouke Veldman, global marketing director of Early Life Nutrition, believes that yogurt holds a unique position within functional foods. “Unlike newer functional categories that have to educate consumers from scratch, yogurt already sits in the sweet spot of ‘healthy indulgence,’ thanks to its health halo and creamy taste.”

“As a familiar favorite, it’s easier to push the boundaries with targeted health claims and develop exciting new products that consumers are eager to try. Plus, yogurt has excellent format flexibility — a blank canvas from which to tailor products to any lifestyle movement, such as an overnight recovery yogurt or an afternoon prebiotic pick-me-up,” he explains.

Veldman notes that walking down the yogurt aisle in grocery stores shows increasing functional innovations, such as products with high protein, gut health, or immunity claims.

Citing the Innova Market Insights database, 2025, he believes: “Functionality is becoming the new norm, with 48% of new yogurt launches in Europe now carrying a health claim. It’s a perfect storm of innovation opportunity, where growing consumer demand meets formulation versatility.”

Functional yogurt meets specific needs

Veldman points out how manufacturers can develop children’s yogurts enriched with certain nutrients, to boost brain health and gut health. He also notes the importance of catering to specific age groups.

Veldman suggests a huge potential to develop kids’ yogurts enriched with DHA for brain health and GOS for gut health.“Every age has different health needs; children may need brain boosts to support their studies at school, while seniors often want to stay sharp as they age,” he notes. “And active adults may turn to a filling protein snack between work and the gym to fuel their fitness, while children need protein to support growth and development.”

Veldman acknowledges that yogurt holds the formulation flexibility allowing it to be tailored to meet the needs of various groups. However, he notes that developing functional yogurts requires the innovator to find market gaps for success.

“For example, often yogurts are aimed at younger children with playfully packaged individual portions and claims around things like bone development. But older children’s needs often go overlooked,” he points out.

“There’s huge potential to develop kids’ yogurts enriched with DHA [docosahexaenoic acid] to support brain health, aiding with focus and behavior at school, or prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) for better gut health, which plays a key role in overall well-being.”

Veldman suggests that manufacturers tap into the increasingly popular cognitive health market for seniors with DHA fortification, as this group avoids adding another pill to their routines.

“Yogurts are already an easy-to-eat format, so incorporating brain-boosting nutrients like DHA can add further appeal for older adults.”

“As for active consumers, high-protein yogurts are still a great option, but now manufacturers can diversify their protein source for more tailored health benefits,” he suggests. “For instance, whey is often incorporated into functional food formulations for an enhanced nutritional profile, but casein’s unique benefits sometimes go unnoticed.”

Casein steadily releases amino acids over time. This may enable new products with overnight recovery claims, shares Veldman. When products taste like dessert, it can also help consumers stick to their nutrition goals.

Microencapsulation tackles sensory issues

Fortifying yogurt isn’t always straightforward. Veldman reveals that the main technical challenge is ensuring health benefits come with the taste and texture that consumers love.

FrieslandCampina Ingredients removes sensory barriers to fortification by using micro-encapsulation technology.“Some ingredients integrate seamlessly into formulations, like our prebiotic GOS, which enhances the natural sweetness of products and provides an appealing mouthfeel. But others, like omega-3 DHA, typically bring metallic notes or fishy off-flavors that can spoil the indulgent yogurt experience.”

“Shelf life stability adds another layer of complexity, especially when you’re dealing with live cultures that can interact unpredictably during storage,” he adds. “That’s where our technical experts come in.”

FrieslandCampina Ingredients removes these sensory barriers by using advanced micro-encapsulation technology, which protects DHA in a powder matrix while ensuring its nutritional and sensory stability.

“A recent independent sensory board agreed with our findings that micro-encapsulated DHA tastes better, with less off-notes,” adds Veldman. “Beyond ingredient solutions, we work with brand owners from initial idea to scale-up, and we can help them along the way by calculating the optimal dosage of ingredients like DHA and ensuring products meet local regulatory requirements.”

“We also provide technical support during production to ensure consistently high-quality fortification batch after batch.”

Upcoming trends shaping functional yogurt

Veldman notes that as functional yogurts have now become a consumer staple, they expect their favorite snack to bring tangible health benefits.

Veldman mentions immunity as an area to watch for in functional yogurt.“Claims around high protein and gut health are no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a baseline expectation for a wide range of consumers to reach their daily nutritional goals. This shifting mindset means that brands are increasingly innovating with functional benefits as well as flavor — or risk being overlooked.

“For many health-conscious consumers, we’re seeing that one health benefit is not enough. Yogurt brands are increasingly innovating with multi-functional products, with immunity being an area to watch.”

Apart from protein and gut health, immunity was the top health claim for yogurt in Europe last year, accounting for 8% of new product launches, according to data from Innova Market Insights.

“We expect demand for multi-functional yogurts to grow in the coming years — delivering convenience and nutrition by the spoonful,” concludes Veldman.