Yoghurts
Voluntary policies continue to fall short as children’s yoghurts remain high in added sugars
New Action on Salt & Sugar analysis1 of 104 children’s yoghurts finds only 1 in 40 suitably low in total sugars, despite widespread use of colourful, child-appealing packaging.
Key findings:
- Sugars content varied widely (4.7g to 14.1g per 100g), with some yoghurts containing three times more total sugars than others
- A single serving of ‘Nestle Smarties Vanilla Split Pot’ yoghurt contained 15.1g total sugars, equivalent to nearly 4 teaspoons of sugar
- Average total sugars have fallen by 11% since 2021. Some manufacturers achieved larger reductions, demonstrating reformulation is possible, just not suitably enforced.
Sugar levels vary widely across children’s yoghurts
There was considerable variation in sugars content across the products assessed, with the highest product containing three times as much total sugars as the lowest.
Which yoghurts had the most sugars?
‘Nestle Smarties Vanilla Split Pot’ had the highest total sugars content of all products surveyed, containing 14.1g per 100g.
Nestlé products also had the highest average total sugars at 10.7g per 100g, followed by Lidl at 9.4g and Aldi at 9.0g.
Which yoghurts had the least sugars?
In contrast, ‘The Collective Great Dairy Natural + Vitamin D’ and ‘Yoplait Petits Filous No Added Sugar Strawberry & Banana’ both had the lowest total sugars content, containing 4.7g per 100g each.
Across companies, Sainsbury’s products emerged with the lowest average at 6.2g per 100g, followed by Yeo Valley Ltd at 6.8g.
Sugar reduction is possible but has not gone far enough
Our analysis found that only two children’s yoghurts were low in total sugars, equivalent to 1 in 40 yoghurts surveyed. Some sugar reduction progress was made, however inconsistently across the industry.
‘The Collective’ from Yeo Valley Ltd recorded one of the largest improvements since 2021, reducing average total sugars in their range by 32%. Similarly, Lidl’s ‘Milbona Squeezy Strawberry Pouches’ reduced total sugars by 43% over the same period. Both examples demonstrate that sugars reduction via reformulation is equally possible and achievable.
However, overall sugars reduction across all products sat at only 11% on average, dropping from 9.2g per 100g in 2021 to 8.2g in 2026. Relying on voluntary industry action alone did not deliver the equal or consistent impact needed.
Confidence in the food industry is low
The findings come at a time when public confidence in the food industry's willingness to change is low.
Polling2 by the Recipe for Change campaign found that six in ten (60%) Britons say eating well is difficult today, including 47% who say it is harder to eat a balanced diet than it was 20 years ago and a further 13% who say it was difficult then and remains difficult now.
Notably, almost 79% of people do not trust the food industry to reduce salt, sugar and fat without government intervention, re-emphasising the trends seen in our findings.
Packaging continues to mislead
All the yoghurts included in our analysis featured child-appealing packaging; bright colours, cartoons, fun text and familiar characters designed to attract children and influence what parents buy.
While restrictions have been introduced on some forms of advertising for foods and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar, there are currently no equivalent rules preventing less healthy products from using child-appealing packaging.
In practice, this means food manufacturers can target children and parents with seemingly suitable or appealing options whilst the products themselves are nutritionally lacking. With children in the UK already consuming over double the recommended level of free sugars, this policy gap risks endangering their long-term health.
What needs to change?
In light of the findings, we're calling on the government to:
- Introduce mandatory reformulation policies, supported by transparent industry reporting and meaningful enforcement.
- Reserve child-appealing packaging for healthier products exclusively, lessening children’s exposure to less healthy foods from an early age.
As Recipe for Change's Citizens' Charter shows, public support for such measures is strong. Four in five (79%) people say they want government to do more, while more than 70% back regulation of saturated fat, sugars and salt.
For those wanting to add their name to the Charter to take the call directly to Downing Street this autumn, visit the Citizens Charter sign up page.
Speaking on the research, Dr Kawther Hashem, Head of Research & Impact at Action on Salt & Sugar, based at Queen Mary University of London, said:
“Parents could reasonably expect products covered in cartoons and specifically marketed to children to be among the healthier options available, but our findings show that is often not the case. Some companies have shown reductions in sugar is possible, proving that reformulation can be achieved. However, progress remains inconsistent and far too slow because it relies largely on voluntary action.
“Yoghurt can be a valuable source of nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D to children’s diets, but these should not come with unnecessary amounts of free sugars. Parents should not have to choose between providing nutritious foods and avoiding excessive sugar in products specifically marketed for children. Government must introduce stronger measures to ensure all companies reduce sugar levels, and that child-appealing packaging are reserved for the best products out there.”
Kate Howard, Children’s Food Campaign Coordinator at Sustain adds:
“Food companies are highly innovative when there is a commercial incentive, and that same energy should be directed towards making healthier food the easy and affordable choice. Industry may point to rising costs and global pressures as reasons to resist change, but clear and consistent rules benefit everyone, including responsible businesses.
“The people who helped shape this Citizens’ Charter are deeply frustrated by the current food system and want meaningful action. That is why we are urging the public to add their names. The more support it receives, the harder it will be for government and industry to ignore.
“Yoghurt can be a nutritious, affordable food, but parents should not have to study the small print to identify products genuinely suitable for children. Bright packaging and cartoon characters should encourage healthier choices, not give less healthy products a misleading halo.”
For comments or media enquiries, please contact David Clarke at Rock PR: david@rock-pr.com
1 The survey was conducted by Action on Salt & Sugar at Queen Mary University of London and partly funded by the Nuffield Foundation as part of the Food Foundation’s Broken Plate Report.
Nutritional information (energy, saturated fat and sugars, per 100g and per serving) on yoghurts with child-appealing packaging was collected every year between 2021 and 2026. Products were included based on product type and marketing characteristics rather than retailer shelf location. Specifically, the survey captured yogurt products featuring child-appealing branding, packaging, characters, licensing, confectionery associations, games, or other features likely to appeal to children. As product placement varies between retailers and may change over time, the positioning of these products in store were not used as an inclusion criteria. Companies with more than 2 products included in the 2026 dataset were approached and asked to verify the data.
2 All the polling figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2087 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 9th – 10th March 2026. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
