How can aisle design and packaging influence milk shoppers?

Research carried out by AHDB, in collaboration with Linney and milk processors including Müller UK & Ireland, aimed to understand how to improve shopper engagement with the milk aisle and pack and improve long-term perceptions of the industry.

The wider dairy category is the most valuable of the grocery categories, equating to £16.4 billion spend (NIQ, 52 w/e 12 July 2025), and is present in more shopping baskets than any other category. However, earlier this year the AHDB/YouGov Consumer Tracker revealed that around one in five shoopers claim they are thinking about cutting back on dairy products.

Emma Wantling, Retail and Consumer Insight Manager at AHDB, said:

"Our ‘Optimising milk in-store’ research aims to help retailers and processors by providing evidence as to what shoppers are looking for in aisle and on pack that would influence behaviour and, in turn, protect and grow sales.

"This study follows AHDB’s 2024 meat labelling and aisle research that resulted in aisle redesigns and point of sale optimisation for multiple major retailers."

The AHDB/Linney research involved a quantitative survey of milk shoppers to streamline and prioritise the most impactful communication routes and a consumer immersion phase, including themed 3D virtual aisles and testing of 4,096 unique pack combinations.

Results showed that, for the aisle, having communication around the natural nutritional benefits of milk performed strongest. When adding health communication in aisle, 25% of shoppers claimed they would purchase more milk than usual.

The most effective health message tested was “Milk naturally contains 7 vitamins and minerals – vitamins B2, B5 and B12, calcium, iodine, potassium and phosphorus”, resulting in the aisle being seen as high quality, inspirational and exciting.

On pack, consumers were clear that farming communication was of most importance. Cow-centric visuals of animals grazing performed best alongside farming messaging such as “Dairy produced in the UK is to world-class food and farming standards”.

Becs Goodwin, Category Development Controller at Müller, said:

"AHDB’s fixture and packaging strategy is built on deep consumer insight, and Müller is proud to be part of the work to shape the fixture of the future.

"This collaboration reflects our shared ambition to reinvigorate the dairy aisle and inspire consumers with the benefits of milk, and we’re looking forward to engaging with our retail partners to help them deliver a more impactful and engaging experience in-store."