Coconut crowned the new king of plant-based yogurt

Is coconut a nut? Believe it or not, it’s actually a fruit — the only fruit, in fact, that is commonly used to create its own yogurt. And in case you haven’t been paying attention, coconut yogurt has quickly left every other nondairy yogurt in the dust.

“Coconut yogurt is now the king of plant-based by a wide margin,” Scott Dicker, senior director of market insights at SPINS, said. “It’s growing at about 4% year over year. Next is almond, then soy — and both of those are declining year over year.”

So, what happened? A brand called Coconut Cult helped show the unique appeal and health benefits of coconut yogurt to millions of consumers. Here’s why it’s time to stop thinking of coconut as an “alternative” and begin taking it seriously on its own.

Coconut Has “Super Probiotic” Potential

It’s tempting to conclude that coconut yogurt’s rise in popularity has everything to do with fat and flavor — and that’s definitely a big part of its consumer appeal. Coconut yogurt is undeniably creamy, decadent and sweet, even without any thickeners or sweeteners added. But this fruit has another superpower: attaining probiotic content equal to or even higher than dairy.

“Coconut is just really a great thing to ferment with,” Coconut Cult founder Noah Simon-Waddell said. He started by making coconut yogurt at home and now serves as the brand’s public face and “chief visionary officer.” “It cultures bacteria really well, which means we’re able to easily ferment many different strains. It’s got a lot of possibilities for creating different functional formats with it.”

Of course, anyone who’s left the milk out overnight knows that dairy is also quite receptive to fermentation. However, because coconut is plant-based rather than animal-based, Simon-Waddell says he’s been able to take advantage of its fermentation powers in creating a truly potent functional product.

“There’s a lot more fear around having living bacteria in an animal product, and they’re heavily regulated. So it’s much more difficult to get something that’s not fully pasteurized out there,” he explained. “Because we’re plant-based, we don’t have to go through those same regulations, so I’m able to manufacture and sell and distribute a type of yogurt that is very alive and active. That’s a huge opportunity in coconut yogurt.”

Because coconut yogurt is so alive, Simon-Waddell said, he’s spent a lot of time educating the brand’s followers through social media about the importance of starting with small servings — just a couple of spoonfuls at first — and not risk upsetting their stomachs by overeating. The company has also leaned into this “less is more” approach with robust flavors, like chocolate mousse, that feel suitable to eat in small doses.

It’s half functional food, half delicacy. And if that sounds expensive, well, it is. Which is the other major theme in Coconut Cult’s unlikely rise to fame.

Consumers may pay more for coconut yogurt

Simon-Waddell knows his brand could have risen to popularity sooner if he had only been willing to be more “reasonable”: to dial back its potency, compromise on ingredients or sell it at a lower price. “I was told so many times that this wasn’t possible by different people,” he said. “I always listen, but I’m very hard to convince.”

On the contrary, the price point in particular has put the brand in a position where they found themselves having to convince stores that they were for real — even when the numbers said they were growing.

“The business side of it has always been a conversation where everybody in retail says, ‘There’s no way; our customers aren't going to be able to buy that yogurt at that price,’ and us convincing and converting people and stores one by one by one that, ‘yes, people would buy this yogurt at this price point on its merits.”

But Simon-Waddell, along with Ari Raz, who has served as Coconut Cult’s CEO since 2021, stuck to their guns. And eventually, the market caught up to them. “Over the last two years, we’ve finally seen things open up a bit more, and the world seemed to open up their arms to us in a way that has been really exciting,” Simon-Waddell said.

Last year, Coconut Cult opened a 60,000-square-foot facility in Ogden, Utah, to keep up with rapidly growing demand. Earlier this year, the brand also scored big wins by getting on shelves at Whole Foods nationwide, and winning a NEXTY award at Natural Products Expo West. According to Simon-Waddell, the brand is ready to expand into conventional grocery channels along with more natural ones, but the path to the next stage of Coconut Cult is really about doing what he’s done all along.

“We spent the last year sort of putting things in place so that we would really be able to grow. So now we're at a place where we're growing and we're excited about it,” he said. “But moving forward, it’s the same story: educating people about yogurt and living food. And caring a lot about food as medicine and taking care of yourself by what you eat.”