“Smarter, not sweeter”: General Mills launches high protein yogurt range – but it's not Greek

20 Jun 2018 --- General Mills has introduced YQ by Yoplait, a new yogurt made with ultra-filtered milk that delivers big on protein with an intentionally less sweet taste. With the launch of the yogurt, the company is catering to the needs of a range of health conscious consumers looking for a convenient dairy product that can be eaten alone as a snack, blended with fruit in a smoothie or added as an ingredient in many recipes.

YQ by Yoplait Plain features a new 1-gram-sugar-per-serving option, while packing 17 grams of protein in each 5.3 oz. serving. The flavored varieties deliver 9 grams of sugar – which the company says is 40 percent less than the leading Greek low-fat yogurt – and are lightly sweetened with cane sugar, real fruit and natural flavors. Flavored varieties also deliver 15 grams of protein per 5.3 oz. serving and are available in Coconut, Peach, Mango, Lime, Strawberry, Blueberry and Vanilla. Plain and Vanilla are also available in 26 oz. tubs.

YQ by Yoplait is gluten-free, 99 percent lactose free and contains no artificial preservatives, no artificial flavors and no colors from artificial sources, a company statement reports.

The launch fits squarely within the trend toward convenient, yet healthy snacking options, with consumers looking for snacking options that they can eat on-the-go, in handy packaging formats and that taste good. Taste sensations and authentic flavors are a top priority in snacking, as the demand for global flavors rises.

“We talked to thousands of people to really understand what they were missing from the yogurt aisle. We heard loud and clear the need for a smart snack option – something made with simple ingredients, less sugar and higher protein,” says Doug Martin, Vice President of Marketing for Yoplait USA. 

Innova Market Insights has noted that yogurt’s perception among consumers as a health boosting (digestive/gut health, immune health, high source of protein and low fat) and convenient ready-to-go snack/meal are key growth drivers. However, with a CAGR of 8.4 percent (2013-2017), NPD within the spoonable yogurt segment is trailing slightly behind NPD growth in the dairy category as a whole (CAGR 10.6 percent).

Over the past years, growth in the spoonable yogurt subcategory was bolstered by the increasing prominence of Greek yogurt products and a high degree of flavor innovation among companies. 

General Mills’ latest launch, however, steps away from the Greek yogurt trend, focusing instead on decreased sugar content. YQ by Yoplait is made with ultra-filtered milk, which has been filtered to concentrate the amount of protein while removing much of the milk's sugar, or lactose. 

The ultra-filtered milk is then combined with active cultures and churned, resulting in a differential nutritional profile “without the tart tang or chalky aftertaste of Greek-style yogurts.”

“What we've been able to accomplish with YQ by Yoplait delivers on this desire [for snacking options]. Through our use of simple ingredients, ultra-filtered milk and active cultures, we've created a protein-packed, less sweet flavor profile with a thick, smooth, extra creamy texture. It's unlike anything that exists in the yogurt aisle today,” he says. 

Diversification to enhance differentiation is important in the dairy category as consumers have come to expect a choice for everything.

“In the US, yogurt was the hottest category and now it is declining, it’s important when it comes to mature categories like this to look at variety and novelty,” Lu Ann Williams, Director of Innovation at Innova Market Insights, noted during a recent webinar. “Consumers expect a lot of choices especially in mature categories, and that can be a way to create some new growth in a new category.”

Last year Yoplait introduced Oui by Yoplait, which the company says heralded the start of “an entirely new segment of the yogurt category in the US – ‘simply better.’”

This French style yogurt has quickly grown to become one of the biggest launches in the category in recent years, and with this latest high protein, “smarter, not sweeter” addition to the Yoplait range, General Mills reports it is aiming to be at the forefront of building the “simply better” segment of the US yogurt category.

According to a Bloomberg report, Oui is heading toward US$100 million in sales, but overall yogurt sales were still down 8 percent year-over-year in the company's most recent quarter.

YQ by Yoplait will be available in major US grocery and retail stores beginning in late June. The suggested retail price for all 5.3 oz. cups is US$1.49, while the 26 oz. tubs are US$4.99.

By Lucy Gunn