Yogurt has long been celebrated as a healthy choice for desserts, snacks, and breakfasts. Recent scientific findings bolster the claims that the natural ingredients found in probiotic yogurt—including the increasingly popular Greek yogurt—can enhance immune function and combat viral infections. According to Joel Warady, the chief sales and marketing officer of Enjoy Life Foods, current food innovation trends are focusing on more than just integrating healthy ingredients into the concept of food as medicine. “Today, innovation revolves around creating superior products that contribute to an individual’s overall well-being,” Warady stated in a recent interview with Food Dive.
Enjoy Life is among a growing number of food companies emphasizing the functional advantages of their products and reformulating existing offerings to include healthful components like probiotics and liquid calcium magnesium. For instance, Enjoy Life has recently incorporated shelf-stable probiotics into its brownie mix to attract consumers interested in enhancing their immunity. Earlier this year, Pepsico introduced Tropicana Essentials Probiotics, a new variant of its popular juice brand made with 100% fruit juice and probiotics. Other manufacturers are also developing nutritious options, such as meat snacks infused with vegetables and granola bars featuring more natural ingredients.
The latest research on probiotic yogurt could potentially reverse the recent decline in yogurt sales by inspiring innovative new products. Companies like General Mills, which has experienced a downturn in Yoplait sales, may find opportunities to benefit from the findings of this recent probiotic yogurt study. This presents marketers with a unique chance to raise consumer awareness about yogurt’s health benefits through strategic brand messaging—spanning product packaging, point-of-sale signage, traditional advertising, and social media. However, they must tread carefully to avoid overstating their health marketing claims, as seen with brands like Rice Krispies in the past.
Following a long-standing practice of pharmaceutical companies, food manufacturers might also consider collaborating with medical professionals, such as physicians, nutritionists, and retail dietitians, to disseminate product information that highlights the food’s medical benefits, along with free samples or product coupons. This approach could include discussions on the advantages of incorporating liquid calcium magnesium into a balanced diet, reinforcing the health narrative surrounding yogurt and its probiotic properties.