The changing face of the yogurt aisle
I was in a large UK supermarket the other day, and eyeballing the yogurts aisle, and wondered at the new selection of products. And the changes are being rung in the dairy aisle. For one, the sugar’s off. If you want a sugary yogurt, they are few and far between. You’ll have to rely on fruit for the sweetness. I don’t mind because I’ve been doing this for years and now the companies are doing it for me. Saves me a job in the morning.
Another trend is the internationalisation of yogurt. First, we had Greek yogurt. Then, Icelandic Skyr. Then, kefirs of many nations, ranging from Poland to the UK. Now, Tim’s Dairy in the UK has come up with a Cypriot style yogurt. I have never had Cypriot yogurt and am not sure I would know the difference between that and Greek yogurt. And, isn’t half of Cyprus under Greek control? Or am I getting into deep international waters?
Moving on, we’re looking at Yeo Valley and its super thick kerned yogurt. Here, the company uses a local Somerset word, kerned, to discuss the thickness of the yogurt and the process that makes it. Aha. I have learned something.
Never mind, off to look at Danone. Which has upmarketed its yogurt pots so they resemble the fancy glass jars of old, but have no added sugar, and some versions have a combination of vegetables and fruit. They are quite appealing, although the blueberry, blackcurrant and beetroot version was threatened by a taking over of the beetroot flavour above the other two, in my humble opinion.
Finally, Müller has imported skyr icelandic style, and put together a fruit and nuts version of granola for its dual pots, as well as a chocolate and nuts option. It has the obligatory protein numbers on the package as well. The vote was in for these ones and the offspring gobbled it down.
It’s currently made in the EU from EU milk. I wonder how well that will fare after the full Brexit and what the cost of the product will be, or will Müller shift production to the UK? We kind of hope so at this point. Another minefield. I’m off to go eat some yogurt.
- Suzanne Christiansen, editor, Dairy Industries International.
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