Yoplait ( , ) is the world's largest franchise brand of

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in t ...

. It is jointly owned by American food conglomerate

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...

and French

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

cooperative Sodiaal.

History

In 1964, 100,000 French farmers agreed to merge six regional dairy cooperatives in order to more efficiently market their products at the national level. In 1965, the Yoplait brand was launched as a new national brand, as a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words The company's logo is a six-petaled flower designed by Philippe Morlighem, each petal representing one of the six main cooperatives' founders. A redesigned logo, which has been slowly rolled out since the late 2000s, uses a flower with only five petals. On 18 May 2011,

announced it had agreed to purchase a controlling 51% interest in the brand's main operating company Yoplait SAS, and a 50% interest in a related company owning the brand's

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

, with Sodiaal retaining the remainder. The announcement of the completion of the acquisition was made on 1 July 2011.

World franchises

Australia

In Australia, Yoplait is locally manufactured by

Lion Dairy & Drinks Bega Dairy & Drinks is a subsidiary of Australian diversified food company Bega Cheese, having been purchased from the Japanese company Kirin (who owns Lion in Australia) in November 2020. While owned by Kirin, it was known as Lion Dairy & D ...

. In November 2019, China’s

Mengniu Dairy China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited () is a Chinese manufacturing and distribution company of dairy products and ice cream. The company is headquartered in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia and manufactures dairy products under the ''Mengniu'' brand. In J ...

announced the purchase of Lion from Japan’s Kirin Holdings. However, due to rising geopolitical tensions between China and Australia, Kirin and Mengniu announced the cancellation of the sale due to approval from Australian regulators being "unlikely to" materialize. It uses the slogan "Yoplait; French for Yum!".

Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, General Mills markets pre-stirred Yoplait

, Minigo,

Tubes Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a ...

, Source, Creamy, Delicieux,

Yop Yop, created and marketed by Yoplait, is a yogurt drink sold in supermarkets and convenience stores in Belgium, Canada, France, Ireland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and occasionally in the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United States. ...

, Yoplait Basket, Yoptimal, and Asana. In 1971, the Coopérative agricole de Granby, which went on to become the largest dairy cooperative in the country—

Agropur The Agropur Dairy Cooperative, usually shortened to Agropur, is headquartered in Saint-Hubert, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. Agropur Cooperative is a North American dairy cooperative founded in 1938. It is a supplier of products for the industri ...

—launched the Yoplait brand in Canada. In 1993, Agropur and Agrifoods (the two largest dairy cooperatives in Canada) combined their yogurt and fresh cheese marketing and manufacturing activities to form

Ultima Foods Ultima Foods Inc. is a Canadian manufacturer and marketer of yogurt and fresh dairy products. Founded in 1993 (with predecessor operations dating to 1971), Ultima Foods is owned by Lactalis. In 2017, the company had 660 employees across the countr ...

. Ultima Foods oversaw Yoplait brand products throughout Canada until 2012, when General Mills took over the licence (Ultima Foods continues to manufacture Yoplait products in Canada as a subcontractor, but has also launched a wholly owned rival product line,

iögo Ultima Foods Inc. is a Canadian manufacturer and marketer of yogurt and fresh dairy products. Founded in 1993 (with predecessor operations dating to 1971), Ultima Foods is owned by Lactalis. In 2017, the company had 660 employees across the count ...

Chile

In Chile the Yoplait brand is managed by Quillayes.

France

In France, the Yoplait brand is managed by Yoplait France.

Ireland

In Ireland,

Glanbia Glanbia plc ( ) is an Irish global nutrition group with operations in 32 countries. It has leading market positions in sports nutrition, cheese, dairy ingredients, speciality non-dairy ingredients and vitamin and mineral premixes. Glanbia produc ...

controlled the Yoplait brand from 1973 until 2017, when its dairy processing business was offloaded to form the joint venture Glanbia Ireland, with the Glanbia Co-operative Society holding 60% ownership and Glanbia 40%.

Israel

Yoplait in Israel is managed by

Tnuva Tnuva, or Tenuvah, ( he, תנובה, ''fruit'' or ''produce'') is an Israeli food creation and marketing company. The company holds in Israel a significant market share in the field of drinking milk production, dairy products and its marketing. ...

, Israel's largest dairy,Tnuva Launches Yoplait Yoghurts
. and products are

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

. The company's drinkable yogurt comes in a 100-gram shot-style bottle with a center opening for easy gripping. Yoplait-brand flavored yogurts account for 42–52% of the Israeli market. Tnuva and Yoplait entered into a partnership to set up production facilities in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in 2007. In 2009, Tnuva introduced a family-size yogurt called Yoplait YYY that comes in resealable containers.

Italy

Yoplait entered the Italian market in 1992 through a joint-venture between Sodiaal and

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

. At the end of the following year Yoplait achieved a market share of 2.5%. Yoplait withdrew from the Italian market in 1999.

Mexico

In Mexico, the Yoplait brand is managed by

Sigma Alimentos Sigma Alimentos, S.A. de C.V., also known as Sigma or Sigma Alimentos, is a Mexican multinational food processing and distribution company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey, Mexico. It produces and distributes refrigerated foods, mainly ...

Norway

The franchise in Norway is held by

Fjordland Fjordland is a Norwegian food manufacturer that produces easy made dinners, margarine, yogurt and other dessert dairy products. It is owned by the three agricultural cooperatives Tine, Nortura and Hoff and uses raw products from the three ...

, a brand of Tine, and has been since 1998. In 2014, Q-Meieriene filed suit against Fjordland for "allegedly copying a unique container for the Icelandic cultured milk product

Skyr Skyr ( ; ) is an Icelandic cultured dairy product originating in Norway. It has the consistency of strained yogurt, but a milder flavor. Skyr can be classified as a fresh sour milk cheese, similar to curd cheese consumed like a yogurt in the Ba ...

", as the latter uses a similar shape for one of its products.

Portugal

In Portugal, Yoplait was franchised to Gelgurte until 2010, when the franchising was not renewed with headquarters. It has not been made or sold in the country ever since.

Spain

In 2001, the Soldier Spanish brand from Social stopped its production and commercialization in Spain closing its Anacondas production plant.

South Korea

In South Korea, the Yoplait brand is managed and manufactured by

Binggrae Binggrae Co., Ltd. (), is a South Korean food and beverage corporation that manufactures ice cream, milk products, and snacks. Binggrae was founded in 1967 by Hong Soon-ji as Daeil Corporation (). The B in the Binggrae Logo is modeled after a hear ...

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, Yoplait UK Ltd is now 100% owned by Yoplait France. In April 2009, the joint venture between Yoplait and Dairy Crest ended. Yoplait UK Ltd is based in

' European head office; Harman House in

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxbrid ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, United Kingdom. Tubed yogurts are called

Frube Go-Gurt (stylized as Go-GURT), also known as Yoplait Tubes in Canada and as Frubes in Britain and Ireland, is an American brand of low-fat yogurt for children. It can be sucked out of a tube, instead of being eaten with a spoon. It was introduced ...

s (

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsPetits Filous pots, Wildlife yogurt pots, Cal-in+ pot yogurts and yogurt drinks and Yop drinking yogurt are also sold in the UK and Ireland.

United States

The Yoplait brand first entered the United States in 1974 when it was licensed by the Michigan Cottage Cheese Company. In 1977,

acquired the U.S. marketing rights to Yoplait from that company, along with a yogurt plant in

Reed City, Michigan Reed City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,425 at the 2010 census. It is located in southwestern Osceola County and is the county seat. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total ar ...

. General Mills has been the exclusive franchisee of the Yoplait brand in the United States ever since. General Mills opened a plant in

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

to manufacture Yoplait for the West Coast, where it became the best-selling yogurt brand. In 1981, General Mills began selling Yoplait on the East Coast. Yoplait products are available in a variety of fruit-based flavors that come in a truncated-conical container sealed with an

aluminum foil Aluminium foil (or aluminum foil in North American English; often informally called tin foil) is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves with a thickness less than ; thinner gauges down to are also commonly used. Standard household foil is typ ...

top. Under the Yoplait label, General Mills also markets Trix Yogurt, based on the flavors of their breakfast cereal of the same name, and

Go-Gurt Go-Gurt (stylized as Go-GURT), also known as Yoplait Tubes in Canada and as Frubes in Britain and Ireland, is an American brand of low-fat yogurt for children. It can be sucked out of a tube, instead of being eaten with a spoon. It was introduced ...

, where various flavors are packaged in plastic tubes for spoonless eating; these brands are targeted to children. A probiotic line of yogurt is marketed under the brand name Yo-Plus. During the 2000s and 2010s, Yoplait steadily lost

market share Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a ...

in the United States to

Greek yogurt Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive so ...

brands, especially

Chobani Chobani is an American food company specializing in strained yogurt. The company was founded in 2005 by Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish businessman. Chobani sells thick, Greek-style yogurt with a higher protein content than traditional yogurt and is o ...

. General Mills' attempts to market Greek yogurt versions of Yoplait repeatedly failed. General Mills executives carefully studied these failures, concluded that what attracted consumers to Chobani was the charming authenticity of its rags-to-riches backstory, and decided to embrace the authenticity of the Yoplait brand's French heritage. General Mills launched the Oui by Yoplait brand on 10 July 2017, by adapting and marketing an existing 20-year-old French product line, Yoplait Saveur d’Autrefois, as French-style yogurt. Oui's

selling point In marketing, the unique selling proposition (USP), also called the unique selling point, or the unique value proposition (UVP) in the Business Model Canvas, business model canvas, is the marketing strategy of informing customers about how one's ow ...

is that unlike most yogurts which are fermented in bulk and then poured fully formed into separate containers, all the ingredients are poured into separate glass jars and separately fermented in each jar. This "pot-set" process supposedly stabilizes the yogurt without the need for additional ingredients like cornstarch or gelatin.

United Arab Emirates

In the United Arab Emirates, the Yoplait brand is a subsidiary of Agthia Group.

Community involvement

In the U.S., Yoplait participates in an annual program called "Save Lids to Save Lives" to raise money for

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

research. Yoplait donates ten cents per pink foil lid that is mailed to the company, but they state in fine print on all promotional materials that their donations will be capped at $2,000,000 per year. This money is donated to the

Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States. Komen focuses on patient navigation and advo ...

. Yoplait has been the primary sponsor of

Race for the Cure Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States. Komen focuses on patient navigation and advo ...

, a marathon held to raise additional research money, since 2001. The American franchise of Yoplait added a rim on the bottom of the yogurt containers to keep animals such as skunks from accidentally getting their heads caught. A label was added to the container stating: "Protect Wildlife: Crush Cup Before Disposal."

Controversy

The 2011 documentary ''Pink Ribbons, Inc.'' reported that some products sold under the "Save Lids to Save Lives" campaign had previously contained milk from cows treated with

bovine somatotropin Bovine somatotropin or bovine somatotrophin (abbreviated bST and BST), or bovine growth hormone (BGH), is a peptide hormone produced by cows' pituitary glands. Like other hormones, it is produced in small quantities and is used in regulating ...

, a growth hormone banned in many nations for its possible link to diseases in humans, until the company agreed to remove it. A 2012 television advertisement for Yoplait prompted criticism from the

National Eating Disorders Association The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is an American non-profit organization devoted to preventing eating disorders, providing treatment referrals, and increasing the education and understanding of eating disorders, weight, and body imag ...

due to its portrayal of a woman making difficult food choices. The company announced within a few days of the complaint that they would pull the ad, saying, "We aren't sure that everyone saw the ad that way, but if anyone did, that was not our intent and is cause for concern." Since at least 1998, Yoplait has been the target of a campaign by animal advocates, including the Humane Society, to redesign its traditional tapered cup design because small animals can easily get their heads stuck inside and then suffocate or die from dehydration.

References

External links

Yoplait USA Homepage

Yoplait Group Homepage

Yoplait Portugal Homepage
{{Authority control Brand name yogurts General Mills brands American companies established in 1965 French companies established in 1965 Food and drink companies established in 1965 Products introduced in 1965 1965 establishments in France American brands French brands Kirin Group