Yoplait Copes With Sales Drop Amidst Greek Yogurt Mania

Back in 2008, things were different in the yogurt aisle: Chobani hadn’t yet stirred up consumer tastes with its thick Greek-style yogurts, and Yoplait, owned by General Mills, had more than a third of the market. Since then, consumers have gone Greek yogurt-mad, and Yoplait isn’t selling as well, now comprising less than a quarter of the market. How is Yoplait coping? By selling its own version of Greek yogurt, of course.

Yoplait’s own version of Greek yogurt trails behind brands that got there first, like Chobani and the Oikos line from Dannon. While the brand has lost sales (just like its breakfast pals and fellow General Mills products, cereals) the Wall Street Journal reports that it recovered some of those lost sales by changing its products: its Greek yogurt products no longer have “thickeners,” and they’ve phased high fructose corn syrup out of sweetened yogurt packages.

One odd new product that will hit the market soon will be Greek yogurt “whips,” which will be a lighter, less dense version of Greek yogurt. Isn’t that… regular yogurt? No, the head of the Yoplait division assures the WSJ. “Greek just means higher protein to most people,” he says. Will these “whips” actually have more protein? Maybe that doesn’t matter: just slap the word “Greek” on a yogurt container and people will buy it.

General Mills Whips Yoplait Into Shape [Wall Street Journal]

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