Yoplait has kicked off the new year with two new reformulated recipes on its kid’s yoghurt brands, Petits Filous and Frubes, to lower the sugar content.
Since 2015, Yoplait has improved the health credentials of its kids’ portfolio by reducing sugars by 25%.
“Petits Filous and Frubes are well-established and much-loved brands, so it’s critical we take a gradual approach to our sugar reduction, and we have done so without resorting to adding thickeners, sweeteners, processed fibres or flavours, but our Mission is also to educate about the nutritional value of fortified kids’ yoghurts and bring lost consumers back into the category,” said Antoine Hours, General Manager of Yoplait UK.
“Last year, we launched a report which highlighted that over one million children in the UK were at risk of poor development and growth because they were lacking key nutrients such as Vitamin D, Calcium and Iodine, all of which are found in fortified kids’ yoghurts. We outlined a ten-year decline in consumption of kids yoghurts and alarmingly, our insights showed that parents were switching from kids’ yoghurts into biscuits, cakes and confectionary.”
Yoplait noted that the yoghurts and dairy desserts category contributes a small, 4.5% of the daily free sugar intake of 4-10-year-olds, and in contrast, more than 50% of free sugars in this age group comes from confectionary, cakes/biscuits and sugar-sweetened drinks, all of which are low in essential nutrients.
Yoplait stated that it will continue with its education and awareness campaign into 2025. Petits Filous is this month rolling out a new look which dials up the health credentials of the brand with a focus on bone health, and Frubes is running an on-pack promotion offering a family trip to Japan, a first for the kids’ yoghurt category.
“If we are able to re-educate about the positive nutritional benefits, showcase our brands to consumers and encourage them to switch back, we have identified a potential £150m sales opportunity for retailers over the next five years,” concluded Hours.
