US dairy group Borden Dairy and Mexico's Grupo Lala have teamed up to launch a line of Greek yoghurts and Greek smoothies.
The yoghurts come in strawberry, mixed berry, peach, coconut and pineapple flavors. The smoothies are available in three varieties – strawberry, peach and mango.
Kristen Williams, brand manager for the Lala brand at Borden Dairy, said the companies were targeting US consumers eating on-the-go but who were still interested in flavour and health.
"One in five Americans regularly eats on the run, but people don't want to sacrifice flavour or nutrition," Williams said.
She said Greek yoghurt was "one of America's favourite protein-packed snacks". Borden Dairy cited data from IRI that it said showed Greek lines accounted for 50% of yoghurt sales in 2014, up from 5% in 2009.
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However, some industry watchers have recently pointed to growth in Greek yoghurt slowing in recent quarters. Euromonitor estimates sales increased 13% in 2014 but that was down on the 37% growth seen in 2013.
Desiree Johnson, director of marketing at Borden Dairy for the Lala brand, was sanguine about the recent performance of the category.
"Sales often rise and fall in various categories, yoghurt is no exception. However, at Lala we continue to enjoy strong sales. Given that Lala is the longtime US leader in the drinkable yoghurt category, we have extremely loyal customers. There’s no doubt that the consumer trend toward healthier eating options is here to stay. Greek yoghurt fits well with these consumer trends," Johnson said. "Our Lala Greek yoghurt, served in convenient cups, contains twice the calcium as other leading Greek brands. Furthermore, Lala Greek is made with real fruit, and has no artificial colours, no artificial flavours and no high fructose corn syrup."
Williams added the Greek smoothies are the "first drinkable Greek dairy product available nationwide" and pointed to Lala's position as the "longtime US leader in drinkable yoghurt".
