Yoplait

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Yoplait
Type
Founded 1965
Headquarters France
Website [1]

Yoplait (pronounced yo-play, or yop-lay depending on native dialects[citation needed]) is a company owned by two French holdings, SODIAAL and PAI Management, and is the second best selling brand in dairy products.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] History

In 1964, over 100,000 French farmers merged their regional dairy co-operatives in order to sell their product on a national level. In 1965, two of these co-ops, "Yola" and "Coplait", decided to merge, becoming "Yoplait". The logo they chose was a six-petaled flower, each petal representing one of the six main co-operatives that founded the company.[citation needed]

The development of this brand was based on the dynamics of local entrepreneurs, to which the brand is franchised. In 1969, the first franchise was allowed in Switzerland.[citation needed] Yoplait is now present in almost 50 countries in the world. In Australia, National Foods is the sole franchisee; whilst In the United States, General Mills;

In 2002, SODIAAL, a group of dairy co-operatives sold 50% of the firm to PAI Management, a private equity fund.

[edit] Organization

Yoplait brands are sold by franchisees around the world:

In the United States, General Mills is a franchisee of this brand of pre-stirred yogurt. Products are available in a variety of fruit-based flavors that comes in a nearly cylindrical container sealed with an aluminum foil top. The yogurt is described on its company's homepage as being: "delicious blended creaminess." Another tagline, used in an early 1990s TV ad campaign asked consumers, "Why dip a spoon into anything less?"

In Canada, Ultima Foods is the franchisee of the brand name of pre-stirred yogurt. Brands include: Minigo, Tubes, Source, Creamy, Delicieux, Yop, Yoplait Basket, Spring Valley and Yoptimal.

In the United Kingdom the Yoplait brand is used by Yoplait Dairy Crest which is a joint venture between UK dairy company Dairy Crest and Yoplait. The Company is 49% owned by Dairy Crest and 51% by Yoplait. Yoplait Dairy Crest is based in Dairy Crest's head office Claygate House in Surrey United Kingdom. The franchise in Norway is held by Fjordland.

In Mexico the Yoplait brand is managed by Sigma Alimentos, and in Chile by Quillayes.

[edit] Yoplait's community involvement

In the U.S., Yoplait participates in an annual program called "Save Lids to Save Lives" to raise money for breast cancer research. Yoplait donates ten cents per foil lid that is mailed to the company. This money is donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, until the maximum donation of 1.2 million dollars is reached.

In addition to this, Yoplait has been the primary sponsor of Race for the Cure, a marathon held to raise additional research money, since 2001.

[edit] The skunk scandal

In response to protests from PETA, the American franchise of Yoplait added a rim on the bottom of the yogurt container. The reason is that the former container design was just large enough to allow a skunk's head to enter the tapered top of the container. The head would then be trapped by the thick hair on the skunk's head, which would catch on the top inside rim of the container. Because the tapered container is the identifying feature of the Yoplait packaging, this aspect could not be changed. The bottom rim is designed to enable the skunk to push the container off its head with its feet, if it gets caught. Additionally, the container was changed to say, "Protect Wildlife: Crush Cup Before Disposal." This refers obliquely (and tactfully, as skunks are seen as somewhat unpleasant creatures due to their odor) to skunks, whose heads are typically the size and shape that can be caught in the container.[1][2]


[edit] Yoplait and Web 2.0

In 2008, Yoplait decided to launch one of the first French Corporate blogs: www.bravolapetitefleur.com, named after the famous brand's logo.

[edit] Current flavors in the United States

[edit] All flavors in the United States

Please note that many of these flavors are not made anymore.

  • Taranchala Mix

[edit] Yo-Plus

Yoplait introduced a new yogurt product in 2008 for digestive health that contains prebiotics and probiotics which comes in a number of flavors.

[edit] See also

  • Danone (known in the U.S. as Dannon), another popular yogurt brand.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Skunk Stink!(Yoplait container hazard)", Science World, 1999-01-11. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. 
  2. ^ "Death by Yoplait Containers", Protect Wildlife. Retrieved on 2007-06-24. 

[edit] External links