Go-Gurt is an American brand of yogurt marketed to children.[1] It is squeezed out of a tube directly into the mouth, instead of being eaten with a spoon. It was introduced by General Mills' licensed Yoplait in 1999.
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Anthropologist Susan Squires claims that her ethnographic research in U.S. American families has led her client to the development of Go-Gurt.[2]
In June 2006, frubes Fizzix', a carbonated yogurt snack, was released under the Yoplait brand. This "sparkling yogurt" was originally developed by Lynn Ogden, a professor in the College of Life Sciences at Brigham Young University (BYU), in 1983. Ogden obtained a patent in 1997 and finally found an interested licensor at General Mills in 2006. BYU receives 55% of the royalties, which will go toward BYU's mentoring program and research, while Ogden receives the rest.[3][4] Fizzix was available in six flavors, but appears to have been discontinued - http://www.gogurtfizzix.com/ now redirects to http://www.gogurt.com, which is only a placeholder as of 8/12/2011.
In 2005, frubes Smoothie, a drinkable yogurt for children was released.[5] The product currently comes in four flavors: Strawberry Splash, Paradise Punch, Mango Blast, and Wild Berry.[6]
Outside of the U.S., Go-Gurt is sold as Yoplait Tubes in Canada and as Frubes in the United Kingdom (with the tagline, "Frubes! Rip their heads off and suck their guts out!"). It was introduced in Japan as グルト (guruto) in March 2010. The name is a play on words as it evokes the sound of gulping a liquid and incorporates part of the Japanese transliteration of yogurt, ヨーグルト (yo-guruto).
A limited edition in 2009 had 2 flavors represented by cavepeople reminiscent of the Flintstones. Besides the 'tub' in their names, they would be Lulu and Ook.[7]
Some specially marked packages had a form where you could send in for a Tube Chiller with 2 UPCs. Offer expired 6/3/2011.[8]
Newer packages include a Tube Roller for rolling the tube up.[9]
Susan Squires and Bryan Byrne: Creating Breakthrough Ideas: The Collaboration of Anthropologists and Designers in the Product Development Industry. 2002. 239 pages.