Yoplait Leverages Heritage Recipe To Bring French Style Yogurt To US

MINNEAPOLIS — Yoplait is inviting Americans to slow down and savor a new style of yogurt this summer. Oui by Yoplait brings French style to the yogurt aisle with a new, thick and creamy offering inspired by a Yoplait traditional French recipe, up until now only available in France. Available in a French-made glass pot, this unique and delicious new yogurt is made with simple ingredients like whole milk, pure cane sugar and real pieces of fruit. Each serving is individually cultured in the same glass pot you eat it from using a traditional pot set process.

Oui by Yoplait is an artisanal yogurt made by pouring ingredients into individual glass pots that set after eight hours creating a unique and delicious texture. It is designed to be spoon cut slowly, not stirred, in order to preserve its satisfyingly thick, subtly sweet and fresh taste.

"We wanted to bring something special to our U.S. consumers – something we have been enjoying during visits with our French colleagues for many years, but hard to replicate in large quantities here in the U.S.," said David Clark, president of U.S. Yogurt at General Mills. "Oui by Yoplait introduces an entirely new category of yogurt to the U.S. using a recipe that has been enjoyed for decades in France."

French Style Yogurt
The Oui by Yoplait recipe is inspired by Yoplait's Saveur d'Autrefois (English translation: "taste of yesteryear"), which is sold in France.  

The method for making French style yogurt differs greatly from the standard U.S. yogurt making process. Instead of culturing the ingredients in large batches and then filling individual cups with fully prepared yogurt, Oui by Yoplait is made by pouring ingredients into each individual pot, and allowing each glass pot to culture for eight hours, resulting in a uniquely thick, delicious yogurt.

While rare in the U.S., glass pots are often used for yogurt in France to protect the delicate texture of French style yogurt. Glass is rigid and helps maintain the yogurt's integrity, and enables the yogurt to stabilize without the use of added corn starch or gelatin. The glass pots also offer endless opportunities for creative and crafty upcycling.

"I grew up in France eating yogurt cultured in a pot and have fond memories of this simple, French style way of making delicious, fresh-tasting yogurt," said Brice LeRoy, product developer, General Mills. "I'm honored to be part of the team that breathed new life into this heritage Yoplait recipe, giving Americans something refreshingly new in the yogurt aisle."

Oui by Yoplait
Oui by Yoplait is made with simple, non-GMO ingredients like whole milk, pure cane sugar, real fruit and yogurt cultures. It contains no artificial preservatives, no artificial flavors and no colors from artificial sources.

Eight flavor varieties are available, including Strawberry, Blueberry, Black Cherry, Vanilla, Coconut, Lemon, Peach and Plain.

The Plain variety is made with only two ingredients – whole milk and yogurt cultures. The remaining flavors each contain eight or fewer total ingredients. The fruit flavors include real fruit at the bottom of the pot with the intention of adding a small amount of fruit to each bite without stirring the yogurt and disrupting the thick texture.

Oui by Yoplait will be available in major grocery and retail stores nationwide beginning in July. The suggested retail price for all flavors is $1.49. The Strawberry and Vanilla flavors are also available in four count packages at a suggested retail price of $4.78.

About General Mills

General Mills is a leading global food company that serves the world by making food people love. Its brands include Cheerios, Annie's, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2016 consolidated net sales of US $16.6 billion, as well as another US $1.0 billion from its proportionate share of joint-venture net sales.

Source: General Mills