by Sam Lteif
July marks an exciting month for PepsiCo. After extensive consumer research, market analysis, strategic planning, and innovative product development, PepsiCo will be entering the U.S. dairy market for the first time with a European-style premium yogurt portfolio through a joint venture with German based dairy company Theo Müller Group. Müller is known throughout Europe for making quality, delicious and unique dairy products, and there is no better partner PepsiCo could have in order to meet U.S. consumer demand for premium yogurt.
PepsiCo already holds a strong position in the global dairy business with the acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann in Russia and a successful joint venture with Almarai in Saudi Arabia.
Despite recent growth in the US yogurt category, the US market represents a fantastic opportunity given that Americans still consume less than half of what Europeans do per capita. We have learned that US consumers are looking for new yogurt experiences that deliver on taste and pleasure while still benefitting from healthy profile. To this end, we are thrilled to launch this month an amazing range of delicious Mϋller yogurts that are certain to delight consumers.
The new joint venture, officially named Muller Quaker Dairy, will begin rolling out our delicious, new yogurt line in supermarkets and club retail outlets throughout the Northeast U.S. Our portfolio will include: Müller Corner, Müller Greek Corner and Müller FrütUp. Both Müller Corner lines will feature a twin chamber cup with delicious fruit, nut or granola toppings in one corner that you can flip, stir or dip with our wonderful creamy yogurt, while the Müller FrütUp line offers a completely unique experience that features smooth and creamy yogurt on the bottom with a delicious fruit mousse on top!
In addition, a new, state-of-the-art yogurt manufacturing plant is currently under construction in upstate New York. Once completed in 2013, it will be one of the largest yogurt plants in the U.S. and will extend our distribution capabilities to other parts of the country.
I had an opportunity to speak with the New York Times about this outstanding new venture… read about it here: http://nyti.ms/MQR2Rq.
