The new year health drive usually ensures the chilled yogurts and pot desserts category gets the lion's share of promotional space in chilled cabinets in stores. And so it has proved this year.

Müller led the top five brands last weekend with a whopping 50% of promotional space. The company's relentless pace of activity has seen its share of promotional space grow year-on-year from 39% in 2006 to 43% at the end of 2007. And if the start of 2008 is anything to go by, it looks set to maintain its stronghold.

It wasn't having things all its own way though. Danone almost doubled its average level of activity, taking 33% share of promotional space with its Activia and Actimel yoghurts and yoghurt drinks. Last year, it averaged at just 16% of space.

However, it has a lot of ground to make up, having maintained third place in the top five chart for the past two years but reduced its share by two percentage points from its 18% in 2006 to 16% in 2007.

Third place, and a long way off the top two last weekend, was Nestlé with just 8% of activity. Nestlé retained its second place position overall at the end of 2007, but its share of space dropped five percentage points from 27% to 22%.

The last two brands in the top five chart last weekend were Yoplait and Weightwatchers, each with a 4% share.Yoplait finished last year's top five promotion activity chart in fourth place with 15% of activity, up from seventh in 2006.

WeightWatchers has maintained a steady level of activity over the past two years, remaining in eighth place in the end-of-year results for 2007 and 2006, despite its share of space dropping one percentage point during that period.

As you would expect during a month of increased interest in health and diet, the combined promotional offers across all WeightWatchers products put the brand in fifth place in the top five overall branded activity chart last weekend with a 16% share of the activity.

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