You would think that a general public fazed by the meaning of the little red tractor and other such assurance marks would baulk utterly at the designation Lactobacillus casei Shirota.
But functional dairy is booming, particularly probiotic drinks, with a success curve mirroring that of bottled water.
Sainsbury says: "Sales of probiotic chilled drinks have seen tremendous year-on-year growth in JS, and we will continue to drive this added value category."
Yakult, a skimmed milk fermented drink from Japan, got the ball rolling in British probiotics, and the momentum is being kept up. This April the British arm brought out a Light version of its friendly bacteria.
"It was slow growth for us until 2000 when it really accelerated," says Yakult UK's Jim Munday. "This year we have seen the highest sales ever, running at around £23m pa. Light is now doing very well in Tesco and Morrisons and has now gone into Sainsbury, and we expect the others to join in. Light was launched in response to consumer demand. Yakult is a drink you either like or you don't. It is like Marmite. Some people found it too sweet here, though, so we decided to come up with something less sweet tasting."
As for the ferocious competition in probiotics, Munday says: "In some ways this has helped us. Other companies have brought in more consumers and that has benefited us as well because it all helps with the enormous education job required, especially when the British are squeamish about talking about digestion."
Yakult, though, is a drink with benefits for everyone, with the majority in the 35+ bracket but an increasing popularity in the 16-22 trendy set. And what is the potential of Yakult in the long run? "Look at the Japanese market where you see 200 products produced by our parent company, from food through to pharmaceutical and even cosmetics. It has been discovered the bacteria in Yakult are beneficial to the complexion. So for the UK I would just say, watch this space," says Munday.
Yakult is riding the trend of dairy products entering the nutriceutical realm, an arena in which Ireland's Glanbia has much faith. Glanbia is reinventing itself as a company focusing on nutrition, with most of its developments in the US field at present, but likely to head to the UK eventually. It sees the future of dairy as a new type of nutrition, occupying the middle ground between healthy food and pharmaceuticals.
Take Yoplait Petits Filous, made in this country by Dairy Crest. On Irish shelves you will find Yoplait Petits Filous with added calcium, manufactured by Glanbia.
Its probiotic drink Everybody has done well in Ireland (where it has met with vigorous rivalry from Danone's Actimel). It comes in the apparently regulation curvaceous little bottle and, unlike its UK counterparts, is adorned with a striking 15' Â boasting an added 15 vitamins and minerals. But Everybody also contains LGG Â "the most clinically researched probiotic in the world".
The goal at Glanbia is to merge creative thinking with new food concepts engineered at its virtual Innovation Factory. Glanbia's aspiration is for new formulations such as its proprietary Provon, a refined whey protein, Bioferrin, a bioactive protein faction, and Trucal, to one day be as familiar as vitamin C and calcium.
Glanbia has a considerable track record in producing high added value whey products such as proteins, calcium, lactoferrin and components for infant formula, and the UK is a target, despite the competition. The milk mineral complex Trucal won a major award from the International Dairy Foods Association for creative marketing in the US.
Says director of communications Michael Patten: "This is the whole new mega trend  functional food products that match a need for health and wellness.
"The nutrition trend is coming our way and it is unstoppable. Globally Glanbia is determined to become a leader in understanding how we incorporate nutritional products into dairy. In the past we were no better than anyone else but we have upped our capability. And the future of dairy is intellectual capital."
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But functional dairy is booming, particularly probiotic drinks, with a success curve mirroring that of bottled water.
Sainsbury says: "Sales of probiotic chilled drinks have seen tremendous year-on-year growth in JS, and we will continue to drive this added value category."
Yakult, a skimmed milk fermented drink from Japan, got the ball rolling in British probiotics, and the momentum is being kept up. This April the British arm brought out a Light version of its friendly bacteria.
"It was slow growth for us until 2000 when it really accelerated," says Yakult UK's Jim Munday. "This year we have seen the highest sales ever, running at around £23m pa. Light is now doing very well in Tesco and Morrisons and has now gone into Sainsbury, and we expect the others to join in. Light was launched in response to consumer demand. Yakult is a drink you either like or you don't. It is like Marmite. Some people found it too sweet here, though, so we decided to come up with something less sweet tasting."
As for the ferocious competition in probiotics, Munday says: "In some ways this has helped us. Other companies have brought in more consumers and that has benefited us as well because it all helps with the enormous education job required, especially when the British are squeamish about talking about digestion."
Yakult, though, is a drink with benefits for everyone, with the majority in the 35+ bracket but an increasing popularity in the 16-22 trendy set. And what is the potential of Yakult in the long run? "Look at the Japanese market where you see 200 products produced by our parent company, from food through to pharmaceutical and even cosmetics. It has been discovered the bacteria in Yakult are beneficial to the complexion. So for the UK I would just say, watch this space," says Munday.
Yakult is riding the trend of dairy products entering the nutriceutical realm, an arena in which Ireland's Glanbia has much faith. Glanbia is reinventing itself as a company focusing on nutrition, with most of its developments in the US field at present, but likely to head to the UK eventually. It sees the future of dairy as a new type of nutrition, occupying the middle ground between healthy food and pharmaceuticals.
Take Yoplait Petits Filous, made in this country by Dairy Crest. On Irish shelves you will find Yoplait Petits Filous with added calcium, manufactured by Glanbia.
Its probiotic drink Everybody has done well in Ireland (where it has met with vigorous rivalry from Danone's Actimel). It comes in the apparently regulation curvaceous little bottle and, unlike its UK counterparts, is adorned with a striking 15' Â boasting an added 15 vitamins and minerals. But Everybody also contains LGG Â "the most clinically researched probiotic in the world".
The goal at Glanbia is to merge creative thinking with new food concepts engineered at its virtual Innovation Factory. Glanbia's aspiration is for new formulations such as its proprietary Provon, a refined whey protein, Bioferrin, a bioactive protein faction, and Trucal, to one day be as familiar as vitamin C and calcium.
Glanbia has a considerable track record in producing high added value whey products such as proteins, calcium, lactoferrin and components for infant formula, and the UK is a target, despite the competition. The milk mineral complex Trucal won a major award from the International Dairy Foods Association for creative marketing in the US.
Says director of communications Michael Patten: "This is the whole new mega trend  functional food products that match a need for health and wellness.
"The nutrition trend is coming our way and it is unstoppable. Globally Glanbia is determined to become a leader in understanding how we incorporate nutritional products into dairy. In the past we were no better than anyone else but we have upped our capability. And the future of dairy is intellectual capital."
{{Z SUPPLEMENTS }}
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