- The organic dairy desserts bandwagon keeps rolling. Last year it grew by almost a third to £39m, led by Yeo Valley Organic, the biggest brand. This year Yeo predicts organic yogurt sales will top £48m. "It's being driven by growing demand for organic food and strong brands," says marketing director Ben Cull. The company is spending £1m on its first national consumer advertising campaign and has a heavy programme of new product launches this year. - Sales of Benecol functional yogurt are growing each month as consumers learn about its cholesterol lowering effects, says McNeil Consumer Nutritionals. Each 150g pot contains sufficient plant stenol ­ the active ingredient ­ for one of the recommended two to three daily servings needed to benefit from Benecol's cholesterol reducing properties. - Arla Foods is strengthening its presence in organic desserts and dairy foods with a £2m marketing campaign that includes a new cinema commercial for its Harmonie Organic yogurt and fromage frais range. Senior brand manager Laurent Ponty says the campaign is designed to attract mainstream consumers to the organic sector. - Desserts don't have to be dairy based to be a success. Alpro, which supplies the soya based Provamel brand, says the dairy free yogurt sector is growing 19% year on year led by its Yofu range. Alpro is now extending the Provamel range with the launch of vanilla flavoured fresh desserts in organic raspberry and chocolate flavours, while Yofu yogurt has new 500g pot versions of strawberry and organic summer fruits flavours. - First quarter 2001 sales of Total Greek yogurt look set to outstrip last year's 30% volume uplift, according to distributor Gordan Conrad. "Since we concentrated on increasing brand awareness and distancing the Total brand from Greek-style imitations, sales have increased significantly," says managing director Gordon Conrad. Last year's campaign included product endorsement from celebrity cooks Delia Smith and Nigella Lawson, plus an on-pack offer for a free newsletter, now distributed to 30,000 consumers, designed to increase brand loyalty. Total Honey Twinpot is set for a boost this year with a press advertising campaign in May timed to coincide with the release of the film version of Captain Corelli's Mandolin (set on a Greek island). - Rachel's Organic Dairy, now part of one of America's top organic milk producers Horizon Organic Dairy, plans further expansion of its Welsh production site to meet its huge rise in sales over the last two years. In January alone the company says it sold more than 400,000 pots in Sainsbury's. Fuelling sales is the acclaim its products have received in taste tests in women's consumer magazines last year. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}

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