Starbucks To Start Selling Yogurt

The July edition of The Business Review USA is now live!

Starbucks will be spooning up America’s fastest growing snack very soon. USA Today reported that the Company is partnering with French yogurt maker Danone to create yogurt products labeled with Evolution Fresh, one of Starbuck iconic brands.

The coffee giant plans to make ready-to-eat Greek yogurt parfaits as the first co-created product. Greek yogurt is strained to remove the excess whey, giving it a higher protein content and a thicker feel than regular yogurt.

The yogurt industry rakes in about $6 billion annually, making the sale of yogurt a serious jump for the famous coffee company.  If you look you will see the Starbucks brand is more and more on grocery store shelves.

For the French yogurt maker Danone, “it broadens the Company's presence in the U.S. At 27.9% market share, Danone's Dannon is ahead of General Mills' Yoplait at 24.7%, according to IRI data. Danone also owns the Stonyfield brand,” according to a report by USA Today.

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"With the fast-growing but still low-penetration yogurt category, the U.S. remains a key growth opportunity for Danone," said Danone CEO Franck Riboud, in a statement.

Starbucks' venture into yogurt is a small portion of a strategic plan developed several years ago by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. He plans to develop the nation's principal coffee chain into a better-for-you brand.

USA Today states, “Schultz wants Starbucks products to be as frequently purchased at a grocery store as a Starbucks store.”

"Starbucks is committed to evolving and enhancing our customer experience with innovative and wholesome food offerings," Schultz said in a statement.

The yogurt, dubbed "Evolution Fresh, inspired by Dannon," will be sold in Starbucks stores by 2014 and will hit major grocery stores by 2015.