The need for jobs in a job-starved America can create some interesting political dynamics. Witness how New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is going out of his way today to praise practically every other politician in the state for having anything to do with bringing new PepsiCo jobs in yogurt-making to upstate — and implicitly thumbling his nose at New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has put PepsiCo on the Most Wanted list with his proposed big-soda ban.

"This is a new New York State, partnering with the private sector to create jobs and grow new industries," Cuomo said in a PepsiCo press release today. He's been notably lauded even by some Republicans for making economic development (tagline: "New York - Open for Business") a priority of his administration, including a high-profile TV campaign promoting economic investments in New York State, with not only PepsiCo but Fage bringing their yogurt works to upstate New York.Continue reading...

It may be too early to say the cola wars are over, although it's clear that PepsiCo is ready and willing to take on another archrival. Following years of competing with Coca-Cola with its array of beverage and snack food brands in the U.S., PepsiCo is now getting into the red-hot yogurt market and adding Dannon to its competitive set.

Faced with a U.S. yogurt market that is more crowded than ever with brands, and demonstrating almost no growth except in the Greek yogurt category, PepsiCo announced Monday that it's introducing a fresh brand to yogurt-loving Americans — and one that isn't focusing on Greek — via a new partnership with the Theo Muller Group, Germany's largest privately held dairy

That's the prospect for Muller Quaker Dairy when it finally enters stores in northeastern and mid-Atlantic states with three lines of yogurt products birthed by the joint venture. Muller Quaker promises "innovative premium" products that aim to create differentiation and taste excitement in a U.S. yogurt category that PepsiCo executives believe is lacking both.

"It's been an 'I gotta have it because it's good for me' kind of a product," Dr. Mehmood Khan, who oversees PepsiCo's global research and development, commented to the New York Times. "The 'wanna have it' was missing."Continue reading...

Just because Chobani has opened up a huge lead in the Greek-style category it invented — and that is reshaping the U.S. yogurt business — doesn't mean that others can't try to chip away. Dannon has grabbed a significant share after sensing the opportunity with Chobani's rapid rise.

Other players, big and small, also are attempting to make more noise and get their stakes of a Greek-style market that has been calculated at about $1.5 billion a year now and still growing by strong double-digits — even coming up in discussions of Greece's Eurozone crisis. Yoplait, Hain Celestial and the Pinkberry chain are among the brands that are making their own plays. Ben & Jerry's just revamped its frozen yogurt line to make Greek Yogurt the basis of the line. Fage and Chobani have a friend in U.S. senator Chuck Schumer.

The most closely watched Greek yogurt brand is Yoplait. The General Mills line, which has shared the top of the U.S. yogurt market with Dannon for many years, got a particularly late start in the Greek segment. But now it's launching 40 new yogurt products, and Greek yogurt will be the centerpiece of that rollout this summer.Continue reading...

Chobani made Greek-style yogurt part of the American food mainstream, and now the brand is trying to stay on top against catch-up efforts by every other major yogurt brand in the land.

Dannon, with its Oikos brand, has managed to join the startup Chobani brand on the top tier of the only category of yogurt consumption that is growing in the U.S. market these days. But the original Greek-yogurt brand in America, Fage, and Yoplait, which also is trying to play catch-up, are fading in their efforts to ride the boom that Chobani created.

Chobani already has become about a $1-billion concern over the past few years and owns nearly 50 percent of the category, according to a recent report by the Sanford Bernstein securities firm. Even after a furious catch-up effort, Dannon USA still has a less-than-20 percent share, and Fage 14 percent, while General Mills' Yoplait brand limps in with just 6 percent.

"We're dealing with some large organizations that aren't as nimble as Chobani," Niel Sandfort, director of marketing for Chobani, told brandchannel. "We're a billion-dollar company but still entrepreneurial. And we're continually investing in our core."Continue reading...

Dannon USA hasn't advertised in the Super Bowl before, but executives of the American arm of France's Groupe Danone know a good Super Bowl ad when they see one.

"It has to be memorable," Michael Newirth, senior director of communications for Dannon USA, told brandchannel. "It tends to have a healthy dose of humor. And usually it's got some element of surprise. And you can expect to see some of all of those in [the ad] we share on February 5."

And actually, Dannon has given a lot away already about what its first-ever ad in the Big Game will entail.Continue reading...

Dannon USA executives have no illusions about Super Bowl party hosts clearing away the corn chips, savory spreads, sausage, beer and other decidedly nutrition-challenged fare from millions of tables across America on the day of the Big Game to make room for anything healthy — including yogurt.

But one of America's Big Two yogurt brands has decided to take a flyer anyway by buying commercial time during the Super Bowl. For the first time, Dannon will be advertising some of its nutritional yogurt brands and products alongside the Coca-Colas, Doritos, Budweisers and other snacktastic brands that traditionally have dominated game advertising.

The simple reason? It's time. "When we look at the U.S. as the world's single largest economy and the fact that yogurt is so under-represented in the American diet, and we think about what's the best way for us to bring the better-for-you message and food choices to a large population base, the Super Bowl is an avenue we haven't yet explored," Michael Neuwirth, Dannon's senior director of public relations, told brandchannel.Continue reading...

While America was busy looking for the birth certificate, watching the royal wedding, and celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden, a quiet revolution was taking place. After years and years of dominance by brands such as Dannon and Yoplait, the yogurt category came to be owned, seemingly overnight, by Chobani. In fact, Chobani's rise to become the best selling yogurt brand in the US was so fast, the brand is facing a whole new challenge.Continue reading...

Americans are having a love affair with Greek yogurt.

Nielsen reported last October that, "Despite the 121% higher average equivalized price of Greek yogurt compared to non-Greek yogurt, sales continue to sky rocket. Over the past 52 weeks ending October 2, 2010, Greek yogurt dollar and unit sales are up 160% and 203% respectively, while non-Greek yogurt dollar and unit sales are up 3% and 1%."

Nielsen attributes the popularity of Greek yogurt to health, convenience, and taste. So get ready for the Greek yogurt brands to start fighting it out for superiority. Agro Farma's Chobani, the top seller in the U.S., spent only $209,000 to advertise the brand in 2009. Now the company is launching an estimated $13 million integrated media campaign.Continue reading...