MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills, Inc., is launching a new line of Yoplait yogurt with flavors inspired by the three most popular Girl Scout Cookie varieties.
New Yoplait Whips! Girl Scouts Thin Mints, Yoplait Whips! Girl Scouts Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Yoplait Original Girl Scouts Caramel Coconut yogurts are gluten-free, made with live and active cultures and contain no high-fructose corn syrup. The Thin Mints and Peanut Butter Chocolate varieties will be available in 4-oz cups, and the Caramel Coconut flavor will be available in 6-oz cups.
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| Doug Martin, business unit director for Yoplait |
“For those who wish they had more ways to enjoy their favorite chocolate mint, peanut butter chocolate, and caramel coconut flavors, we have three delicious, new yogurts inspired by America’s most popular Girl Scout Cookie flavors,” said Doug Martin, business unit director for Yoplait. “Yoplait’s Girl Scout Cookie-inspired yogurts are smooth and creamy with an instantly recognizable cookie taste.”
The new yogurt marks the second product General Mills has developed in tandem with Girl Scouts of the USA. In January, the company debuted Girl Scout Cookie-inspired cereals in Thin Mints and Caramel Crunch varieties.
The Yoplait Girl Scout Cookie yogurt line is a permanent, year-round addition to the Yoplait portfolio, General Mills said. The innovation falls in line with the company’s plans to reinvigorate its struggling yogurt segment.
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| Jeff Harmening, c.e.o. of General Mills |
“We were down 20% at the beginning of the year,” said Jeff Harmening, chief executive officer of General Mills, during a Nov. 14 presentation at the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer & Retail Conference. “And now, we’re down 11%.”
What helped General Mills gain back some of that ground was other innovation in the category over the past few months, Mr. Harmening said. The company introduced Oui by Yoplait in June and Yoplait Mix-Ins in July, both of which have seen success. The Oui by Yoplait line in particular has exceeded the company’s expectations, Mr. Harmening said, and is on track to be the biggest launch in the yogurt category in the past five years.
