Premium yoghurt brand The Collective is launching a range of adult yoghurt pouches linked to different need states and usage occasions, as part of a slew of NPD for September.
Available in multiple fruit-based flavours, the brand’s range of six live yoghurt pouches – described as a first for the UK – are made up of Immunity, Kickstart, Restore, Invigorate, Gut Feel and Uplift variants, with Uplift also available in dairy-free.
Priced at £1.50 per 130g pouch, the yoghurts contain ingredients that aid each need state. For example, the Immunity variant mixes cherry and açaí with live yoghurt and is high in vitamin C and vitamin D. The Gut Feel variant, meanwhile, mixes kefir yoghurt and a hint of vanilla and includes 14 strains of live cultures. It contains no added sugar and is a source of fibre.
The full range consists of:
Immunity: cherry and acai Greek-style yoghurt, high in vitamin C and vitamin D
Kickstart: British oats and whole grains, blended with blueberry and raspberry natural yoghurt, high in vitamin D, live cultures and a source of fibre
Restore: apple, kiwi and spirulina natural yoghurt, a source of protein, high in vitamin D and a source of calcium for muscle repair
Invigorate: passion fruit and energy-boosting ginseng natural yoghurt with vitamin D and calcium
Gut Feel: kefir yoghurt with a hint of vanilla to support gut health, with billions of live cultures (14 strains) and a source of fibre, no added sugar
Uplift: peach & raspberry Greek-style yoghurt, or a dairy-free peach and vanilla version
Each pouch has under 7g/100g sugar and under 100kcal.
The HFSS-compliant pouches go on sale nationally next week, with Sainsbury’s stocking the whole range and carrying the Restore and Invigorate variants exclusively. Morrisons, Tesco and Ocado will also stock selected pouches.
The launch of the new range follows The Collective’s first move into adult pouches with its Greek-style variant in January and was part of a major push for growth by the brand, with a strong emphasis on healthier snacking, said marketing director Tor Hunt-Taylor.
Similar adult-focused pouches were popular in Australia and the Netherlands, she added, with The Collective identifying a market growth opportunity worth potentially £56m.
“Yoghurt is the ideal snack as it is inherently nutritious, healthy and tasty, but its traditional pot format means it is quite inconvenient to eat beyond the four walls of your home,” Hunt-Taylor said.
“And with so many offerings lacking in flavour or full of artificial ingredients, yoghurt often gets a bad reputation for being boring. It was time to bring something completely new to market and breathe fresh life into the category.”
Other brands in the UK focused purely on protein yoghurt pouches designed for gym-goers, she said. “But we believe yoghurt has a bigger role to play in healthier snacking and should be a go-to option for a much broader set of consumers, with a wider set of health interests through their week.”
The brand’s focus “had always been to fuel the mind, body and soul, using the highest quality ingredients, without anything artificial, whilst leading on taste”, she added. “Yoghurt is an overlooked superfood, but we want to change this and make it a go-to healthier snack choice.”
It comes as The Collective has also moved to challenge the likes of Müller and its Corner brand with its first-ever split pot yoghurt range, designed for children.
The brand’s new Mixers, available in Poppin’ Choco (made from live vanilla yoghurt with brownie bits, puffed rice pops and popping candy) and Crunchin’ Strawb (made with strawberry yoghurt with biscuit bites and strawberries), launch into Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Waitrose in September.
The NPD (rsp: £1.50/100g pot) offered “a healthier alternative to existing split pots” on the market, Hunt-Taylor said, with each variant containing 30% less sugar than the market average.
“We’ve spoken to hundreds of parents about what they want when shopping snacks for their kids between or after meals, and it is a combination of super taste, health and convenience,” she added.
“Current split pots on the market are fun and interactive, but tend to be high in sugar and low in nutritional value. No split pot on the UK market fully delivers what both parents and children want, and so we wanted to create something with both lip-smackin’ taste and high excitement levels but also in a healthier way, making it an easier choice for parents versus what many five to nine-year-olds currently choose.”
Both launches will be featured in an upcoming through-the-line brand campaign this autumn.
Elsewhere, the brand has also expanded its Suckies kids’ yoghurt pouch range with a new plain yoghurt variant, fortified with vitamin D (rsp: 85p/90g pouch).
The product will go on sale in Tesco and Ocado in September, as a reaction to concerns from parents around ultra-processed foods and a call from Tesco to increase no-added-sugar participation in the kids category, Hunt-Taylor said.
The Collective UK CEO Sarah Smart said: “We’ve identified some clear opportunities within categories in line with current macro trends – namely health and snacking – which sees The Collective’s biggest innovation launches since Suckies and Gourmet entered the market 10-plus years ago.
“We’re delighted with the support of our strategic retail partners in seeing these ranges launch in this September’s range reviews, in parallel to our refreshed masterbrand campaign going live.”
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