The Miami-based firm's 12oz (355ml) Powerful Yogurt Drink contains 20g of protein - mirroring levels found its Greek yogurt offering, which contains between 21g and 25g of protein, and its recently launched Powerful Yogurt Bars.
Powerful Yogurt Drink, made with natural flavors, natural ingredients, and the brand's popular high-protein Greek yogurt, will be a "unique offering in the marketplace," according to Carlos Ramirez, the company's founder and CEO.
“We’re unique in that we’re harnessing two consumer demands – hunger for Greek yogurt and demand for high protein products in an on-the-go, drinkable form,” Ramirez exclusively told DairyReporter.com.
Powerful Yogurt began responding to retailer requests for samples and is ready to accept orders. It expects the product, available in chocolate, vanilla maple, and blueberry acai variations, to hit shelves in fall 2014.
While "literally fresh off the press", Ramirez and his team expect that “interest will be high” in the range.
“Here at the office we can’t get enough of them, which is always a good barometer,” he said.
“Unique offering”
The nutritional profile of Powerful Yogurt Drink, ideal for "either pre- or post-workout fuel" or as "an energy boost at any time of day", will also "set it apart" from other high-protein drinks already on the market, said Ramirez.
“If you look closely at some of the protein drinks out there, you see quickly that most are packed with unnatural ingredients and lots of sugar – they basically aren’t much better than soda,” he said.
“Our drink is 100% natural and offers a nutrition panel that we’re really proud of and that we know will resonate with today’s well-informed consumer.”
“We always work to balance high natural protein content with great taste, and we've achieved both with the drink formula."
"Repositioned the brand"
When it launched in the US in March 2013, Powerful Yogurt was the country’s first Greek yogurt targeted specifically at men.
The company said at the time that it was formulated to “help men build muscle, burn fat, and improve digestive health.”
Less than 18 months on, Powerful Yogurt has made efforts to move away from its initial focus.
“We actually launched the brand with a specific focus on the male market, but response from women who also wanted high-protein, all-natural product for their active lifestyle has been so strong that we repositioned the brand in January of this year,” said Ramirez.
“We’re now focused on the active lifestyle consumer segment as a whole – a group that is constantly growing and that every retailer wants to capture.”
Looking ahead, Ramirez hopes that within the next 12 months the company will develop its international footprint and that "it will be the norm" for stores in the US to carry not one but three Powerful Yogurt products.
“We always have big plans in place – we have a start-up appetite that keeps us hungry and nimble,” he said.
“We are very committed to our UK and Ireland launch and have other international interests as well, so the international footprint of the brand will be developed in the next 12 months. Of course, we are constantly talking with consumers and retailers to get ahead of the product demand curve, so we have a few additional product ideas in the pipeline," he added.