Wegmans Gets On Trend With Greek Yogurt

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September 20, 2011

Greek yogurt is enjoying a moment in the spotlight and now Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans is introducing six varieties under the “Food You Feel Good About” brand.

“We’ve been working a couple of years on creating an authentic Greek yogurt,” said Wegmans Category Merchant Joe LoMaglio. “We strain the yogurt for that thick, creamy texture, just as Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries have done for centuries. Not all Greek yogurts are strained like ours. We’re proud of what we came up with and we were eager to find out what others thought. We asked some customers who buy Greek yogurt if they’d like to compare brands in a blind taste test. The majority of tasters picked the Wegmans Greek Yogurt as their favorite over a leading national brand.”

Sales of strained yogurt are outpacing other dairy products, nearly doubling each year for the past five years. In 2006, annual sales of the dairy product were $60 million but are expected to top $1.5 billion by the end of this year, according to report by NPR. And Greek yogurt is popular among health conscious consumers, typically upper income females.

Greek yogurt is also the fastest growing style of yogurt at Wegmans. That’s a big shift, said Wegmans Corporate Nutrition and Product Labeling Manager Jane Andrews, M.S., R.D.“But there’s some nutrition logic behind it: Because Greek yogurt is higher in milk protein and lower in carbs than other yogurts, it’s a standout choice for weight-conscious people who want a meal or snack that helps them feel fuller longer. You don’t get hungry so soon after a meal or snack and you’re less likely to overeat at the next meal.”

Wegmans Greek yogurt comes in Plain, Honey, Vanilla, Blueberry, Strawberry and Peach. It has no artificial sweeteners, colors, flavors, preservatives or thickeners and is now available at the chain’s 77 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland.

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