Asked how Dannon Creamery was performing a year after it hit shelves, Michael Neuwirth, senior director of public relations at Dannon, told FoodNavigator-USA that there had been some “enthusiastic feedback from shoppers who have enjoyed Dannon Creamery”.
But he added: “However, since its introduction in 2014 this dessert range has not achieved the ambitious distribution or velocity levels we initially anticipated.
“This was a 'new to the world' innovation, so we're continuing to monitor its performance as we move into the second half of the year. We'll continue to work to optimize performance (i.e. price promotion activity and local media support), and develop future innovations in the healthful indulgence space as Dannon is still committed to bringing indulgence, with a better-for-you twist, to consumers.”
Creamery was designed to target evening
At the launch last year, Dannon said Creamery would bring incremental growth to the category by targeting a day-part US yogurt marketers have traditionally struggled to corner: the evening.
The pudding- and cheesecake-inspired range - which hit shelves nationwide last July with an MSRP of $1.69 - comes in 5.3 oz cups designed to evoke the feeling of a dessert bowl [similar to Noosa, a hugely successful brand].
While eating yogurt for dessert in the evening is common in Europe, Neuwirth told us last year, “Americans are for the most part enjoying yogurt for breakfast or as a snack in the morning, mid or late afternoon. More than 70% of yogurt consumption is before 4pm.”
The Creamery range has a thick creamy, indulgent taste and texture and includes three puddings: milk chocolate, dark chocolate and vanilla; and five cheesecake-inspired flavors made with Greek yogurt topped with fruit sauce: strawberry, blueberry, cherry, lemon, and caramel.
However, the calorie count - while higher than regular Greek yogurt - is still relatively low at around 200 per 5.3oz pot.
