In order for probiotics to work, they need some help. This assistance comes in the form of “prebiotics,” a form of fiber that acts as the fuel source for the good microbes.
The bulk of probiotic beverages are delivered through a milk base. While some drinks are described as having a yogurt-y consistency, others may taste like a fruit smoothie, or even a lighter fruit drink. Yakult, Dannon’s DanActive, Lifeway’s kefirs and lassis, and Dahlicious’ products are all dairy-based. Naked Juice offers a 100 percent juice probiotic experience, while Katalyst Kombucha – a small beverage house out of Western Massachusetts – delivers probiotics through a sugar and tea base.
While the consumption of probiotic beverages can be traced back 4,000 years, to Eastern cultures, it represents a trend that has only recently gained traction in the U.S. But in addition to the Naked Juice launch, 2007 was very active domestically: Dannon’s DanActive, Dahlicious’ Lassi and Yakult Original all came out last year. Meanwhile, Illinois-based Lifeway began producing its probiotic beverage Kefir, which has more live cultures than yogurt, in 1986.
In Japan, however, the sensation of RTD gut health beverages is pushing 80 years. In 1930, Dr. Minoru Shirota of Kyoto Imperial University ’s School of Medicine began his research in bacteria beneficial to human health. Ultimately, he discovered a strain called Lactobacillus casei that destroys the bad intestinal bacteria. He leveraged his discovery to create the Yakult beverage.
Today, Yakult is a cultural phenomenon. According to Lauren Weidelman, corporate communications manager for Yakult U.S.A. Inc., speaking on behalf of Teruo Tabuchi, the company’s COO, there are 47,000 women in Japan selling Yakult products. They are akin to American Avon ladies.
“They go door-to-door every single day and deliver fresh bottles of Yakult,” said Weidelman. “It’s like having your mom knock on your door and give you your vitamins.”
As a result, Yakult says one third of its worldwide sales come from Japan. The $2.3 billion company is a powerhouse. Promotional materials for the company say the product is consumed by more than 20 million people every day across the world; 856,000 bottles alone in the European market.
Lack of consumer education in the U.S., however, where a 5-pack sells for $2.99 to $3.99, means that the general market roll-out has been slow and calculated. It’s one thing to say that Yakult Original guarantees 8 billion bacteria in each bottle; it’s another to say that it tastes like an Orange Julius.
As the products grow, the difficulties of educating the customer continue to be the common theme. Companies find that customers are interested in the products but also have a host of questions about them.
“We look for opportunities to educate people face-to-face, teaching them about probiotics. That’s how we go about entering a new market,” said Weidelman. Such opportunities include traditional in-store sampling, as well as attending events where there is a strong chance of interacting with potential future customers.
But probiotic education can be an advantage. For Naked, it’s a way to accumulate more brand loyalty.
“We believe consumers are smarter and more aware of nutrition trends, ingredients and emerging technologies – they’re ahead of the curve,” said Kenney. “And we want them to know we know they’re ahead of the curve.”
However, not every marketer places the probiotic ingredients in the spotlight. Dannon, which produces DanActive, a $1 billion brand globally, focuses on the product’s health advantages, rather than the ingredients’. “Probiotics are the means to which the benefit is delivered,” said Dannon spokesman Michael Neuwirth. “How they work is less interesting than the fact that they do work.”
An extension of how beverage companies educate their customer is how they talk about their products. And given where they work, when it comes to the function of these beverages, companies agree that less is more. While brand Web sites provide scientific information about probiotics, general product promotion steers clear of potentially embarrassing labels.
“We’ve gotten very positive responses from people who have everyday problems,” said Yakult’s Weidelman. Nevertheless, you won’t find specific references to those problems – bloating, irregularity or diarrhea – on any packaging.
Naked Juice’s Tropical Mango probiotic smoothie keeps it positive. Like other probiotic beverages, Naked Juice sought an under-the-radar label that wouldn’t broadcast anyone’s digestive complaints to fellow shoppers. Its labeling makes no reference to any bodily function. “In any of our point of sale materials, in our surveys or going out and sampling, we laddered it up to a much larger benefit,” said Kenney. “It’s a happy digestive system, a happy immune system, a happier you.”
DanActive, which has 10 billion active cultures of Lactobacillus casei per serving, prominently labels one benefit: strengthening immunity.
“We do use the under-wraps of packing and Web sites to provide detailed information to what probiotics are and how they work,” said Dannon’s Neuwirth. “But that’s for a more interested and involved consumer who is interested in the science.”
That science can get pretty complicated. There are multiple strains of probiotics, and not all probiotics do the same thing. Additionally, different studies have been performed on different strains. Blanket marketing on probiotics generically is – in the long term – not going to be useful, cautioned Neuwirth, adding “You’re not going to build brand differentiation.”
From a scientific perspective, “You can’t presume that one particular probiotic has an effect that can be translated to all probiotics,” said Mary Ellen Sanders of Dairy & Food Culture Technologies, who is a consultant on probiotics to the food and supplement industries.