{{Short description|French yogurt brand}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Too short|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox company | name = Yoplait France S.A.S. | logo = Yoplait logo 2024.svg | logo_size = 135 | logo_caption = Yoplait logo in France, the UK, and Canada | image = | image_size = 250px | image_caption = Yoplait head office in Boulogne-Billancourt. | trade_name = | former_names = | type = Private | traded_as = | industry = Food processing | predecessor = | foundation = {{start date and age|1965|11|22}} | founder = Jean-Marie Perrin | location = 150, rue Gallieni, Boulogne-Billancourt | area_served = Worldwide | key_people = André Gaillard, Jean-Marie Perrin, M. Theoleyre | products = Dairy products | brands = | revenue = {{Increase}} €750 million (2023) | operating_income = | net_income = | assets = | equity = | owners = <small>'''Worldwide (except the US)''':</small><br>Sodiaal<br><small>'''In the US''':</small><br>Lactalis <small>(Midwest Yogurt)</small> | num_employees = 1 250 (2024) | subsid = Liberté Inc. | homepage = {{URL|https://www.yoplait.com/}} }}
'''Yoplait''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|oʊ|p|l|eɪ}} {{respell|YOH|play}}, {{IPA|fr|j��plɛ|lang}}) is a French dessert company and the world's largest franchise brand of yogurt.
Yoplait is fully owned by the French dairy cooperative Sodiaal since 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-03-30 |title=General Mills exchanges shares in Yoplait yogurt with Sodiaal – each party focussing into its domestic core markets |url=https://www.oaklins.com/news/en-FR/197824-general-mills-exchanges-shares-in-yoplait-yogurt-with-sodiaal-each-party-focussing-into-its-domestic-core-markets |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=Oaklins newsroom |language=en}}</ref> In North America, the Canadian subsidiary was taken over by Sodiaal in 2025. The American subsidiary Yoplait USA was taken over by the French group Lactalis on June 30 of that year.<ref name="gmyogurt">{{cite web|url=https://investors.generalmills.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/General-Mills-Completes-Sale-of-U-S--Yogurt-Business-to-Lactalis/default.aspx|title=General Mills Completes Sale of U.S. Yogurt Business to Lactalis|date=2025-06-30|access-date=2025-08-13|work=General Mills}}</ref>
==History== In 1964, 100,000 French farmers agreed to merge six regional dairy cooperatives in order to more efficiently market their products at the national level. On 25 September 1965, the Yoplait brand was launched as a new national brand, as a portmanteau of the brands of two member cooperatives, Yola and Coplait.<ref name="Olmsted">{{Cite web|last=Olmsted|first=Monte|date=24 September 2015|title=How Yoplait got its start {{!}} A Taste of General Mills|url=https://blog.generalmills.com/2015/09/how-yoplait-got-its-start/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-29|website=A Taste of General Mills|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514003930/https://www.generalmills.com/news/stories/how-yoplait-got-its-start|archive-date=14 May 2022|quote=The Yoplait name emerged in 1965 when the French dairy farmers from those six co-ops dropped their own respective brands, and came up with a moniker derived from the contraction of two of Sodima’s more recognizable member co-ops – Yola and Coplait. [...] The six-petal flower – which lost a petal in 2009 – is the one most people equate with Yoplait, as each petal represented the six founding co-ops.}}</ref>
The company's logo is a six-petaled flower designed by Philippe Morlighem,<ref name="Logo">{{cite web |url=http://www.bravolapetitefleur.com/2009/12/11/pourquoi-la-petite-fleur-ne-se-fane-jamais/ |title=Pourquoi la petite fleur ne se fane jamais? @ Bravo La Petite Fleur |date=11 December 2009 |publisher=Bravolapetitefleur.com |access-date=2014-02-19 |archive-date=24 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100324164034/http://www.bravolapetitefleur.com/2009/12/11/pourquoi-la-petite-fleur-ne-se-fane-jamais/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> each petal representing one of the six main cooperatives' founders. A redesigned logo, which has been slowly rolled out since the late 2000s, uses a flower with only five petals.<ref name="Olmsted" />
On 18 May 2011, General Mills announced it had agreed to purchase a controlling 51% interest in the brand's main operating company Yoplait S.A.S., and a 50% interest in a related company owning the brand's intellectual property, with Sodiaal retaining the remainder.<ref>{{cite web |title=General Mills announces definitive agreements to acquire yogurt interests |url=http://www.generalmills.com/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2011/May/YoplaitAnnouncement.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130419152411/http://www.generalmills.com/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2011/May/YoplaitAnnouncement.aspx |archive-date=19 April 2013}}</ref> The announcement of the completion of the acquisition was made on 1 July 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=General Mills completes Yoplait acquisition |url=http://www.generalmills.com/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2011/July/yoplait_finalized.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411030636/http://www.generalmills.com/Media/NewsReleases/Library/2011/July/yoplait_finalized.aspx|archive-date=11 April 2013}}</ref>
On 30 November 2021, General Mills sold its share back to Sodiaal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Mills to sell European Yoplait business for full ownership of Canadian stake |url=https://www.fooddive.com/news/general-mills-considering-sale-of-yoplait-french-media-reports/586513/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=Food Dive |language=en-US}}</ref>
==World franchises== [[File:Yoplait logo.png|thumb|161x161px|The Yoplait logo in the U.S., which has been used by Lactalis' Midwest Yogurt since 2025.]]
===Australia=== In Australia, Yoplait is locally manufactured by Bega Dairy & Drinks. It uses the slogan "Yoplait; French for Yoghurt!".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yoplait.com.au/index.html|title=Yoplait|access-date=25 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317020402/http://www.yoplait.com.au/index.html|archive-date=17 March 2012}}</ref>
In November 2019, China's Mengniu Dairy attempted to purchase Lion Dairy (Bega Dairy's earlier name) from Japan's Kirin Holdings,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dairyreporter.com/Article/2019/11/25/Mengniu-buys-Lion-Dairy-and-Drinks|title=Mengniu buys Lion Dairy and Drinks|website=dairyreporter.com|date=25 November 2019 |language=en-GB|access-date=2020-01-03}}</ref> however due to rising geopolitical tensions between China and Australia approval from Australian regulators was deemed "unlikely to" materialize and the announced sale was cancelled.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/25/business/lion-dairy-australia-china-intl-hnk/index.html|title = $430 million milk deal called off as tensions rise between China and Australia|website = CNN| date=25 August 2020 }}</ref> In November 2020, Lion Dairy was sold to the Bega Cheese group for A$534 million.<ref>{{cite web | last=Jasper | first=Clint | title=Bega Cheese confirms purchase of Lion Dairy and Drinks, owner of Pura Milk, Dare and Yoplait | website=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=26 November 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-11-26/bega-cheese-to-buy-lion-dairy-from-japanese-kirin/12910480 | access-date=15 December 2020}}</ref>
===Canada=== {{Redirects here|Delicieux|the French word|wikt:delicieux}} In Canada, General Mills markets pre-stirred Yoplait yogurt, Minigo, Tubes, Source, Creamy, Delicieux, Yop, Yoplait Basket, Yoptimal, and Asana. In 1971, the Coopérative Agricole de Granby, which went on to become the largest dairy cooperative in the country—Agropur—launched the Yoplait brand in Canada. In 1993, Agropur and Agrifoods (the two largest dairy cooperatives in Canada) combined their yogurt and fresh cheese marketing and manufacturing activities to form Ultima Foods. Ultima Foods oversaw Yoplait brand products throughout Canada until 2012, when General Mills took over the licence (Ultima Foods continues to manufacture Yoplait products in Canada as a subcontractor, but has also launched a wholly owned rival product line, iögo).<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/970195/ultima-and-yoplait-resolve-issues-successfully-reach-agreement |title=Ultima and Yoplait resolve issues, successfully reach agreement |author=Yoplait SAS |publisher=CNW |date=2012-05-08 |access-date=2012-08-11 |archive-date=20 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120162615/http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/970195/ultima-and-yoplait-resolve-issues-successfully-reach-agreement |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In January 2025, General Mills completed the sale of its Canadian Yogurt business to Sodiaal.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://investors.generalmills.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/General-Mills-Completes-Sale-of-Canadian-Yogurt-Business-and-Updates-Fiscal-2025-Outlook-for-Recent-Portfolio-Reshaping-Activity/default.aspx |title=Press Release Details | date=2025-01-27 |access-date=2025-02-02 }}</ref>
=== Chile === In Chile, the Yoplait brand is managed by Quillayes.
=== France === In France, the Yoplait brand is managed by Yoplait France.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Yoplait, Goûtons la vie du bon côté|url=https://www.yoplait.fr/|access-date=2021-12-10|website=Yoplait|language=fr-FR}}</ref>
===Ireland=== In Ireland, Glanbia controlled the Yoplait brand from 1973 until 2017, when its dairy processing business was offloaded to form the joint venture Glanbia Ireland, with the Glanbia Co-operative Society holding 60% ownership and Glanbia 40%.
===Israel=== thumb|200px|Yoplait yogurt produced in IsraelYoplait in Israel is managed by Tnuva, Israel's largest dairy,<ref name="tnuva1">[http://www.tnuva.ro/en/tnuva-lanseaza-iaurturile-yoplait_99.html Tnuva Launches Yoplait Yoghurts] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303000450/http://www.tnuva.ro/en/tnuva-lanseaza-iaurturile-yoplait_99.html |date=3 March 2010 }}.</ref> and products are kosher. The company's drinkable yogurt comes in a 100-gram shot-style bottle with a center opening for easy gripping.<ref>{{cite web|author=700+ words |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-178618095.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102141522/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-178618095.html |url-status=dead|publisher=Highbeam Research|archive-date=2012-11-02 |title=A clever packaging innovation from Yoplait in Israel makes milk more distinctive and consumer-friendly |access-date=2014-02-19}}</ref> Yoplait-brand flavored yogurts account for 42–52% of the Israeli market.<ref name=tnuvafamilysize>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3691222,00.html|title=Tnuva introduces family-sized Yoplait|author=Meirav Crystal|date=24 Mar 2009|work=ynetnews.com}}</ref> Tnuva and Yoplait entered into a partnership to set up production facilities in Romania in 2007.<ref name="tnuva1"/> In 2009, Tnuva introduced a {{convert|500|g|adj=on}} family-size yogurt called Yoplait YYY that comes in resealable containers.<ref name= tnuvafamilysize/>
===Italy=== Yoplait entered the Italian market in 1992 through a joint-venture between Sodiaal and Kraft Foods. At the end of the following year, Yoplait achieved a market share of 2.5%. Yoplait withdrew from the Italian market in 1999.<ref>{{cite web|author=borislimpopo|url=https://borislimpopo.com/2008/01/10/ma-con-tutto-lo-yogurt-che-ce-cera-proprio-bisogno-di-yoplait/|title=Ma con tutto lo yogurt che c'è, c'era proprio bisogno di Yoplait?|language=it|website=Sbagliando s'impera|date=10 January 2008}}</ref>
===Mexico=== In Mexico, the Yoplait brand is managed by Sigma Alimentos.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brand Portfolio {{!}} Sigma Alimentos|url=https://www.sigma-alimentos.com/en/brand-portfolio/|access-date=2021-12-10|language=en-US}}</ref>
===New Zealand=== In New Zealand, the Yoplait brand is manufactured by and franchised to Goodman Fielder.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://goodmanfielder.com/brands/yoplait/ |title=Yoplait |publisher=Goodman Fielder }}</ref>
===Norway=== The franchise in Norway is held by Fjordland, a brand of Tine, and has been since 1998. In 2014, Q-Meieriene filed suit against Fjordland for "allegedly copying a unique container for the Icelandic cultured milk product Skyr", as the latter uses a similar shape for one of its products.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Yoplait vs Skyr: Court battle launched over shape of dairy product container|url=https://www.i-law.com/ilaw/doc/view.htm?id=343829|access-date=2021-12-10|website=www.i-law.com|date=15 October 2021|last1=Uk|first1=Informa|archive-date=10 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210193832/https://www.i-law.com/ilaw/doc/view.htm?id=343829|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Portugal=== In Portugal, Yoplait was franchised to Gelgurte until 2010, when the franchising was not renewed with headquarters. It has not been made or sold in the country ever since.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mahalo.com/yoplait/ |title=Yoplait |publisher=Mahalo.com |date=1999-01-11 |access-date=2014-02-19}}</ref>
=== Spain === In 2001, the Soldier Spanish brand from Social stopped its production and commercialization in Spain closing its Alcobendas production plant.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Delgado |first=Juan T. |date=2017-01-14 |title=La receta secreta que hizo superventas a Hacendado y hundió a Yoplait |url=https://www.elindependiente.com/economia/estrellas-estrellados/2017/01/15/por-que-hacendado-es-superventas-y-yoplait-huyo-de-espana/ |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=El Independiente |language=es}}</ref>
===South Korea=== In South Korea, the Yoplait brand is managed and manufactured by Binggrae.
===United Kingdom=== In the United Kingdom, Yoplait UK Ltd is now 100% owned by Yoplait France.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=5542255 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131110224425/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=5542255 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 November 2013 |title=Yoplait UK Limited: Private Company Information - Businessweek |publisher=Investing.businessweek.com |access-date=2014-02-19}}</ref> In April 2009, the joint venture between Yoplait and Dairy Crest ended. Yoplait UK Ltd is based in General Mills' European head office; Harman House in Uxbridge, London, United Kingdom. Tubed yogurts are called Frubes (portmanteau of fruit and tube) in the UK, half under the Petits Filous branding and half under the Wildlife Choobs branding. Petits Filous pots, Wildlife yogurt pots, Cal-in+ pot yogurts and yogurt drinks and Yop drinking yogurt are also sold in the UK.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}
===United States=== {{For|the American subsidiary|Midwest Yogurt}} The Yoplait brand first entered the United States in 1974 when it was licensed by the Michigan Cottage Cheese Company. In 1977, General Mills acquired the U.S. marketing rights to Yoplait from that company, along with a yogurt plant in Reed City, Michigan. General Mills has been the exclusive franchisee of the Yoplait brand in the United States ever since.
General Mills opened a plant in Carson, California to manufacture Yoplait for the West Coast, where it became the best-selling yogurt brand. In 1981, General Mills began selling Yoplait on the East Coast.<ref name="Miller">{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Larry |title=Yogurt From France Moves East in U.S. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/11/garden/yogurt-from-france-moves-east-in-us.html |access-date=17 October 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=March 11, 1981 |page=C12}}</ref>
Yoplait products are available in a variety of fruit-based flavors that come in a truncated-conical container sealed with an aluminum foil top.<ref name="Miller" /> Under the Yoplait label, General Mills also markets Trix Yogurt, based on the flavors of their breakfast cereal of the same name, and Go-Gurt, where various flavors are packaged in plastic tubes for spoonless eating; these brands are targeted to children. A probiotic line of yogurt is marketed under the brand name Yo-Plus. As of Autumn, 2023, Original Yoplait states on the package that it contains bio-engineered ingredients, which is corroborated by a general statement on its website. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://ask.generalmills.com/s/article/Do-you-use-GMO-ingredients-in-your-products|title=Do you use GMO ingredients in your product?|publisher=General Mills|access-date=October 3, 2023}} (archived by [https://web.archive.org/web/20220901000000*/https://ask.generalmills.com/s/article/Do-you-use-GMO-ingredients-in-your-products Wayback machine] March 2021 and April 2022 but archive is blank)</ref>
During the 2000s and 2010s, Yoplait steadily lost market share in the United States to Greek yogurt brands, especially Chobani. General Mills' attempts to market Greek yogurt versions of Yoplait repeatedly failed. General Mills executives carefully studied these failures, concluded that what attracted consumers to Chobani was the charming authenticity of its rags-to-riches backstory, and decided to embrace the authenticity of the Yoplait brand's French heritage.<ref name="Duhigg">{{cite news |last1=Duhigg |first1=Charles |title=Yoplait Learns to Manufacture Authenticity to Go With Its Yogurt |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/26/business/yoplait-learns-to-manufacture-authenticity-to-go-with-its-yogurt.html |access-date=October 12, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=June 26, 2017 |location=New York |page=B1}}</ref>
General Mills launched the Oui by Yoplait brand on 10 July 2017, by adapting and marketing an existing 20-year-old French product line, Yoplait Saveur d’Autrefois, as French-style yogurt. Oui's selling point is that unlike most yogurts which are fermented in bulk and then poured fully formed into separate containers, all the ingredients are poured into separate glass jars and separately fermented in each jar. This "pot-set" process supposedly stabilizes the yogurt without the need for additional ingredients like cornstarch or gelatin.<ref name="Reilly">{{cite news |last1=Reilly |first1=Mark |title=General Mills unveils Oui, French yogurt counterpunch to Greek rivals |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2017/06/26/general-mills-unveils-oui-french-yogurt.html |access-date=October 12, 2020 |work=Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal |publisher=American City Business Journals |date=June 26, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Mohan">{{cite news |last1=Mohan |first1=Anne Marie |title=Glass jars enable yogurt's thick, creamy texture |url=https://www.packworld.com/design/materials-containers/article/13373148/glass-jars-enable-yogurts-thick-creamy-texture |work=Packaging World |publisher=PMMI Media Group |date=August 13, 2017}}</ref>
On June 30, 2025, Lactalis acquired Yoplait and other US yogurt brands from General Mills and placed them within the entity Lactalis Midwest Yogurt.<ref name="gmyogurt" />
===United Arab Emirates=== In the United Arab Emirates, the Yoplait brand is a subsidiary of Agthia Group.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Agthia - For The Better|url=https://www.agthia.com/our-brands/|access-date=2021-12-10|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Community involvement== In the U.S., Yoplait participates in an annual program called "Save Lids to Save Lives" to raise money for breast cancer research. Yoplait donates ten cents per pink foil lid that are mailed to the company, but they state in fine print on all promotional materials that their donations will be capped at $2,000,000 per year. This money is donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Yoplait has been the primary sponsor of Race for the Cure, a marathon held to raise additional research money, since 2001.
The American franchise of Yoplait added a rim on the bottom of the yogurt containers to keep animals such as skunks from accidentally getting their heads caught. A label was added to the container stating: "Protect Wildlife: Crush Cup Before Disposal."<ref>{{cite news |title= Skunk Stink! (Yoplait container hazard) |url=|publisher=Science World |date=1999-01-11 |access-date= }}</ref>
==Controversy== The 2011 documentary ''Pink Ribbons, Inc.'' reported that some products sold under the "Save Lids to Save Lives" campaign had previously contained milk from cows treated with bovine somatotropin, a growth hormone banned in many nations for its possible link to diseases in humans, until the company agreed to remove it.<ref name=Anderson>{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=John |title=Pink Ribbons, Inc |url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117946099/ |access-date=31 January 2012 |newspaper=Variety |date=15 September 2011}}</ref><ref name=Heinrich>{{cite news|last=Heinrich |first=Jeff |title=It's a fine line between fundraising, feminism |url=https://leaderpost.com/health/fine+line+between+fundraising+feminism/6075474/story.html |access-date=31 January 2012 |newspaper=Regina Leader-Post |date=31 January 2012 |agency=Postmedia News |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209115739/http://www.leaderpost.com/health/fine+line+between+fundraising+feminism/6075474/story.html |archive-date=February 9, 2012 }}</ref>
A 2012 television advertisement for Yoplait prompted criticism from the National Eating Disorders Association due to its portrayal of a woman making difficult food choices. The company announced within a few days of the complaint that they would pull the ad, saying, "We aren't sure that everyone saw the ad that way, but if anyone did, that was not our intent and is cause for concern."<ref name=stampler>{{cite news | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/yoplait-pulls-ad-that-pos_n_877618 | title=Yoplait Pulls Ad Said To Promote Eating Disorders |last=Stampler |first=Laura |work=HuffPost |date=June 15, 2011}}</ref>
Since at least 1998, Yoplait has been the target of a campaign by animal advocates, including the Humane Society, to redesign its traditional tapered cup design because small animals can easily get their heads stuck inside and then suffocate or die from dehydration.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://fox8.com/2015/09/27/humane-society-official-says-yoplait-yogurt-containers-are-killing-small-animals/|title=Humane society official says Yoplait yogurt containers are killing small animals|last=Cunningham|first=Kaily|date=September 27, 2015|work=Fox 8|access-date=October 1, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/yoplait-yogurt-wildlife-danger-skunk-cups_n_5602dde9e4b0fde8b0d0d5cf |title=Yoplait Yogurt Cups Have Been Killing Small Animals For Years |last=Hanson |first=Hilary |work=HuffPost | date=September 23, 2015}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|France|Companies|Food}} * Danone
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.yoplait.com/ Yoplait USA Homepage] * [https://yoplait.fr/ Yoplait Group Homepage] {{in lang|fr}} * [http://www.yoplait.pt/ Yoplait Portugal Homepage]
{{General Mills}} {{Bega Group}} {{Authority control}} Category:1965 establishments in France Category:American brands Category:American companies established in 1965 Category:Brand name yogurts Category:Food and drink companies established in 1965 Category:French brands Category:French companies established in 1965 Category:General Mills brands Category:Products introduced in 1965 Category:Companies based in Boulogne-Billancourt