Pepsi enters the yogurt market

PepsiCo has picked Omnicom Group's Juniper Park as creative agency for a new U.S. yogurt venture it is launching with a European dairy company later this month.

The creative campaign starts at the end of the month. The yogurt, will be distributed by the Muller Quaker Dairy subsidiary. With this step Pepsi entered to a rapidly growing, highly competitive market, further enhancing the role of food in the company's strategy – writes Advertising Age.

Muller Quaker's products will include a variety called Müller Corner that comes in traditional yogurt and Greek-yogurt styles. It comes in a box-shaped pack with a separate container for fillings in the corner, including flavors such as blueberry, crispy crunch and caramelized almonds. Also planned is a variety called Müller FrütUp, in which the fruit is positioned at the top of the circular shaped packs.

Food is becoming increasingly crucial for PepsiCo, whose beverage business has struggled in recent years. Led by Frito-Lay, snacks are forecast to overtake beverages by 2016, growing to 52% of overall revenue from 48%. The company is already in the global dairy business with its 2011 acquisition of Wimm-Bill-Dann, Russia's largest dairy company. PepsiCo also is in a joint venture with a dairy company in Saudi Arabia that was formed in 2009.  (marketinginfo.hu)