PepsiCo, Theo Muller Group form joint venture, enter U.S. dairy market

PURCHASE, N.Y. — PepsiCo has established a joint venture with a privately held, Germany-based dairy business, through which the companies will enter the growing U.S. dairy market in mid-July with innovative premium yogurt products.

PepsiCo and Theo Muller Group said their joint venture, Muller Quaker Dairy, will launch the following yogurts:

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  Muller Corner and Muller Greek Corner offer a new way to enjoy yogurt with add-ins you can flip, stir or dip. Corner varieties include blueberry, strawberry, Crispy Crunch, Choco Balls, chocolate flakes and crunchy granola. The Greek-style varieties include honeyed apricot, strawberry, blackberry and raspberry, and caramelized almond;

  
  


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  Muller FrutUp varieties include Blueberry Bliss, Very Cherry, Luscious Lemon, Peach Passion Fruit, Radiant Raspberry and Splendid Strawberry, starting with fruit fresh from farmers and prepared onsite with the yogurt. The unique part is the fruit on top — perfect for scooping, swirling or mixing.

  
  

The lines will be sold through supermarket and club retailers in 17 markets in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic U.S. starting this summer.

As part of partnership, the companies are building a state-of-the-art yogurt manufacturing plant in Batavia, N.Y. Once completed in 2013, it will be one of the largest yogurt plants in the United States, and is expected to create more than 180 new jobs in upstate New York, PepsiCo and Theo Muller Group said.

"As we've seen through the success of our dairy business in other parts of the world, this is a category with strong growth prospects," said Mehmood Khan, PepsiCo chief scientific officer, global research and development. "Muller makes some of Europe's most delicious and unique dairy products, and there is no better partner PepsiCo could have in order to meet historic U.S. consumer demand for premium yogurt. With the name recognition and trust Quaker provides, together, we will be able to offer U.S. consumers an amazing range of products that taste delicious and are unlike anything on the market currently."