Trix Yogurt (History, Ingredients, Pictures, Commercials)

Nearly everyone in the US is familiar with Trix cereal. This product has been successfully marketed to adults and kids alike for generations and there are few cereals with as much name recognition. What people who love Trix cereal might not be aware of, is that there were other products made with Trix flavors along the way as well.

One of the products that slipped beneath many people’s radar that is sold with the Trix branding and flavoring is Trix yogurt. This product was actually made by Yoplait with a license from General Mills. Kids might have been more aware of this product when it was launched than adults but it clearly has found its niche since it is still being made by Yoplait. If you love Trix cereal and did not know that Trix yogurt was a product you could buy, it might be time to track some down to try it out!

History

The history of Trix yogurt requires discussion about both the cereal that provides the flavor inspiration and the yogurt product that General Mills and Sodiaal have created. Without Yoplait and General Mills working on development of this product together, the result would probably never have been a success. Yoplait has struggled to sell various varieties of its spin-off yogurt brands over the years but Trix yogurt has been a steady performer for them despite being a niche product.

There was a recent fall-off in Trix Yogurt sales as parents started to protest that there were too many sugars in cereals, yogurts, and other products made for kids. In response, Trix Yogurt has been reconfigured and the recipe has been changed to attempt to meet these demands. Whether this effort will be successful or not depends a lot upon market perception and the jury is still out on the newly-rebranded flavor types that Yoplait is offering in the Trix lineup.

Trix cereal was launched in 1954 as a fruity-flavored version of their Kix cereal. The flavors and shapes of the cereal pieces have changed over time, but the marketing behind this cereal has always been ingenious. Linking the cereal with the likable and funny Trix rabbit, made for a successful and memorable product that has stood the test of time. Nearly anyone who resides in the United States has had Trix cereal at least once in their lives, and most people would be able to tell you exactly what the cereal was and who the mascot is.

General Mills has altered the recipe of Trix over time to be more in line with suggested health guidelines for kids, but other than health-related changes, the cereal has largely remained unchanged for generations. There are not many cereal brands that have been able to successfully create spin-off products that have been sold for more than a few years, but General Mills has done this with Trix yogurt.

Yoplait is actually owned jointly by General Mills and a French company, Sodiaal.  The product that would become Yoplait was first sold in 1964 when six regional dairy cooperatives combined to make sales of their products more efficient. General Mills did not buy an interest until May of 2011, picking up 51% of the brand’s main operating company. Yoplait is sold all over the world and there are few places that you could visit that would not have this product on their shelves.

Yoplait was first sold in the US in 1974 when it was licensed to a Michigan company that sold cottage cheese. General Mills was the exclusive franchisee of the brand once they came into the picture and altered the way that product was packaged, sold, and marketed in the US. The brand quickly became the best-selling yogurt when General Mills took over and then they started to add flavors.

Trix Yogurt has always been marketed exclusively to children with great success. Kids are one of the main consumers of yogurt in the US, but many companies are missing out on this market share because of their marketing style. Gogurt and Yoplait have pretty much cornered the sales of yogurt in the US because of creative flavor options, fun packaging, and sugary sweet yogurts that are appealing to youngsters. Trix yogurt has been the happy beneficiary of this marketing structure and kids consistently gravitate toward the familiar mascot and taste of this yogurt flavor. While Yoplait sales of various other yogurt products like Greek yogurt have failed rapidly after being introduced, Trix Yoplait has been a steady performer.

Trix yogurt is supposed to be getting a revamp in the next few years which will include changes to the formula to be more kid-friendly and also additional flavors. The new flavors will be strawberry banana bash, raspberry rainbow, triple cherry, and rainbow punch. The current lineup of Trix products includes some basics like strawberry and berry and the cups are sold with two different colors of yogurt inside. The colorful packaging that includes the familiar Trix rabbit and images of the colorful product continues to hook kids and get them to ask their parents for this product at the store.

The reason for the revamp has been stated to be an effort to rejuvenate sales of the product that have flagged slightly over the past five years. There were many adults who were asking for the product to make a comeback and be more commonly offered in grocery stores around the country, and Yoplait and General Mills have created this new lineup to answer this call. Sales are still confined to online purchasing in some parts of the country, but metropolitan areas will be able to enjoy access to the new and improved yogurt products at grocery stores.

Walmart and SuperValu are your best bets for picking up this yummy product but there are other supermarkets and stores that will probably start selling it again soon as well. The five-year slowdown in sales will hopefully have ended and those who love this product might be able to enjoy picking it up again when they are getting their groceries each week.

One of the biggest challenges that might cause issues with increased sales is the changing perception of sugary cereals and their value to kids. Yoplait has been working hard to refresh its image with regard to healthy eating as well in recent years. Consumers are more focused on sugar than ever, and it can be tough to market a product that claims to be healthy but is also based on a formerly high-sugar cereal. The end result of the rebranding of this yogurt product will depend on moms looking at the label and deciding that the product is healthy after all.

Many companies that market to children are trying to walk this fine line as consumer focus on sugars and fats has changed. Parents are savvier than ever about these included ingredients in kids’ food products and are not as willing to blindly buy products that are sold specifically to children. Trix Yogurt might end up being a study for the rest of the cereal and yogurt market about how to rebrand your product successfully as a healthy eating choice after a long history of being associated with sugary kids’ foods.

Logo

Flavors

• Strawberry-banana bash
• Banana bash
• Raspberry rainbow
• Triple cherry
• Rainbow punch
• Berry
• Strawberry

The traditional flavors have been revamped and made better per the company’s press information and the split colors in the cups are expected to continue to be a marketing feature of this product. The original ads for the split flavor cups showed the Trix Rabbit making a colorful vortex that led to another land by mixing the two flavors and those who loved this unique packaging will be glad that it has survived the revamp.

The packaging of each flavor will look fairly similar to what kids of the 90s remember and the Trix Rabbit is still featured heavily on the cartons and wrappers of the Trix Yoplait packs. Walmart and SuperValue have stated that they are selling the strawberry and berry versions only at this time, but there will probably be additions in the coming months to add back the various other flavors to the market. It is likely that Yoplait is waiting to see how these products perform before sending out other flavor options to their main product sales venues.

Berry and strawberry tend to be the most popular flavors with children, so the choice to offer these two flavors is not a big surprise. For kids who have become adults and are missing the Trix yogurt of their childhood, this new branding and product management should deliver good results and rejuvenate the brand. There are many 90s kids who will be very upset if the new sales plan for Trix yogurt does not work out and sales fall off again!

Ingredients

• Cultured Pasteurized Grade A Low Fat Milk
• Sugar
• Modified Corn Starch
• Contains less than 1% of: Kosher Gelatin, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Potassium
• Sorbate Added to Maintain Freshness
• Vegetable Juice
• Beta Carotene and Turmeric Extract (for color)
• Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3

Nutrition

Serving Size:	1 container	% Daily Value*
Amount Per Serving
Calories	80
Total Fat	0.5g	1%
Saturated Fat	0g	0%
Trans Fat	0g
Cholesterol	2.5mg	1%
Sodium	65mg	3%
Total Carbohydrates	15g	5%
Dietary Fiber	0g	0%
Sugars	9g
Included Added Sugars	5g	10%
Protein	4g
Vitamin D	2mcg	10%
Calcium	130mg	10%
Iron	0mg	0%
Potassium	252mg	5%

• The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Pictures

Commercials:

An ad from the 90s:

A more recent ad that shows the split flavors in the cups:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pENApqaewzM