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Go-Gurt

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Go-Gurt (stylized as Go-GURT), also known as Yoplait Tubes in Canada and as Frubes in Britain and Ireland, is an American brand of low-fat yogurt for children. It can be sucked out of a tube, instead of being eaten with a spoon. It was introduced by the General Mills-licensed brand Yoplait in 1997, as the first yogurt made specifically for children.

Background

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Stephen Kaufman of Green Bay, WI, a food scientist, and Jim McGuire, a research and development technician, came up with the invention while working for General Mills in the late 1980s, after Kaufman was browsing through a women's magazine and seeing shampoo samples inserts.[1] The original idea was based on frozen ice pops. Kaufman told the Minneapolis–Saint Paul magazine City Pages that the original conception was for the yogurt to be firm, so the tube would stand straight up—like an ice pop—but when that didn't work out, they shifted toward a creamy yogurt.

The original idea faced internal opposition at General Mills. Kaufman used hotel shampoo pouches as an inspiration to create prototypes of Go-Gurt, which he made himself on a personal-care product pouching machine he rented, to convince General Mills engineers of the idea's worthiness.[1]

Go-Gurt became a side option in McDonald's Happy Meals in 2014 in strawberry flavor.[2]

Anthropologist Susan Squires claims that her ethnographic research in U.S. American families led her client to the development of Go-Gurt.[3]

Sub-brands

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In June 2006, frubes Fizzix, a carbonated yogurt snack, was released under the Yoplait brand. This "sparkling yogurt" was originally developed by Lynn Ogden, a professor in the College of Life Sciences at Brigham Young University (BYU), in 1983. Ogden obtained a patent in 1997 and finally found an interested licensor at General Mills in 2006. BYU receives 55% of the royalties, which will go toward BYU's mentoring program and research, while Ogden receives the rest.[4][5] Fizzix was available in six flavors, but appears to have been discontinued.[6]

In 2005, frubes Smoothie, a drinkable yogurt for children was released.[7] The product currently comes in four flavors: Strawberry Splash, Paradise Punch, Mango Blast, and Wild Berry.[8]

Internationally

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Outside of the U.S., Go-Gurt is sold as "Yoplait Tubes" in Canada, as "Frubes" in the United Kingdom (previously as a sub-brand of Petit Filous), and was also sold in Japan as "グルト" ("Guruto"). The name was a play on words, as it evoked the sound of gulping a liquid and incorporated part of the Japanese transliteration of yogurt, ヨーグルト (Yo-Guruto). Go-Gurt is also available in Australia where they are known as "Yoplait Go-GURT" or simply "Go-GURT". There is also another brand available in Australia, known as "Yoplait Smackers," aimed at young girls.[9][10][11][12]

Flavors

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Generally, each box comes with two different flavors.[13]

  • Berry / Cherry
  • Fruit Punch / Strawberry-Banana (Canada)
  • Melon Berry / Cotton Candy
  • Peach / Blueberry (Canada)
  • Raspberry / Grape (Canada)
  • Strawberry Splash / Berry Blue Blast
  • Strawberry / Cherry (Canada)
  • Strawberry / Cotton Candy
  • Strawberry / Mixed Berry
  • Strawberry / Punch
  • Strawberry / Vanilla
  • Strawberry Banana / Cotton Candy
  • Strawberry Banana / Raspberry
  • Strawberry Banana / Watermelon
  • Strawberry Watermelon / Punch
  • Strawberry Kiwi/ Fruit Punch

Single-flavor boxes include:

Special editions

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Fizzix

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Prehistotubes

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A limited edition in 2009 had two flavors represented by cave people reminiscent of The Flintstones: Lulutub and Tubôôk.[14] [clarification needed]

  • Acai (the mascot is Lulutub, a purple-haired woman wearing a black and white dress and a pearl necklace)
  • Red bayberry (the mascot is Tubôôk, red-haired man wearing a black and red toga)

Twisted

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Marketing

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On August 1, 2017 Go-Gurt launched a new campaign titled Kids Never Had It So Easy. The campaign features two "grumpy old fourth graders" bemoaning how easy kids—meaning third graders—have it today.[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b Kaufman, Jared. "The St. Paul-based inventor of Go-Gurt tells the dramatic story of his totally tubular idea". City Pages. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  2. ^ "McDonald's Happy Meal Yoplait Go-GURT deal 'great opportunity': General Mills". 19 May 2014. Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. ^ Squires, Susan; Byrne, Bryan (2002). Creating Breakthrough Ideas: The Collaboration of Anthropologists and Designers in the Product Development Industry. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780897896825. Archived from the original on 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  4. ^ "'Fizzix' Carbonated Yogurt to Hit Stores". BYU NewsNet – ". Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved Mar 24, 2019.
  5. ^ "BYU professor creates 'fizzy yogurt'". ABC4. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  6. ^ "Fizzix". Gogurt.com. Archived from the original on 2008-03-08. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
  7. ^ "Yoplait Go-Gurt Smoothie - Shake Up The Fun". Adland. September 19, 2005. Retrieved March 24, 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "Products – frubes". Yoplait. Archived from the original on November 27, 2007. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  9. ^ "National recall of Yoplait Go-Gurt and Yoplait Smackers - National Rural - Cattle - Dairy - The Australian Dairyfarmer". adf.farmonline.com.au. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved Mar 24, 2019.
  10. ^ "明治のグルトは、もう販売してませんか？販売中止でしたら理由が知りたいです。よろしくお願い致します。". Yahoo!知恵袋. Archived from the original on January 31, 2024. Retrieved Mar 24, 2019.
  11. ^ "Yoplait Tubes* Nutritional Information - Life Made Delicious". Archived from the original on 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
  12. ^ "Yoplait". www.yoplait.co.uk. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved Mar 24, 2019.
  13. ^ "Products – Gogurt". www.gogurt.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  14. ^ Prehistotubes Archived 2009-07-07 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved July 10, 2009
  15. ^ "Grumpy Old 4th Graders Can't Understand Kids Today in Go-Gurt's Hilarious New Ads". Adweek. Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
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