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BioCell Technology, LLC
The manufacturer's flagship nutritional dairy product has been kefir, a tangy fermented milk drink with Russian origins. It made this traditional product available for on-the-go lifestyles, and now is looking to do the same with lassi.
The Illinois-based company is hoping the beverage will first find success among the Indian community in the country, before then becoming known with consumers driven by health choices.
"Until now, the only place to buy lassi in the US has been in Indian restaurants," said Lifeway president and CEO Julie Smolyansky. "There has been no way for consumers to buy it in a grocery store and take it home."
According to Lifeway's figures, the Asian Indian community in the US has grown from nearly one million in 1990 to more than 2.3 million in 2005.
The company claims lassi is associated with Ayurvedic health practices. It is a smoothie-like drink that dates back thousands of years and is traditionally made by combining yoghurt, water, salt and spices.
"…we expect Lifeway Lassi to fill a void in the Indian food market, [and] expand the choices available to health-conscious consumers who are looking for variety in their menus, and drive significant new business for the company," said Smolyansky.
The company is launching the beverage at the intersection of three trends: functional beverages, probiotics and ethnic foods.
A recent Datamonitor report, Functional Food & Drink Consumption Trends, found that probiotic drinks and yoghurts were leading the entire US functional foods category, valued at US$21.3bn in 2006.
Probiotics have also become increasingly popular in North America following advertising campaigns for Danone's Activia line of probiotic yoghurts.
Since Activia yogurt's launch in January 2006, it has surpassed the $100m mark in retail grocery sales in the US.
Asian and Hispanic tastes are the two biggest drivers in the US ethnic food market, according to AC Nielsen.
Lifeway's primary seller, kefir, is a probiotic dairy beverage similar to yogurt. Lifeway claims kefir culture contains ten active microorganisms, compared to the two or three found in yogurt.
