Waitrose has launched a new range of vegetable yoghurts following a growing trend for the products in the US.
The retailer’s new own brand yoghurts come in four flavour combinations that include butternut squash, avocado, carrot and beetroot among other ingredients. They will be available in the majority of Waitrose branches, priced at 69p for 125g.
Waitrose announced the trend for vegetable yogurts in its annual Food & Drink Report in October last year. The report predicted that the growing US trend for veggie yogurts would take off in the UK in 2017.
Waitrose yogurt buyer Melissa Spiro commented: “Ingredients such as butternut squash and beetroot are not normally found in the yogurt aisle so we can’t wait to hear what our customers think.
“Our aim when developing these yogurts was to use popular vegetables that are naturally beneficial to everyday health and wellbeing. Vegetable-based smoothies are now mainstream and we anticipate the trend for this type of yogurt to follow suit.”
The trend for using vegetables in desserts has been gathering momentum, with people posting pictures of dishes such as avocado mousse and sweet potato brownies to Instagram. Likewise, The Grain Store in London’s Kings Cross recently introduced two vegetable puddings, which include parsnip and sweet potato.
The four flavours in Waitrose’s new yoghurt range are: apple, carrot, beetroot and ginger; carrot, mango and guarana; kiwi, avocado and matcha tea; and pineapple, butternut squash and turmeric.
Each yoghurt contains almost a fifth of the daily recommended allowance of vitamin D, which is important for the regulation of calcium and phosphorus absorption and helps maintain healthy teeth and bones.
