"According to Consumer Preferences"... Flipped and Enlarged 'Eolya', 500 Million Bottles Sold

Why 'Frozen Yakult' Maintains Original Taste and Aroma After 7 Years
Also Considering Health Benefits

hy's popular fermented milk product, "Frozen Yakult (Eolya)," has surpassed 500 million bottles in cumulative sales after more than seven years since its launch. It is a product that flips the container of the company's representative existing Yakult and increases the capacity. By incorporating ideas into the production process to allow not only probiotic intake but also to serve as an ice cream substitute, it has been steadily loved by consumers.

hy's frozen Yakult lineup. Yakult eaten upside down (from the left), frozen Yakult Shine Muscat, frozen Yakult Apple Mango
[Photo by hy]

According to the related industry on the 11th, the Eolya series launched by hy in 2016 exceeded 520 million bottles in cumulative sales as of the end of last month. This means that more than 100 million bottles were sold in just over a year since surpassing 400 million bottles in April last year. The annual sales volume of the Eolya brand last year increased by 24% compared to two years ago.

This product was created by closely observing consumers' product consumption habits. It was inspired by the sight of not only children but also adults flipping the existing 65㎖ Yakult container, tearing off the outer shell of the packaging, or freezing it to eat like sherbet. hy increased the capacity of Eolya's container to 110㎖ and designed the packaging with a wide bottom surface to make it easy to open, presenting it in a form that flips the existing Yakult. Considering that freezing the product can make it cold and bland, reducing the sweetness compared to regular Yakult, they conducted a year of research to maintain the same taste and aroma.

An hy official explained, "Production staff directly tasted the product and measured the flavor through a 'sensory test' to find the optimized concentration of Eolya," adding, "We added sugars to the extent that does not harm the nutritional content to achieve a taste most similar to the original product (Yakult Light)." According to hy, the sugar content of Eolya is 16g, which is lower compared to ice creams available on the market.

Considering customer demand to enjoy the product as sherbet, the product lineup was also expanded focusing on flavors and aromas that suit this. Starting with the existing original product, the health functional food "Upside-down Yakult," hy introduced "Frozen Yakult Shine Muscat (fermented milk)" in 2021 and "Frozen Yakult Apple Mango (fermented milk)" in 2022.

Additionally, hy considered consumers' health by adding the patented probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum HY7712, probiotics ranging from 10 billion to 30 billion CFU (colony-forming units), complex vitamins, and xylitol, which help strengthen immunity. This strategy proved effective, as Shine Muscat Eolya sells 80,000 units daily and has sold a cumulative 37 million bottles within 10 months of its launch, gaining great popularity.

Kim Il-gon, head of hy's dairy product CM team, said, "Frozen Yakult is a counterintuitive product that tastes good whether eaten as is or frozen," adding, "Since it is a product born reflecting consumer preferences, we will continue to receive more love through differentiated marketing and continuous improvement."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.