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Dannon Activia Launches Thought-Provoking Advertising Campaign Featuring Jamie Lee Curtis
Bringing celebrity recognition to encourage Americans to think, talk and care about digestive health WHITE PLAINS, NY, March 3, 2008 - Today, the Dannon Company unveiled a new advertising campaign for Activia featuring award - winning actress and passionate self-esteem advocate Jamie Lee Curtis. In the new campaign developed with Y&R, to air throughout 2008, Curtis draws attention to the importance of digestive health, sheds light on this all-too-frequent, silent health problem and presents Activia as a delicious, simple solution. More than 87 percent of Americans suffer from occasional digestive health troubles* and 70 percent of women say their digestive health issues have a negative impact on their daily lives**. Still, many people are silent about this important subject. Through her discovery of Dannon Activia, Jamie Lee Curtis will help make Americans feel more comfortable talking about their digestive systems and explain easy ways to keep them working properly. "Digestive problems are important and surprisingly common but we don't discuss them. Whereas we routinely talk about other uncomfortable topics, such as erectile dysfunction, digestive health is not being addressed- and it's time to change that," explained Curtis. "I am not afraid to talk about bowel issues - there I said it - and I'm very committed to help people find solutions, like a balanced diet and Activia. It is rewarding to be the ice breaker who speaks openly about digestive health and irregularity, and make it easier for people to find a solution," Curtis continued. Curtis' charismatic personality and integrity will inspire Americans to overcome their reluctance to talk about and hesitance to treat their occasional irregularity. The first stage of the campaign will feature introductory ads with Curtis discussing digestive health problems and the clinically-proven benefit of Activia. The campaign will evolve with Curtis and will include frank and open conversations about occasional digestive health issues. "Despite the frequency of digestive troubles many people experience, few of us are at ease talking openly about them. As a result, we often live silently with digestive discomfort despite the availability of a clinically-proven, great tasting yogurt that can help. Activia and this campaign are changing that," explained Jeffrey Rothman, Activia Brand Director. "Taking proactive steps to manage digestive health begins with open discussion. Jamie Lee Curtis is the ideal partner for Activia to help more Americans talk about and take control of their digestive health." "Activia is making it okay to talk about something that has not been okay to talk about," said Filipe Vasconcellos, North American Account Managing Director of Y&R. "This campaign is not simply about giving information, it is designed to change attitudes and, ultimately, behavior. Jamie's credibility and compassion will not only help break the silence, but will empower people to make their lives a little more enjoyable with Activia." Dannon, in conjunction with Y & R, which is Dannon's advertising agency of record, produced the ad campaign. Creative credits include: Creative Director, Copywriter - John Bollinger; Creative Director, Art Director - Ritch Goldstein; Broadcast Producer - Tennille Teague; Director - Riess/Hill; Production Company - Gartner; DP - Paul Cameron; Exec Producer - Elaine Behnken. About Activia Activia is the first and only probiotic yogurt available in the U.S. that is clinically proven to help naturally regulate the digestive system in two weeks by helping with slow intestinal transit, when eaten daily as part of a healthy and balanced diet. Regular Activia is a lowfat yogurt and Activia Light is a nonfat yogurt. Each 4oz. serving of Activia contains billions of beneficial cultures, including Dannon's exclusive probiotic, Bifidus Regularisā"¢, which is clinically proven to remain live and active in the digestive tract where it exerts its effect. Activia works by helping with slow intestinal transit - the time it takes food to pass through the digestive system - leading to better daily well-being and a natural regulation of the digestive system. About The Dannon Company, Inc. The Dannon Company is America's founding national yogurt company and continually leverages its expertise to develop and market innovative cultured fresh dairy products in the United States. Headquartered in White Plains, NY, Dannon has plants in Minster, OH, Fort Worth, TX, and West Jordan, UT. The company produces and sells approximately 100 different types of flavors, styles and sizes of cultured fresh dairy products. Dannon is owned by Groupe Danone, one of the world's leading producers of packaged foods and beverages, and Dannon is the top-selling brand of yogurt products worldwide, sold under the names Dannon and Danone. With a strong commitment to high-quality, wholesome, nutritious and innovative products, The Dannon Company is committed to encouraging healthy eating and living. This commitment is also illustrated through The Dannon Company's support of the Dannon Institute, an independent, non-profit foundation dedicated to promoting research, education, and communication about the links between nutrition, diet and health. For more information, please visit www.dannon.com. *Based on a 2007 national insight survey commissioned by Dannon **2007 study by Harris Interactive, commissioned by Dannon
In Live Bacteria, Food Makers See a Bonanza
The fastest way to consumers' hearts may be through their troubled stomachs. By Andrew Martin The New York Times – January 22, 2007 In the year since the Dannon Company introduced Activia®, a line of yogurt with special live bacteria that are marketed as aiding regularity, sales in United States stores have soared well past the $100 million mark, a milestone that only a small percentage of new foods reaches each year. Now other food makers, eyeing Activia®'s success, are scrambling to offer their own products with special live microbes that offer health benefits, known as probiotics. Probiotic foods have been popular in Europe and Asia for decades; in fact, Activia® has been sold overseas since 1987. But there are challenges in replicating that success in the United States, including an American public that eats far less yogurt than Europeans and a culture that has traditionally relied on pills, rather than food and natural remedies, to remain healthy. Still, given Activia®'s popularity and the growing public demand for natural products in the United States, some experts say that probiotics have the potential to be this decade's oat bran, which became a food sensation in the 1980s after it was shown to lower cholesterol levels. "I know marketers will start looking to put it on everything," said Bob Goldin, executive vice president of Technomic, a food industry research and consulting firm. But probiotic foods will sell only if they taste good and consumers believe they are credible, he said. There is broad agreement that probiotics may help improve health, plus a growing body of research linking them to relief of irritable bowel syndrome, yeast infections, and diarrhea that results from certain illnesses. But so far there is no definitive proof for some extravagant claims. Already, manufacturers have suggested that probiotics may help ward off everything from allergies to colon cancer. The Food and Drug Administration takes a neutral position, policing food packages to make sure that companies do not try to equate probiotic products with disease-curing drugs (unless they have scientific evidence to back up a claim). One scholarly group that has addressed the topic recently, the American Academy of Microbiology, said in a 2006 report that "at present, the quality of probiotics available to consumers in food products around the world is unreliable." The oat bran craze fizzled in part because its health benefits were overstated, and some nutrition and medical experts say the situation may be the same with probiotics. Detractors say that a lot of fuzzy claims are being made, and it is sometimes unclear how much of a food a person would have to eat — or how often they would have to eat it — to obtain any benefits. But the doubts do not seem to have toned down the marketing for probiotics. "They are gaining a reputation as being good for you in some way, and there is an element of truth in that," said David Schardt, a senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition advocacy group. "But it is a very narrow element of truth, in certain very specific diseases where it's been proven to be helpful." Probiotics in food are part of a larger trend toward "functional foods," which stress their ability to deliver benefits that have traditionally been the realm of medicine or dietary supplements. Whether or not their claims are to be believed, some food companies say that their orange juice with omega 3 fatty acids is good for the heart, that their green tea drinks can burn calories and that their granola bars with plant sterols can lower cholesterol. Nutritionists scoff at some of these claims, and not all foods marketed as functional have been hits. The ones that come across to consumers as less natural, such as fortified soft drinks, have not sold as well as those that seem inherently healthy, like yogurt and orange juice. For Activia® — which Dannon recommends eating daily in order to derive health benefits — it didn't hurt that yogurt sales have been soaring and that millions of Americans complain of stomach problems. "Activia® is unique," said Michelle Barry, senior vice president for consumer insights and trends at the Hartman Group, a market research firm. "They are kind of the poster child of great success in this category of functional foods." So far, most probiotic products can be found in the dairy case or as dietary supplements. TCBY sells a probiotic frozen yogurt, and Stonyfield Farm is introducing a dairy-based energy drink called Shift with probiotics. Both Dannon and Stonyfield Farm are owned by the Group Danone, a French company. But there is also a trickle of non-dairy probiotic food, including a cereal called Kashi Vive and "wellness bars" from a company called Attune Foods. At the Whole Foods store in Union Square in Manhattan, there are several shelves of probiotic dairy products, including DanActive, a new offering from Dannon, as well as Wildwood Soyogurt Smoothie and Probugs Organic Whole Milk Kefir, from Lifeway Foods. Susan Kramer, a 50-year-old mother who was shopping at the store recently, said she regularly bought DanActive. "I assume it has more probiotics than regular yogurt," she said. "It just makes me feel good to drink it, and my kids like it." Probiotics include bacteria that is used to ferment food, whether it is yogurt, cheese or pickles. While there are thousands of different probiotics, only a handful have been tested in clinical trials and been shown to deliver specific health benefits when eaten regularly. Critics say that some food products do not say which bacterial strains they contain nor how much of the ingredient is in each package. The growth of probiotics in food comes as some scientists are focused on the role of beneficial bacteria in people's intestinal tracts in aiding digestion, boosting the body's natural defenses and fighting off harmful bacteria that could cause health problems. Gary B. Huffnagle, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan and a strong proponent of probiotics, says there is independent research that shows that probiotics help with some bowel problems, plus strong but not conclusive evidence that probiotics help alleviate yeast infections and the stomach woes often associated with taking antibiotics. But Professor Huffnagle, who said he had no financial ties to companies that sell probiotic products, said there simply was not enough research to support claims that probiotics could ward off cancer, allergies, high blood pressure and other diseases. "It's early in terms of the research," he said. Mr. Schardt, the nutritionist with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the claims of many probiotic foods and supplements were not backed by scientific research. For instance, Kashi Vive cereal promises to "care for your digestive system and enhance your joie de vivre," but there is no published research that shows that the probiotic strain in Vive has any health benefits, he said. Kashi, which is owned by the Kellogg Company, declined to comment other than to say the strain it uses in Kashi Vive is proprietary. Similarly, Mr. Schardt said that a study supporting DanActive's claim for strengthening the body's defenses showed that it did not prevent colds or infections, though it did reduce the duration of colds by a day and a half. Dannon officials said that Mr. Schardt's analysis was full of errors and that other studies showed that DanActive strengthens the body's defenses. As for Activia®, the company does not claim that it reduces the risk of specific medical conditions like constipation. Rather, Dannon says, it "can help regulate your digestive system by helping reduce long intestinal transit time." The success of Group Danone's probiotic products has helped boost its stock by more than 50 percent over the last year. Mark Lynch, an analyst with Goldman Sachs in London, said that Danone's growth in dairy had been due mostly to growth in new markets combined with the introduction of innovative products in existing markets. Besides Activia® and Actimel (the European equivalent of DanActive), Danone has introduced a yogurt called Danacol in Europe that contains plant sterols that the company says lower cholesterol. Another Danone yogurt is on the way that claims to improve skin quality. As word circulates among consumers about probiotics, not all shoppers are sold. At a Giant Eagle grocery store in Cleveland, Amanda Ross, a 31-year-old grant writer, said she had tried Kashi Vive and concluded that it tasted like cardboard. "It didn't make my mouth feel good," she said. "And I'm a big granola and cereal person." As for Activia®, Ms. Ross said she had bought it on sale and liked the taste, but did not notice any digestive changes. "When it went up to its regular price, I didn't buy any more," she said. Christopher Maag contributed reporting from Cleveland. From The New York Times on the Web ? The New York Times Company. Reprinted with Permission.
New Survey Shows Americans Are Backed Up –
Dannon Launches Activia: A New Way To Ease Digestive Irregularity
February 15, 2006
White Plains, February 15, 2006 ? Orlando is at a standstill, and we're not talking traffic. According to The Activia Most Irregular Cities Ranking, a recent national survey1 sponsored by The Dannon Company, the Orlando area2 is the most irregular market in America. But, Floridians aren't alone. The same research shows that approximately 26 million American adults have experienced irregularity at least once in the last three months. For the survey, irregularity was defined as that miserable experience of not going to the bathroom for two or more days. More uncomfortable yet, more than half (55 percent) of those reporting irregularity ? more than 12 million adults ? say they have been irregular three or more times over the last three months. Help is on the way! The Dannon Company is trailblazing a new way to help Americans keep their bodies working like clockwork with the launch of Activia®, the first and only probiotic yogurt available in the United States that is clinically proven to help naturally regulate the digestive system in two weeks when eaten daily, as part of a healthy and balanced diet. Activia®, the only yogurt with the special culture Bifidus Regularis™, is truly a revolutionary food product. This delicious yogurt combines great taste with a functional benefit desired by millions. "Irregularity is a source of true discomfort for many people who experience feelings of being heavy and bloated ? a person's entire day can be ruined by even a mild digestive problem," said Michael Roizen, MD, Professor of Medicine and Chair of the Division of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, and Comprehensive Pain Management at the Cleveland Clinic, and author of two New York Times #1 Bestsellers: RealAge: Are You As Young As You Can Be? and YOU: The Owner's Manual. "With Activia, there is finally a great-tasting food that helps regulate your digestive system." The survey examined 50 of the largest U.S. markets. And while irregularity is a persistent problem causing true discomfort for Americans across the country, the research showed markets in the south had the greatest prevalence of the condition with nine of the top ten irregularity markets.
More Survey Highlights:
Each 4oz. serving of Activia contains billions of beneficial probiotic cultures, including the exclusive Bifidus Regularis™, which is clinically proven to remain live and active in the digestive tract where it exerts its effect. Probiotics, meaning "for life," are living microorganisms, which upon ingestion in sufficient quantities provide additional health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Activia® works by helping to reduce long intestinal transit time ? the time it takes food to pass through the digestive system. Studies have shown that this reduction in transit time has reached up to 40 percent, depending on levels consumed and the demographic profile.4 For individuals whose digestive system is functioning regularly, Activia has no adverse effects and provides all the benefits expected of a traditional yogurt. "Studies demonstrate that the effect of Dannon's Activia is in part due to the proprietary probiotic strain Bifidus Regularis. The product is particularly effective in healthy individuals with a slow transit time," said Miguel Freitas, Scientific Affairs Manager at The Dannon Company. "The beneficial effect of Activia with Bifidus Regularis on transit time can help lead to better, daily well-being and a natural regulation of the digestive system." Activia is sold in 36 countries worldwide by Dannon's parent company, Groupe Danone. Activia is now available nationwide in the yogurt section of major supermarkets in six flavors: Strawberry, Vanilla, Blueberry, Peach, Prune and Mixed Berry. Activia is packaged in 4oz. 4- and 8-packs at a suggested retail price of $2.49 and $4.49, respectively. For more product information, please visit www.activia.com and for further research about probiotics, visit DannonProbioticsCenter.com. The Dannon Company, Inc., is America's founding national yogurt company and continually leverages its expertise to develop and market innovative yogurt products in the United States. Headquartered in White Plains, NY, Dannon has plants in Minster, OH, Fort Worth, TX, and West Jordan, UT. The company produces and sells approximately 100 different types of flavors, styles and sizes of yogurt products. Dannon is owned by Groupe Danone, one of the world's leading producers of packaged foods and beverages, and Dannon is the top-selling brand of yogurt products worldwide, sold under the names Dannon and Danone. With a strong commitment to high-quality, wholesome, nutritious and innovative products, The Dannon Company, Inc. is committed to encouraging healthy eating and living and strives to innovate with one goal in mind: to create foods for families and individuals with their health and enjoyment in mind. For more information, please visit www.dannon.com. References 1. Opinion Research Corporation's Caravan Omnibus Survey, Oct-Dec 2005. 2. Each of the 20,579 respondents to the survey was assigned to one of 205 market areas. The incidence of irregularity was computed for fifty of the largest market areas. 3. Each of the 20,579 respondents to the survey was assigned to one of 205 market areas. The incidence of irregularity was computed for fifty of the largest markets. 4. Data on file About The Survey The Activia Most Irregular Cities Ranking is based on a telephone survey of a national probability sample of 20,579 adults, age 18 and older. The interviewing was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation using its Caravan survey service from October through December 2005. With a sample of this size, the national survey results are likely to be within one-half of one-percentage point of the results of a survey of all U.S. telephone households.
Eating Your Way to Health;
Companies Are Marketing Fortified Foods to the Drug-Wary By Melanie Warner The New York Times - December 28, 2005 Ever since she gave birth to her fourth child in 2003, Michelle Celona, a 43-year-old part-time teacher in Philadelphia, had suffered from annoying bouts of constipation. Figuring it was the stress of carting three children around or the result of something that had changed in her body after pregnancy, she learned to live with it. But when the Dannon Company asked Ms. Celona in June if she wanted to participate in a two-week trial for Activia, a new fortified yogurt that the company said could help speed up what nutritionists delicately refer to as intestinal transit time, she jumped at the chance. "I was skeptical that it would work," she said. "But if it's something I already like, then that's much better than popping a pill." Dannon, the American division of the French company Group Danone, is counting on finding more people like Ms. Celona, who contend the yogurt worked as promised. The company expects to spend $60 million next year aiming at the 70 million Americans who suffer from digestive problems. With health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis and digestive disorders all on the rise, a growing number of food marketers are selling what the food industry calls functional foods, which promise a host of health benefits, from cholesterol reduction to immunity improvements to easing of intestinal problems. Marketing solutions to health problems has traditionally been the realm of drug companies, but that is starting to change. As the baby boom generation ages and Americans become increasingly concerned about their health, packaged food companies see a big marketing opportunity. Television, radio and print commercials scheduled for February for Activia yogurt, which contains specific beneficial bacteria that work in the colon along with the body's own bacteria, will feature women talking about their irregularity problems. Activia will be available in supermarkets in mid-January. Elations, a new flavored beverage from a company run by a team of former Procter & Gamble executives, promises "joint flexibility" and contains the nutritional supplements glucosamine, which is believed to play a role in cartilage formation and repair, and chondroitin, a natural component of cartilage that is thought to help with elasticity. Next month, PepsiCo will start selling a new version of its Tropicana orange juice containing three grams of fiber per serving (in the form of starch in which molecules have been rearranged to resist digestion). It will join several brands of Tropicana that are already enhanced with various vitamins and minerals and that profess to benefit the heart and the immune system and to make children's bones strong. In making such assertions, companies are dodging Food and Drug Administration regulations that require a rigorous approval process for health claims. Marketers are not required to get agency approval for claims that talk about the body's "normal, healthy structures and functions," only for references to specific diseases or health conditions. As a result, Dannon's marketing promises that Activia will help "regulate your digestive system," but the word "constipation" is not used. Ads and packaging for Elations will refer to "joint flexibility" and "ease of movement," not arthritis. Most major food and beverage companies say they are working on functional food projects, though some are taking a wait-and-see approach. At an investor meeting a little over a year ago, the chief executive of Coca-Cola, E. Neville Isdell, said carbonated soft drinks would be "carriers of health and wellness benefits." But the company has yet to market any such products. How big is the functional foods market? According to some reports, it could be huge. A study by Gerard Anderson, a professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, found that 48.4 percent of all Americans in 2002 suffered from at least one chronic health condition, from hypertension to asthma to heart disease, up from 44.7 percent in 1996. Marketing surveys also show that more Americans are interested in natural solutions to health issues. "People are getting nervous about pharmaceuticals," said Faith Popcorn, who runs BrainReserve, a marketing company. "If it's food, people trust it more. And people are also so happy to hear that something they love to eat is also good for them." Ms. Popcorn cites the Vioxx situation -- in which millions of pain sufferers were told that the anti-inflammatory drugs they were taking might increase their risk of heart attacks -- and the high price of drugs as factors spurring consumers to seek out drug-free remedies. According to a BrainReserve survey in 2004, 65 percent of people said they were using diet to treat an illness, whether through a low-fat regimen, a diet of organic food or a higher intake of certain kinds of food. While many scientists promote the healing powers of a diet based on whole grains and lots of fruits and vegetables, some are skeptical of the idea that specific conditions should be treated through packaged food products. Alice H. Lichtenstein, a senior scientist at the nutrition research center at Tufts University, says she believes that people who may be in need of additional nutrients, cholesterol-lowering plant sterols or extra fiber should get them through a multivitamin or pill-based supplement. "The danger with this is that people will add food to their diet, rather than substitute, and then they'll end up consuming more calories, which would not be good," Dr. Lichtenstein said. Food companies say many people do not like to take pills and find it easier to get nutrients or supplements in a food or a beverage that they may be consuming anyway. But getting people with high cholesterol to buy a cholesterol-lowering cereal or those with constipation to eat more yogurt has proven difficult. Over the last 10 years, many attempts to market functional foods have fallen flat. Marketing experts say Americans crave quick, simple solutions for better health, but they are also wary of big promises that do not ring true. In 1999, the Kellogg Company devoted extensive resources to Ensemble -- a line of cereals, cookies, lasagna, frozen entrees and baked potato chips that contained psyllium, a soluble fiber that has been proved to reduce cholesterol -- only to take it off the market nine months later because of poor consumer response. Similarly, analysts say that Cadbury Schweppes's 7UP Plus, a soda fortified with calcium and vitamin C and marketed as good for bones, has underperformed relative to other recent soda introductions. Several months ago, the company took out the vitamin C and said it would introduce two new flavors. Lauren Radcliffe, a Cadbury spokeswoman, said that the company remained excited about 7UP Plus and was planning an ad campaign for the first quarter of 2006. Harvey Hartman, chief executive of the Hartman Group, a Seattle consulting firm, said consumers might be likely to respond to health claims for certain foods or beverages, but soda was not one of them. "Juice, yogurt, cereal, bars, these things make sense," Mr. Hartman said. "They're already perceived as being relatively healthy." Coca-Cola's Minute Maid brand, for instance, has had strong sales for its Heart Wise orange juice with plant sterols. Sales for Heart Wise are up 39 percent over the last year, versus a decline of 3.5 percent for regular Minute Maid juice, according to Information Resources Inc., a marketing information company. Juan Carlos Dalto, chief executive of Dannon, said yogurt was an ideal food for health benefits. "Yogurt is already perceived as a health product and most people realize that it already has bacterial cultures," he said. "With Activia, we're just adding a specific strain that offers a specific benefit." Dannon's bacteria strain, Bifidus regularis, is part of a class of bacteria that already exists in the digestive systems of most healthy people. The company has sponsored four studies showing that among people who are irregular, consumption of one four-ounce container of Activia yogurt a day leads to as much as a 40 percent reduction in the amount of time it takes food to exit the digestive system. People with constipation or other digestive maladies may have a shortage of beneficial bacteria as a result of improper diet or heavy use of antibiotics, which tend to kill good bacteria along with the bad. "We are saying that, after two weeks, Activia naturally regulates your digestive system," said Andreas Ostermayr, Dannon's senior vice president for marketing. Scientists say that healthy bacteria, or probiotics, can be effective in helping to alleviate minor intestinal disorders, but certainly are not a cure-all remedy and may not work for everyone. The yogurt is already a blockbuster product for Groupe Danone in Europe and Asia. The company says sales of the product, which was introduced in France in 1997, have grown by 24 percent a year from 2000 to 2004 and it is now its fastest-growing product, representing 4.1 percent of Groupe Danone's 2004 sales of $16.2 billion. Mr. Ostermayr said that Dannon waited to release the product in the United States until the company had done extensive testing and believed it could get the marketing right. The company spent the last two years doing consumer tests and going to medical conferences to educate doctors about the benefits of probiotic bacteria. The Elations Company is also trying to foster a greater awareness among doctors of its particular ingredients. The company is promoting the findings of a recent arthritis study that was done independently and without involvement from the company. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, the government's main vehicle for conducting medical research, showed that glucosamine and chondroitin were effective in treating pain associated with osteoarthritis of the knee. Mr. Hartman, the Seattle consultant, said that while functional foods had always been a great idea, the category is an enigma. "It hasn't been nearly as successful as people thought it would be," he said. But Mr. Hartman added that if a manufacturer could crack the code, getting the product and the marketing right, the opportunity to appeal to the millions of Americans looking to food for health solutions was "huge." From The New York Times on the Web © The New York Times Company. Reprinted with Permission.
The Dannon Company introduces Activia® - first-of-its-kind
probiotic yogurt to help Americans get their digestive systems working like clockwork
New Dannon® Yogurt Is Clinically Proven to Help Naturally Regulate the Digestive System White Plains, NY - October 19, 2005 The Dannon Company is trailblazing a new way to help Americans improve their intestinal rhythm. Launching in February 2006, Activia® will be the first and only probiotic yogurt available in the United States that is clinically proven to help naturally regulate your digestive system in two weeks when eaten daily, as part of a healthy and balanced diet. With more than 70 million Americans suffering from digestive problems each year, consumers are craving great-tasting options to help address some of these issues  . Now with Activia®,
The Dannon Company has developed a revolutionary solution - a tasty, unique yogurt
containing the proprietary culture Bifidus Regularis®, which helps
naturally regulate the digestive system.
"At Dannon, we strive to provide wholesome and delicious products that fit easily into a healthy lifestyle," said Andreas Ostermayr, senior vice president of marketing, The Dannon Company. "We're thrilled to introduce the first-of-its-kind probiotic yogurt in the U.S. clinically proven to help regulate your digestive system." Activia® is a good source of calcium and contains five grams of protein in each 4oz. serving. With an appealing, smooth texture and flavorful fruit pieces, it also satisfies in a delectably simple way. The history of The Dannon Company is marked by creating innovative, great-tasting products. In fact, Dannon has been selling DanActive, a probiotic cultured dairy drink that helps naturally strengthen your body's defenses, since 2004 in select markets and natural food stores nationwide, forging a path for the next generation of functional foods - probiotics. Probiotics, meaning "good for life," are living microorganisms, which upon ingestion in sufficient quantities provide additional health benefits beyond basic nutrition. The benefits are due, in part, to the effects of these "friendly" bacteria on different intestinal functions. Scientific research continues to uncover the many potential benefits of probiotics; studies show that certain probiotics play a major role in the intestinal ecosystem by producing organic acids and reducing the pH. Certain probiotics may also have an affect on allergies, infections, blood cholesterol levels or high blood pressure. Each 4oz. serving of Activia contains more than ten billion beneficial cultures, including the exclusive Bifidus Regularis®, which is clinically proven to remain live and active in the digestive tract where it exerts its effect. Activia® works by helping to reduce long intestinal transit time - the time it takes food to pass through the digestive system. Studies have shown that this reduction in transit time has reached up to 40 percent, depending on levels consumed and the demographic profile  .
Slow intestinal transit is a source of true discomfort for a large portion of the population. "A person's entire day can be ruined by even a mild digestive problem," said Andreas Ostermayr. "With Activia, there is finally a great-tasting food that helps regulate your digestive system." For individuals whose digestive system is functioning regularly, Activia has no adverse effects and provides all the benefits expected of a traditional yogurt. Activia is sold in 24 countries worldwide by Dannon's parent company, Groupe Danone. In February 2006, Activia will be available nationwide in the yogurt section of major supermarkets in six flavors: Strawberry, Vanilla, Blueberry, Peach, Prune and Mixed Berry. Activia is packaged in 4oz. 4- and 8-packs at a suggested retail price of $2.49 and $4.49, respectively. For more product information, please visit www.dannonactivia.com and for further research about probiotics, visit www.dannonprobioticscenter.com. The Dannon Company, Inc., is America's founding national yogurt company and continually leverages its expertise to develop and market innovative yogurt products in the United States. Headquartered in White Plains, NY, Dannon has plants in Minster, OH, Fort Worth, TX, and West Jordan, UT. The company produces and sells approximately 100 different types of flavors, styles and sizes of yogurt products. Dannon is owned by Groupe Danone, one of the world's leading producers of packaged foods and beverages, and Dannon is the top-selling brand of yogurt products worldwide, sold under the names Dannon and Danone. With a strong commitment to high-quality, wholesome, nutritious and innovative products, The Dannon Company, Inc. is committed to encouraging healthy eating and living and strives to innovate with one goal in mind: to create foods for families and individuals with their health and enjoyment in mind. For more information, please visit www.dannon.com. 1 American Gastroenterological Association 2 Data on file Media Contact: Shari Forman Edelman shari.forman@edelman.com
The Pros of Probiotics and their Effects on Your Gut The Facts About Probiotics and Dannon Activia® With increased consumer demand for functional foods, interest in probiotics is on the rise. Researchers continue to discover more about how probiotics provide benefits by altering the intestinal microflora and improving intestinal function. Benefits vary depending on the type of probiotic bacteria used and the amount consumed, but experts agree that daily consumption of probiotics is beneficial. With Dannon's introduction of Activia®, Americans will benefit from a new probiotic yogurt, made with a proprietary strain of culture called Bifidus Regularis®. Activia has been clinically proven to help naturally regulate the digestive system in two weeks when consumed daily, as part of a healthy and balanced diet. What is a Probiotic? Probiotic literally means "good for life." Probiotics are "live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host" (FAO/WHO, 2002). They must be identified, food-grade and alive in adequate amounts at the time of ingestion. In addition, research shows that probiotic cultures which survive and are active in the human gastrointestinal tract confer the most benefits. What is Microflora and How Does it Impact the Gastrointestinal Tract? The complex ecosystem of bacteria that lives in your intestinal tract is called the intestinal microflora. Microflora are specific to each individual, just like fingerprints. There are more than 400 types of bacteria found in the gastrointestinal tract and there are approximately ten times the number of bacteria in the intestinal tract as cells in the entire body (about 100 trillion bacteria cells total). Many of these bacteria are beneficial and are important for normal human growth and development. Some bacteria, however, can cause disease. Under normal circumstances, the "good" bacteria far outnumber the bad. Any shift in the balance of "good" or "friendly" to "bad" bacteria may affect how well the gastrointestinal tract functions. The intestinal microflora plays an important functional role - it maintains a very precise relationship with the host and confers benefits on the latter. The composition of the intestinal microflora changes with age and is sensitive to environmental variations, as is the case during menopause and certain drug treatments. It is profoundly altered in the event of acute and chronic intestinal diseases. Equilibrium can be temporarily restored to the intestinal microflora by ingestion of probiotics. How Does Activia Impact the Digestive System? Research has shown that regular daily consumption of Dannon's new Activia, with the proprietary strain Bifidus Regularis®, can help naturally regulate the digestive system by helping to reduce long intestinal transit time (Marteau et al., 2002; Meance et al., 2001; Meance et al., 2003). Various studies have been performed to evaluate the survival of Bifidus Regularis in the gastrointestinal tract as well as the beneficial effects of this product. According to research, Bifidus Regularis survives passage through the stomach, small intestine and the entire gastrointestinal tract. Multiple studies conducted with Activia® by Dannon or with only the specific culture Bifidus Regularis® demonstrate the following:
The scientifically demonstrated benefits allow researchers to recommend regular daily consumption of Activia® by Dannon containing Bifidus Regularis® for consumers ages three years and older. Activia helps to naturally regulate the digestive system by helping to achieve a more regular intestinal transit and better elimination of waste from the body; leading in turn to better, daily well-being and a natural regulation of the digestive system. In February 2006, The Dannon Company is launching Activia® - the only probiotic lowfat yogurt available in the United States that is clinically proven to help naturally regulate your digestive system in two weeks when consumed daily, as part of a healthy and balanced diet. Activia® is already sold in 24 countries worldwide. It will be available nationwide in the United States in the yogurt section of major supermarkets in six flavors: Strawberry, Vanilla, Blueberry, Peach, Prune and Mixed Berry. Activia is packaged in 4oz. 4- and 8-packs at a suggested retail price of $2.49 and $4.49 respectively. For more product information, please visit www.dannonactivia.com and for further research about probiotics, visit www.dannonprobioticscenter.com. Media Contact: Shari Forman |
