Yoplait

Yoplait /joʊ.pleɪ/ is an internationally franchised brand of yogurt jointly owned by United States–based food conglomerate General Mills and French dairy cooperative Sodiaal.

History

In 1964, 100,000 French farmers merged their regional dairy cooperatives to sell nationally. In 1965, two co-operatives, "Yola" and "Coplait", merged, becoming "Yoplait". The company's logo is a six-petaled flower designed by Philippe Morlighem, each petal representing one of the six main cooperatives' founders. A redesigned logo, which has been slowly rolled out since the late 2000s, uses a flower with only five petals.

On May 18, 2011, General Mills announced it had agreed to purchase a controlling 51% interest in the brand's main operating company Yoplait SAS, and a 50% interest in a related company owning the brand's intellectual property, with Sodiaal retaining the remainder. The announcement of the completion of the acquisition was made on 1 July 2011.

World franchises

Australia

In Australia, Yoplait is locally manufactured by LD&D Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Lion Group under licence. It uses the slogan "Yoplait; French for Yoghurt".