history of soy yogurt, soy acidophilus milk and other ... - SoyInfo Center

introduction, manufacturer’s name, address and phone
number, and (in many cases) ingredients, weight, packaging
and price, storage requirements, nutritional composition, and
a description of the label. Sources of additional information
on each product (such as references to and summaries of
advertisements, articles, patents, etc.) are also given.
Details on how to make best use of this book, a
complete subject and geographical index, an author/company
index, a language index, and a bibliometric analysis of
the composition of the book (by decade, document type,
language, leading periodicals or patents, leading countries,
states, and related subjects, plus a histogram by year) are also
included.
Introduction (p. 7-8): There are two basic types of soy
yogurt: fermented and non-fermented. The fermented type
is usually made from soymilk in the same way as a typical
dairy yogurt. The non-fermented type is usually made
by blending silken tofu (sometimes with fruits and other
ingredients) until it attains the smooth consistency of yogurt–
but lacks the sourness.
The idea of making a yogurt from soymilk was fi rst
conceived of in 1910 by Li Yu-ying, the remarkable Chinese
scientist and soyfoods pioneer who in late 1910 or early 1911
started a soyfoods factory named Usine de la Caseo-Sojaine
at Valles near Colombes, on the outskirts of Paris. In Dec.
1910 he applied for a British Patent titled “Vegetable milk
and its derivatives.” There he stated: “For the fermented
milk, the special ferment termed ‘sojabacille’ is employed or
other ferments used for obtaining fermented milks–kephir,
yoghourt, koumiss, maya bulgare, and the like...” His patent
(No. 30,275) was issued in 1912.
In addition, we know that Li made a fermented soymilk
product at his factory near Paris, but we cannot be sure that
the this product was actually soy yogurt. Nor do we know the
actual French-language name of the product.
Worldwide, there was little interest in soy yogurts from
1911 until about 1981 (see histogram on p. 189); since that
time there has been a steady growth of interest, of new
products, and of consumption.
At least 90 commercial soy yogurts have been developed
worldwide, including 40 in Europe and 34 in the USA.
The world’s fi rst soy yogurt of which we can be sure
was Soyogurt, developed and launched in 1977 by Robert
Brooks and Mary Pung of Swan Foods Corporation / The
Soybeanery in Miami, Florida. This delicious fermented
soymilk product was sold in plain, raspberry, strawberry, and
peach fl avors.
Other early American soy yogurts were Soy Yogurt
(launched in March 1981 by Aqua Agra of Longwood,
Florida), Soymilk Yogurt (April 1982, Current River Soy
Products of Doniphan, Missouri), Soymilk Yogurt (April
1982, Trudy de Benedictus of Venice, California), Soy
Yogurt (1982, Bountiful Bean Plant of Madison, Wisconsin),
Yogo (May 1983, Bud Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland),
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 379
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
Farm Soy Dairy Soy Yogurt (Oct. 1983, Farm Soy Dairy,
Summertown, Tennessee; they have been making soy yogurt
for The Farm community since Oct. 1974!), and Tofruit
(Aug. 1984, Eastern Foods Corp., Minneapolis, Minnesota).
The fi rst American soy yogurt to attract widespread
mainstream attention was Jofu, a non-fermented product
made from silken tofu by Tomsun Foods International
(formerly New England Soy Dairy) of Greenfi eld,
Massachusetts. Launched in Dec. 1985 in 7 fl avors, it
was partially the brainchild of Juan Metzger, a founder of
Dannon Yogurt in 1942 and the chairman and president
of Dannon until 1981. Metzger had been chairman of the
Tomsun board since 1983. During Jofu’s fi rst year, Tomsun
spent over $750,000 advertising the product under the slogan
“It’s time to go beyond yogurt.” Potential buyers: Those who
dislike the sour taste of yogurt, are lactose intolerant, or are
watching cholesterol or fat intake.
In mid-December 1986 Tomsun netted about $3.5
million in its fi rst public stock offering–money used largely
to improve and market Jofu. By May 1987 Tomsun had
orders for 25,000 cases of Jofu per week but could only
produce 12,000. It was too much too soon for the small
plant. Hopes to raise additional capital were dashed by
the U.S. stock market crash in Oct. 1987. On 8 April 1988
Tomsun fi led for protection under Chapter 11 of the Federal
Bankruptcy Act–a victim of Jofu’s runaway success and of
trying to expand too fast. The company never recovered.
Europe’s fi rst soy yogurts were launched in 1985. The
fi rst of these to attract widespread attention was Sojasun,
launched in Aug. 1985 by Laiteries Triballat of Noyal-sur-
Vilaine, France. This fermented soymilk product came in a
host of tantalizing fl avors including apricot-guava, raspberrypassion
fruit, banana-orange, exotic fruits. In Oct. 1988 the
company began advertising the product heavily on French
television. The slogan: “Sojasun, the fi rst vital pleasure.”
The United Kingdom has become Europe’s largest
market for soy yogurt, in large part because of the large
number of vegetarians and vegans in that country. England’s
fi rst soy yogurt was Sunrise Soya Milk “Live” Fruit Yoghurt,
introduced in July 1987 by Michael Cole of Soya Health
Foods Ltd. in Manchester.
Other early British soy yogurts were Yoga (launched
in 1986 by the Regular Tofu Co.), White Wave Soya Yogart
(May 1987 by Unisoy Milk ‘n’ By-Products Ltd.), and
Granose Soya Yogert (Sept. 1988 by Granose Foods Ltd.).
The largest manufacturer of soy yogurts in the UK today
is Genice Foods Ltd., which started in April 1986 as a maker
of soy ice creams. Genice develops and manufactures soy
yogurts only for other companies; its fi rst product was made
in 1989, shortly after it joined the Haldane Foods Group.
In 1990 Genice developed a unique process for making
pasteurized yogurts that have a 4-month shelf life at room
temperature. Today 90% of Genice’s business is soy yogurts
and only 10% soy ice creams. Genice makes at least 90%