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Yoplait Yop Mini Go Kids Yoghurt Drink – Banana & Honey | Chewsday Review

This week's Chewsday review features another yoghurt product marketed specially for kids. Yoplait’s new Yop Smoothies claim to contain real fruit and nothing artificial, but just how much banana goes into one of these smoothies (hint: it’s probably less than you think!). Read on to find out...

Ingredients

Skim Milk, Milk, Milk Solids, Water, Banana Puree (4%) Sugar, Thickeners (Pectin, Locust Bean Gum), Natural Flavours, Honey (0.1%), Lemon Juice Concentrate, Yoghurt Cultures: S. Thermophilus, L. Bugaricus.
First few ingredients all milk and milk solids, which is expected for a dairy smoothie
Good to see that it contains real banana puree, even if it is a really small amount!
Even though this only contains a tiny (very very tiny!) amount of honey, this still means it wouldn’t be suitable for babies under 12 months due to the risk of botulism.
Pectin and Locust Bean gum are both naturally found vegetable gums that help keep the texture of the product consistent
Allergens: Milk

Positives

Total fat content is within healthy guidelines
This drink is a good source of calcium, with 120mg of calcium per 100g. The small 145g container contains 174mg of calcium, which is around 1/3 of a younger child’s and 1/4 of an older child’s daily requirements.
The small size and resealable packaging make these a convenient option for kids. Often milk based drinks come in huge serving sizes – it’s nice to see something more suitable for kids.
Low sodium content, which I would expect for this kind of product

Negatives

The sugar content in these is just above healthy guidelines, with 7.9g sugar per 100g. Remember that the healthy guidelines for drinks are a bit more strict than for foods. This is partly because calories consumed in drinks are less well recognised by the body, as compared to those in food. This means we can often drink more without it contributing to our sense of fullness. The sugar in these come from the milk, banana, added sugar and a tiny amount from the honey (the added sugar and honey are the only ones we’re critical of though).
So. Little. Banana. This smoothie is only 4% banana puree….. Yoplait, really? And yes, I did the maths! If this 145g smoothie is 4% banana, that equals about 6g of banana per serve. A medium banana is around 120g, so you are really only getting one twentieth of a banana per bottle.
The name…. Something about the name ‘YOP’ makes me shudder…..

Marketing

Alternatives