Great American Supermarket Yogurt Conspiracy

The wholesale cost for the milk that fills a quart
container is about 35 cents. It costs processors less
than one penny to fill that same-sized container with
soymilk. Shouldn't soymilk products cost consumers
less to purchase than cow's milk products?

Somebody is getting ripped off and the situation is
worse than even I'd imagined.

Each week, our family does our Sunday shopping at the
local Shop Rite supermarket in Emerson, New Jersey.
Each week, we see various dairy promotions offering
one brand or another of yogurt on sale. It is typical
to see offers such as: Ten 8-ounce containers of
yogurt for $4. That comes to 40 cents per container.
What does not add up is that the soy yogurt, which is
cheaper to manufacture, usually sells for 99 cents per
6-ounce container. I've yet to see it discounted.

It is as if these soy distributors do not want you to
eat their product. What ever happened to supply and
demand?

I will find six or more different companies offering
cow's milk yogurt, but when it comes to soy yogurt,
there's just one, SILK.

SILK was once owned by White Wave, a company started
by a dedicated Colorado ex-hippie who intended to
change the world for the better. In the midst of his
mission, there appeared a wheelbarrow filled with dollar
bills, and SILK became the property of Dean Foods,
America's largest dairy distributor.

Could it be that they do not want America's tastes to
change? Is it possible that the 99 cents price range is
maintained so that SILK will sit on the shelf, unsold?

How about other companies? Don't they make soy yogurts? The
answer to that question is, absolutely. In the past, I've
been to the annual new products exposition held each year in
the Washington, D.C. area. A similar show is also held on the
West coast. Each visit presentED me with dozens of soy yogurt
choices. Horizon milk makes a great soy yogurt. So does
Stoneyfield Farms. Why don't their Notmilk products make
it to the supermarket shelves?

Cow's milk cannot compete with soy. Soy is cheaper, easier
to digest, and healthier. The profit potential for soy yogurt
manufacturers is geometrically greater than for cow's
milk-based yogurt.

Still, the insanity continues.

I refuse to spend 99 cents for a tiny container of soy yogurt,
no matter how much I enjoy it.

I've found that a package of soft Mori-nu tofu blends well
with fresh strawberries, blueberries, bananas, or a teaspoon
of vanilla and a touch of maple syrup. If you have a VitaMix
machine or powerful blender, you should be making your own
until the Great American Supermarket Yogurt Conspiracy ends.

Those knuckleheads in the dairy industry who now control the
soy industry must wake up and recognize that it's easy for
consumers to make their own. Do your best for us and we'll
become loyal consumers. Screw us, and we'll return the
favor.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com
i4crob@...