GFTC On-Line Newsletter: September 2007

At Last! Ice Cream That's Good For You:
YoPRO Treats combine high protein, low fat, and high calcium

YoPRO is now available in Costco (from Ajax to London, ON), Whole Foods, Highland Farms, and various high-end groceries and health-food stores in Ontario --and more are on the way. Photo courtesy of YoPRO Treats Inc.

Healthy food is healthy food, and treats are treats, and never the twain shall meet, right? Some product developers refuse to subscribe to so black-and-white a view, and prefer to find a way, as it were, to have their high-protein yoghurt treat and eat it too. Such a company is YoPRO Treats, Inc. in Burlington, Ontario, led by co-founders Chris Delaney, CEO, and Amanda House, President.

"Amanda is a certified kinesiologist and personal trainer, and I'm a lifelong athlete," says Mr. Delaney. "Between us, we have 25 years' experience in sports health, helping others live healthy lives. So when, on a hot day, Amanda wished that the ice cream which seemed so appealing wasn't so high in fat and so low in healthful ingredients, inspiration struck. We started investigating whether anyone had already developed a high-protein frozen yoghurt. No one had, so we decided to pursue it ourselves."

Pursuing that dream required expert product development assistance. "Because we were risking everything, we wanted to work with the best," said Mr. Delaney, "which is why we went to GFTC and worked closely with Robert Swan."

"Chris and Amanda had an ambitious goal," says Robert Swan, Project Manager, Product Development and Pilot Plant with GFTC. "Most ice cream has very little protein, and functions quite differently during processing than high-protein products do, so first we investigated the technical feasibility of the concept. Then we developed prototypes to find the right balance of ingredients, nutritional value, and functionality."

Most of us underestimate protein's importance. "Protein is second only to water in importance in the human body," says Amanda House. "In addition to buidling muscle and organ tissue, it supports the immune system, promotes healing, and fosters strong skin, hair and nails. While our focus was high-protein, we also made YoPRO high in calcium, with 15 per cent of the recommended daily levels. Most ice cream has only four or five per cent."

Low in saturated fat (only 1.5 g per half-cup) and is free of trans fat, YoPRO has earned the Heart & Stroke Foundation's "Health Check" symbol. In addition, because it contains high levels of iron and potassium, and no artificial ingredients, health-conscious consumers have been eager with praise.

"The feedback we've been getting has been, at last, ice cream that's good for you," says Ms. House. Mr. Delaney agrees. "We've aimed for a very wide appeal --to children and parents, to health-conscious people, to health-challenged people-- so it's great to get such positive feedback from such a wide-ranging group of customers."

On the horizon for YoPRO include plans to expand into new flavours (French vanilla, raspberry), into new formats (on a stick, in a sandwich), and into new markets (fast food outlets, high-end restaurants, health care facilities, and beyond).

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For More Information

Guelph Food Technology Centre 88 McGilvray Street Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada Tel. (519) 821-1246 Fax. (519) 836-1281 E-mail: gftc@gftc.ca Web: www.gftc.ca

For Further Exploration YoPRO Treats Inc www.yoprotreats.com For more about GFTC's related services: Product Development, prototype development, toll processing and other fee-for-service technical services Nutrition Consulting Packaging & Closure Evaluation GFTC's fee-for-service food safety and quality services Relevant public seminars Affordable tailored training

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