If you grew up in the 1990s or early 2000s, your mother already “forced” you to take Yakult. If not, you may remember the TV advertisement, which spoke of all the benefits of the so-called live lactobacilli that were on the package.
The milk drink was invented in Japan by the doctor Minoru Shirota, who was looking for a cure for cholera and dysentery.
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Since it began to be sold in 1935, it has become an essential item in children's lunch boxes in Japan and other Asian countries. And, over time, the product began to be exported to other parts of the world – including Brazil.
What is Yakult?
Basically, it's a sweet "yoghurt". Its composition contains water, skimmed milk, glucose, sugar and Lactobacillus casei Shirota, the famous live lactobacilli. This strain is patented by the doctor who invented the drink.
Yakult is made as follows: a basic solution of sterilized, mineral-purified water is mixed with skimmed milk powder, sugar and dextrose.
The milky liquid is then pasteurized and only after this whole process are the lactobacilli added. When fermentation is complete, the mixture is homogenized.
For all tastes and in all ways
Over time, the invention of the Japanese doctor became an empire. Today, Yakult is found in many forms, with many different flavors, for all tastes. With that, it can be drunk in many ways.
The most common is to open the bottle and drink the liquid straight from the beak. However, there are people who put portions in the freezer and consume the probiotic drink in the form of a popsicle, whipped with fruit or even mixing it with soda – as “weird” as that may be seem.
Investment
In 2022, Yakult do Brasil announced that it would invest, until this year, approximately BRL 60 million in the modernization of its industrial complex. The company is located in Lorena, in the Paraíba Valley, in the interior of São Paulo.
The company announced investment in new machinery and also expansion of the process to better meet the demand for the product.
According to the president of Yakult in the country, Atushi Nemoto, it is a “considerable investment” because “we trust Brazil a lot”.
The production of the factory in Lorena supplies all of Brazil and part of the product is also exported to Uruguay. According to Valor Econômico newspaper, Yakult does not disclose data for Brazil.
However, a survey by Euromonitor International showed that the company ranks second in the country in the probiotic yogurt segment, second only to Yogurt.
Graduated in Social Communication at the Federal University of Goiás. Passionate about digital media, pop culture, technology, politics and psychoanalysis.