Stonyfield Farm, Londonderry, N.H., rolls out YoBaby Plus Fruit & Cereal, its newest organic offering for babies and toddlers. YoBaby Plus Fruit & Cereal is the first yogurt to contain both fruit puree and a mixture of cereal grains while also being fortified with iron, an essential mineral for babies and toddlers. Originally introduced in 2000, YoBaby yogurt was the first whole milk yogurt designed specifically to help meet the nutritional needs of babies and toddlers. Naturally high in calcium and protein, YoBaby yogurt provides important nutrients for growing bodies. The new YoBaby Plus goes one step further, featuring the only yogurt fortified with iron, an essential nutrient that over half of all toddlers do not get enough of in their diet. With a unique blend of organic apple puree and organic cereal grains like oats, flax, rice and bran on the bottom, YoBaby Plus Fruit & Cereal is an easily digestible protein source, and an ideal first food for infants.

Like all Stonyfield Farm products, YoBaby Plus Fruit & Cereal contains six live active cultures-more than any other nationally available brand of yogurt. Each culture provides its own unique health benefits, and all six help to enhance digestion as well as boost the immune system.

Apple-flavored YoBaby Plus Fruit & Cereal is available nationwide in six packs of 4-oz cups for a suggested retail price of $2.99.

How does one actually go about reversing an 85-year-old baseball curse? In Boston, it's by indulging in ice cream. New Reverse the Curse fromBrigham's Inc., Arlington, Ma., is an ice cream flavor created by a local fan that is designed to bring New England's favorite boys (the Red Sox) of summer to ultimate victory. Reverse the Curse combines Brigham's signature vanilla ice cream with chocolate-covered peanuts or "baseballs," chocolate-covered caramel "bases" and swirls of Brigham's famous fudge sauce.

What's the curse? It all has to do with the legendary Babe Ruth being sold by the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees. Brigham's is taking the stand that the company has brought Babe back to Boston to "reverse the curse."

The new flavor marks the first time any packaged Brigham's ice cream has included its famous fudge sauce.

Organic Valley Family of Farms, CROPP Cooperative, LaFarge, Wis., welcomes soy to its extensive line of organic foods. New Organic Valley Soy is said to be a breakthrough in soy beverages as a result of its "un-beany" taste and the unique ability to let customers trace their carton back to the exact farm where the soybeans were grown.

All of the soybeans used in Organic Valley Soy are 100% organic and no chemical masking agents are needed to hide any unpleasant beany flavors or chalkiness, says the company. Organic Valley soybeans are a result of generations of soy farming wisdom and the careful selection of organic seed varieties that make masking unnecessary.

Available in chocolate, original and vanilla, Organic Valley Soy is a great source of calcium, offering 30% of

the Daily Value. According to the company, because it spent three years perfecting a process that uses the entire soybean, the drink provides more fiber than others in the marketplace-a full 3g in every cup. Lactose and cholesterol free, the drink is also enriched with vitamins A, B2, B12 and D.

HP Hood LLC, Chelsea, Ma., continues to grow its Carb Countdown™ brand with a four-flavor (black cherry, peach, strawberry and strawberry banana) line of low-fat yogurt smoothies. Co-branded with the Atkins® logo through a licensing agreement HP Hood has with Atkins Nutritionals Inc., Ronkonkoma, N.Y., a single 10-oz bottle contains only 3g net carbs. Labels flag the fact that these smoothies contain 90% less carbohydrates/sugar and 40% more protein than other dairy-based smoothies. Single servings contain a mere 100 calories, as well as a whopping 30% of the Daily Value for calcium. Another perk: Carb Countdown Smoothies are made with whey protein isolate, a protein that emerging research shows helps lose body fat instead of lean body mass or muscle.

Noteworthy Introductions

Spring Valley, Wis.-basedCC's Jersey Crème Ltd., now offers a low-fat yogurt option called Naturally Light, which is made from the milk from its signature Jersey cows. A Wisconsin farmstead dairy artisan, CC's Jersey Crème calls the new yogurts Naturally Light because the company uses a natural separation process to remove the cream from the milk.

Dallas-based Dean Foods Co., grows its licensed Hershey's chocolate-flavored milk line by adding a little bit of mint. New Hershey's MilkShake York® comes in 14-oz single-serve plastic bottles and resembles none other than a York peppermint pattie.

INTERNATIONAL

Fun and flavor is the name of the game when talking new and unique dairy products from overseas.

Muller Dairy, known as being the first company to introduce dual-compartment yogurts with its Ecke (corner) yogurts in Germany, has extended into a new line of extremely upscale yogurts. Under the Amore name in the United Kingdom, the yogurts have a positioning as being "luxurious." And the varieties seem to bear that out: Creamy Cappuccino with Stracciatelli, Morello Cherry, Italian Lemon, Spanish Orange and Walnut & Greek Honey. Not surprisingly, the yogurts are full-fat, an attribute far more common in Europe than in the United States.

Intense flavors continue to appear in a variety of dairy categories, especially in ice cream and frozen novelties. Unilever expands its Magnum brand with Intense Truffle Ice Cream Bars in Spain. The bars have a center of chocolate truffle, vanilla ice cream and a chocolate coating. The product is similar to many seen in the United States, but the positioning of the line as Intense is unique.

Another unique flavor combination comes from Tohato in Japan. The company has taken its popular caramel corn snack flavor and converted it to a dairy-based drink. Although called a "latte," the drink is more of a flavored milk in a cup with a straw.

Ferrero, best known for its Kinder chocolate line in Europe, has extended into a dairy drink with its popular brand. Sold in France, the HappyTime drink is positioned as a chocolate ice cream drink. The package reinforces the ice cream positioning-it looks like an ice cream cone.

There have been healthful developments in dairy products in the last month as well. Aloe vera continues to appear in a variety of products, most usually in non-dairy beverages. The ingredient is promoted as having skin beauty benefits. Migros in Switzerland has introduced an aloe vera yogurt-based drink. The company says the drink contains 10% aloe vera and is low in fat. Unlike most aloe vera drinks, this one does not overtly promote its beauty benefits.

Contributed by Lynn Dornblaser, dir., Global New Products Database (GNPD) Consulting Services, a division of Mintel International, a global research company. For more information call 312/932-0400, or visit www.gnpd.com.