Germantown, Wis.-based Gehl Foods Inc., brings new opportunities to the alternative beverage (ambient) aisle with the introduction of Main St. Café Protein Smoothies. Sold in 11-ounce plastic bottles, the shelf-stable smoothies come in mixed berry, peach and strawberry flavors. They are the only shelf-stable bottled smoothies in the market made with yogurt; however, the sterilization process does inactivate the cultures.

“We’re packaging today’s popular dairy trends to fit consumers’ busy lives,” says John Slawny, vice president-sales and marketing.  “Main St. Café captures the existing growth in niche protein products and foodservice smoothies, and brings them together in a fresh, simple way for the broader beverage market.” 

Gehl Foods begins with real yogurt made fresh on site, providing an excellent source of both natural milk protein and calcium. Each smoothie has 10 grams of dairy protein and 30% of the daily value for calcium. Most important for Gehl Foods, however, is maintaining the beverage’s fresh, creamy taste throughout distribution. Through a unique aseptic process, the company rapidly raises the smoothies to food-safe temperatures before cooling and packaging them in a sterile environment, eliminating the microorganisms that cause ordinary dairy foods to spoil. This enables the drinks to be shipped and sold unrefrigerated — without compromising their fresh dairy taste.