Zen Monkey: "It’s like eating a bowl of oatmeal, a small cup of plain yogurt, and a side of fruit, altogether. The perfect breakfast!"
One trend that appears to be gaining traction is yogurts + oats + fruit, with three firms we talked to at Expo West (Zen Monkey, Yoatz and Chobani) all promoting products along these lines (and probably more we didn't stumble across).
Los Angeles-based Zen Monkey, which claims to have started this trend five years ago at farmer's markets before getting picked up by Whole Foods just over two years ago, urges consumers and retailers to try all three products and see which they prefer.
CEO Eric Glandian told FoodNavigator-USA: "Our's has a chewier texture and lot more oats than Chobani's. We also use whole grain rolled oats (rather than steel cut), which we first soak in apple juice and then add in Greek yogurt and fruit.
"It’s like eating a bowl of oatmeal, a small cup of plain yogurt, and a side of fruit, altogether. The perfect breakfast!"
Each 5.3oz pot contains 180-190 calories, 9g protein and 12-15g of sugar. There are five flavors: Pineapple, peach, strawberry, blueberry, and apple cinnamon.
