Yogurt is enjoying brisk sales as makers and the media tout its efficacy as a health and beauty food, despite the sluggishness in business surrounding milk products, according to market sources.
Many dairy products makers turned to developing yogurt products after the milk market was hit hard by Snow Brand Milk Products Co.'s widespread food-poisoning scandal in summer 2000.
Another cause of the popularity is television programs that tout yogurt's lactic acid bacilli as helpful in regulating the functions of the intestines and in preventing numerous ailments, according to the sources.