Founders Bethany and Paul Eaton saw a gap in the market for a coconut milk yogurt and discovered CO YO was available in Australia. The couple now own the rights to CO YO in Europe, launching their first range in 2012.
Eaton told DairyReporter the company works with Greiner Packaging for its preprinted yoghurt pots and Constantia for its PET lids and has gone from producing 100 pots a week to 36,000.
As a former nutritionist, the entrepreneur said the product stands out in the dairy free industry because there was nothing on the market that was an alternative to soya based products.
“We originally produced the pots through a third party supplier in South Downs but we opened a factory in Kent this year which became fully operational with fill and seal machinery from Ilpra this month,” she said.
“We are also launching CO YO coconut milk ice cream this month.”
CO YO coconut milk yoghurt is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, is 100% free from dairy, gluten, lactose, soya, and has no added sugar.
There are seven flavours in the range: natural, vanilla, raw chocolate, mango, pineapple, mixed berry and morello cherry and it is sold in Wholefoods, Planet Organic, Waitrose, Ocado, Tesco and independent health food stores across the UK.
It also launched in Ireland and Germany last year.