BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to cultured dairy-based and cultured plant-based yogurt-type products and, more particularly, to the packaging of cultured dairy-based and cultured plant-based yogurt-type products.

It has been found that, when consumers are deciding which of a selection of goods to purchase, consumers consider the packaging of the different goods. Accordingly, it is important to evaluate the packaging of goods when offering goods for sale, especially if the goods are sold adjacent to competing goods. In the context of food products, food products are often sold in supermarkets next to other competing products. As such, significant effort is frequently put into creating food product packaging that both grabs the attention of consumers and makes the products more appealing upon inspection.

Regarding yogurt in particular, yogurt is sometimes sold packaged with additional ingredients. Such ingredients can include fruit and granola, for example. The ingredients can be pre-mixed with the yogurt, or the ingredients can be packaged with the expectation that the consumer will mix them with the yogurt prior to or during consumption, as with fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt, for example. It would be desirable to be able to highlight these ingredients using product packaging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, the present invention provides yogurt-based food products with packaging that highlights the mix-in ingredients included with the yogurt, as well as methods of producing such products. Specifically, fruit is deposited in a transparent or translucent container. As the fruit tends to clump in the middle of the container, the fruit may not be readily visible once the container is filled. To remedy this, a blast of gas, such as air, is used to drive the fruit outward from the center of the container to the sides of the container prior to the remainder of the container being filled. This makes it easier for a consumer to see the fruit in the resulting product.

Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to common parts in the several views.

