Go-Gurt (stylized as Go-GURT), also known as Yoplait Tubes in Canada and as Frubes in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, is an American brand of low-fat
yogurt
Yogurt (; , from , ; also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to ...
for children. It can be sucked out of a tube, instead of being eaten with a spoon. It was introduced by the
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...
-licensed brand
Yoplait
Yoplait ( , ) is a French dessert company and the world's largest franchise brand of yogurt.
It is fully owned by the French dairy cooperative Sodiaal since 2021. In North America, the Canadian subsidiary was taken over by Sodiaal in 2025. Th ...
in 1997, as the first yogurt made specifically for children.
Background
Stephen Kaufman of Green Bay, WI, a food scientist, and Jim McGuire, a research and development technician, came up with the invention while working for General Mills in the late 1980s, after Kaufman was browsing through a women's magazine and seeing shampoo samples inserts.
The original idea was based on frozen ice pops. Kaufman told the
Minneapolis–Saint Paul
Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...
magazine ''
City Pages
''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...
'' that the original conception was for the yogurt to be firm, so the tube would stand straight up—like an ice pop—but when that didn't work out, they shifted toward a creamy yogurt.
The original idea faced internal opposition at General Mills. Kaufman used hotel shampoo pouches as an inspiration to create prototypes of Go-Gurt, which he made himself on a personal-care product pouching machine he rented, to convince General Mills engineers of the idea's worthiness.
[
Go-Gurt became a side option in ]McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
Happy Meal
A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food Chain store#Restaurant chain, restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard b ...
s in 2014 in strawberry flavor.
Anthropologist Susan Squires claims that her ethnographic research in U.S. American families led her client to the development of Go-Gurt.
Sub-brands
In June 2006, frubes Fizzix, a carbonated yogurt snack, was released under the Yoplait brand. This "sparkling yogurt" was originally developed by Lynn Ogden, a professor in the College of Life Sciences at Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...
(BYU), in 1983. Ogden obtained a patent in 1997 and finally found an interested licensor at General Mills in 2006. BYU receives 55% of the royalties, which will go toward BYU's mentoring program and research, while Ogden receives the rest. Fizzix was available in six flavors, but appears to have been discontinued.
In 2005, frubes Smoothie, a drinkable yogurt for children was released. The product currently comes in four flavors: Strawberry Splash, Paradise Punch, Mango Blast, and Wild Berry.
Internationally
Outside of the U.S., Go-Gurt is sold as "Yoplait Tubes" in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, as "Frubes" in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
(previously as a sub-brand of Petit Filous), and was also sold in Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
as "グルト" ("Guruto"). The name was a play on words, as it evoked the sound of gulping a liquid and incorporated part of the Japanese transliteration of yogurt, ヨーグルト (Yo-Guruto). Go-Gurt is also available in Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
where they are known as "Yoplait Go-GURT" or simply "Go-GURT". There is also another brand available in Australia, known as "Yoplait Smackers," aimed at young girls.
Flavors
Generally, each box comes with two different flavors.
*Berry / Cherry
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...
* Fruit Punch / Strawberry-Banana (Canada)
*Melon
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...
Berry / Cotton Candy
Cotton candy, also known as candy floss (candyfloss) and fairy floss, is a spun sugar confection that resembles cotton. It is made by heating and liquefying sugar, and spinning it centrifugally through minute holes, causing it to rapidly cool ...
*Peach / Blueberry
Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' with the genus ''Vaccinium''. Commercial blueberries—both wild (lowbush) ...
(Canada)
*Raspberry
The raspberry is the edible fruit of several plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the Rosaceae, rose family, most of which are in the subgenus ''Rubus#Modern classification, Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Ras ...
/ Grape
A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters.
The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...
(Canada)
*Strawberry Splash / Berry Blue Blast
*Strawberry / Cherry (Canada)
*Strawberry / Cotton Candy
*Strawberry / Mixed Berry
*Strawberry / Punch
*Strawberry / Vanilla
*Strawberry Banana / Cotton Candy
*Strawberry Banana / Raspberry
*Strawberry Banana / Watermelon
*Strawberry Watermelon / Punch
*Strawberry Kiwi/ Fruit Punch
Single-flavor boxes include:
*Strawberry
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...
Special editions
*''Atlantik'' (Raspberry+Blackberries
BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...
) / ''Pacifik'' (Mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...
+ Litchi) (Canada only, 2011)
*''Go-Gurt Rush'': Extreme Red Rush / Crazy Berry Bolt
*''Go-Gurt Swirled'': Strawberry Milkshake
A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may ...
/ Banana Split
*''iCarly
''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...
'': Cherry / Strawberry
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...
*''Scooby-Doo
''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...
Ro-Gurt'': Shaggy's Like Cool Punch / 'Rawberry
*''Sour Patch Kids
Sour Patch Kids (also known as Carambar Very Bad Kids in France, and known as Maynards Sour Patch Kids in Canada and previously in the UK) are a brand of soft gummy candy with a coating of invert sugar and sour sugar (a combination of citric ...
'': Red Berry / Blue Raspberry
*''SpongeBob SquarePants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...
'': Strawberry Riptide / Bikini Bottom Berry
*''Strawberry+Melon'' / '' Kaki+Lemon
The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...
'' (Canada only, 2012)
*''Wizards of Waverly Place
''Wizards of Waverly Place'' is an American fantasy teen sitcom created by Todd J. Greenwald that aired on Disney Channel for four seasons between October 2007 and January 2012. The series centers on Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), a teenage wi ...
'': Cherry / Blueberry
*''Tubes Luminous'': Cookie Cream and Caramel (Canada Only)
Fizzix
*Strawberry Lemonade
Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored drink.
There are many varieties of lemonade found throughout the world.
In some parts of the world, lemonade refers to an un-carbonated, traditionally, homemade drink, using lemon juice, water, and a sw ...
Jolt / Wild Cherry Zing
*Strawberry Watermelon Rush / Blue Raspberry Rage
*Triple Berry Fusion / Fruit Punch Charge
Prehistotubes
A limited edition in 2009 had two flavors represented by cave people reminiscent of The Flintstones
''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...
: Lulutub and Tubôôk.
* Acai (the mascot is Lulutub, a purple-haired woman wearing a black and white dress and a pearl necklace)
* Red bayberry (the mascot is Tubôôk, red-haired man wearing a black and red toga)
Twisted
*Screamin Green Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
/Strawberry Mango
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...
Tango
Marketing
On August 1, 2017 Go-Gurt launched a new campaign titled ''Kids Never Had It So Easy''. The campaign features two "grumpy old fourth graders" bemoaning how easy kids—meaning third graders—have it today.
References
External links
Frubes website (UK)
@frubes.co.uk
Frubes page on Yoplait UK website
@yoplait.co.uk
Go-GURT website (USA)
@gogurt.com
Official Australian Go-Gurt site
@gogurt.com.au
Yoplait Tubes website (Canada)
@yoplait.ca
{{General Mills
Brand name yogurts
General Mills brands
Products introduced in 1999
Yogurts