Canadians are clawing Greek yogurt off grocery store shelves

Now that Greek yogurt has conquered the American market, the creamy treat is making (low-sodium, high-protein) waves across Canada. How big is the mania? In a video for the Toronto Star, food writer Corey Mintz holds a container aloft and confesses: “I had to stab an old man to get this.” The boost in sales started about 18 months ago, and Greek yogurt is now flying off shelves, with sales in Longo’s tripling and quadrupling in some locations, according to the Star article that accompanies the video. Sobey’s and Loblaws have both reported occasional shortages. Chobani, a Greek yogurt purveyor, is third in overall yogurt market share in the U.S. (behind Yoplait and Danone), and consumers appear to be punishing the companies that won’t give them the Greek stuff: General Mills, which bought Yoplait in 2011 and didn’t jump on the bandwagon quite early enough, has seen sales decline. Canadian Grocer magazine editor Rob Gerlsbeck insists, “It’s a Greek yogurt world.” Which sounds both tasty and ominous to us. [Toronto Star]