The yogurt shelves are some of the most competitive in the grocery store, a battleground of BL Regularis (Activia) and L. casei Defensis (DanActive). Now, Parmalat Canada is throwing another hat in the ring with its new Astro BioBest Plant Sterols, a product it says will help people regulate their cholesterol.

However, even though probiotic terms are used often in advertising these days – a trend President’s Choice spoofs with its ProAvantage yogurt and its ‘Howaru’ ingredient – the benefits of plant sterols are new to most Canadians, Steve Hutchinson, marketing director, cultured products, Parmalat, tells MiC.

To help get the word out, Parmalat Canada is launching a new national campaign starting this fall, including TV, radio, print, online and social media. In-store POS and informational handouts will also be a focus for the campaign. Media was handled by OMD, creative by BBDO in Toronto and social media by Blueband Media, all in Toronto.

‘We need to educate consumers on plant sterols and its significant benefits in our BioBest yogurt at this stage of our communication plan,’ Hutchinson says.

The campaign is targeted at 35- to 75-year-olds, with the bull’s eye of 40, an older skew than normal because of the product’s marketing focus on cholesterol reduction and heart health, Hutchinson says.

Astro BioBest Plant Sterols is currently on retail shelves and the campaign to promote it will continue into 2011.