Yakult Australia have launched a Yakult School Holiday Program for the first time this year. The program was initially trialled during the April school holidays and when the program was officially launched later in the year and advertised on our social media pages, it was an absolute success. The Yakult School Holiday Program was fully booked out during July and September/October school holidays, and we have had more than 1600 people visiting us during the school holidays this year.

The School Holiday Program differs from our general tour program.

The focus of this year’s School Holiday Program was the Digestive System and Healthy Eating. This program was designed for early primary-school aged children who would have had some prior understanding of healthy eating and how foods travel in the body.

In the program, we explored how the foods or drinks pass through our digestive system, from our mouth to our large intestines, and what happens to the foods at each organ. As we have about 100 trillion bacteria living in our intestines, it is important for us to achieve a good balance between the beneficial and potential harmful bacteria to ensure that we have a strong immune system. One of the ways we can achieve this is through healthy eating. We then explored the five food groups from the Australia Guide to Healthy Eating and children were asked to create their version of a Healthy Lunchbox based on what they have learned.

Our new mascot – Yakult Man was a big hit amongst our younger audiences when he was featured in our short video to emphasise the important of a healthy and balanced diet. After the video and Yakult sampling, we then introduced a craft activity using empty Yakult bottles – Kokeshi Doll.

We are glad to see that many attendees have enjoyed the program. If you have any feedback for us, please feel free to contact us via our website or send us an email.

For those who have missed out this year, please follow our social media pages – Facebook and Instagram, to find out when the next School Holiday Program is open for bookings.

“Probiotic” is a term used frequently (and loosely) in this era obsessed with gut health. It appears that any fermented food item earns the title “Probiotic”. However, the classification of an actual probiotic is much more specific than this.

For a fermented food item to be classified as a true probiotic it must meet the following criteria:

1. Contain live bacteria
2. Contain enough beneficial bacteria
3. Produce a health benefit

Let’s delve a little deeper into the world of fermented foods so you can shop for probiotics with confidence!

Food manufacturers add live bacteria to create fermented food products through a process known as fermentation. Fermentation is used to make many food and beverage items such as yoghurt, cheese, kimchi, fermented milk, kombucha and kefir.

The presence of potentially beneficial bacteria within these food items imply that they must improve gut health. However, whether or not they improve gut health is largely unknown. Many food and beverage companies rely on this implication to appeal to a growing consumer base who are concerned with digestive health. It is no wonder that the fermented food market is booming right now!

In fact, some fermented food products don’t contain any live bacteria. This is because they undergo common food processing techniques such as pasteurisation, baking, smoking or filtering, which kill beneficial bacteria.

Without adequate research on the amount and type of bacteria within a product, it is impossible to determine whether a fermented food item is in fact a probiotic or merely a fermented food item.

So, to answer the question: “Are all fermented foods a probiotic?”- no, they are not. But this is not to say that all fermented food products are not, or do not, have the potential to be a probiotic. For example, Yakult is a fermented beverage that meets all the requirements of a true probiotic. This is because one 65ml bottle of Yakult:

1. Contains live bacteria
2. Contains 6.5 billion beneficial bacteria
3. Has a proven health benefit

Next time you are shopping, check that the fermented food item meets all three criteria and be self-assured that you are choosing a true probiotic!

It’s easy to feel inspired to get active in Spring and Summer; the longer, sunnier days provide the perfect setting for games of cricket in the park, swimming at the beach or late evening walks. The thought of taking shorts or swimwear out of winter storage can be a big motivator for taking extra interest in our physical fitness too. But what about staying active in Autumn and Winter when the days become shorter and colder?

With so many indoor sports and activities available to us, it’s good to know that there are many options to help us stay active when the weather outside is less than welcoming.

What do you do to stay active when it is cold and wet outside?  Do you play an indoor sport, or take a gym class? Do you visit an indoor heated pool or walk on a home treadmill while watching your favourite TV show?

Staying active, eating well and looking after your mental health are all important things to include as part of a healthy lifestyle, and don’t forget to include probiotics like Yakult in your diet to look after your gut health too.

Yakult loves suppoting communities as it is our mission to contribute to the health and happiness of people around the world. One of the ways we do this is by visiting community groups to promote healthy living through FREE nutrition education sessions. Our Dietitians provide health and nutrition talks and encourage groups to come visit our factory if they are looking for a social activity.

We recently visited the Probus Association of Victoria at their delegate meeting located at The Mulgrave Country Club.  We were able to provide them with bottles of Yakult as well as encourage them to make the most of their golden years by optimising their health.

It was so encouraging to see the Probus Club members come together to support one another, especially given that social wellbeing plays such an important part in maintaining health and happiness.

If your community group would benefit from a FREE health and nutrition talk or are interested in organising a social outing, please do not hesitate to contact us. Give us a call on 1800 640 023 or send an email to info@yakult.com.au to find out more.

We’d love to contribute to your health and happiness in any way we can!

We were given an opportunity to exhibit at the Diabetes Expo, held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Victoria on the 27^th April. Thank you to everyone who visited and gave us feedback!

The most common feedback we received from attendees who visited us was that they have never tasted Yakult LIGHT, unaware of the new improved Yakult LIGHT recipe that has been available since November 2017. During the exhibition, we provided free bottles of Yakult LIGHT for the attendees to try and encouraged them to complete a survey on taste. If you have tried the new Yakult LIGHT recently and would love to give us some feedback, please feel free to visit here here and fill out our Consumer Satisfaction Survey!

Yakult LIGHT is available at major supermarket stores, as well as some independent grocers in Australia and New Zealand.

Yakult LIGHT contains less than 3 grams of sugar per bottle and 3.2 grams of total carbohydrate. It contains the same high number of probiotic bacteria as Yakult Original, the Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain, with the same benefits in helping to regulate bowel motions and strengthening our immune system. For more information on  Yakult LIGHT, visit this page!

Yakult Australia stand during Diabetes Expo 2019

If you have any questions about our product, give us a call on our free Infoline 1800 640 023!

Our gut and the bacteria that live there play a bigger part in our health then we ever imagined! Research is beginning to uncover that our gut bacteria is an organ which can influence many of our body systems.

More than 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates the father of modern medicine suggested that ‘all disease begins in the gut’

Similarly, Yakult’s founder Dr Minoru Shirota began investigating lactic acid bacteria because he was convinced that beneficial bacteria were the key to a long and healthy life. The very foundation of Yakult was built around the research into micro-organisms in the gut and Dr Shirota’s founding principles one of which includes strengthening our gut with good bacteria leads to improved health.

Over 85 years on, our Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain remains the core of what we do at Yakult. The science and research behind our probiotic are incorporated into each and every bottle of refreshing Yakult.

Today, we would like to place in your hands a bottle of Yakult, the result of a body of research that continues to grow, and to think,

this little bottle all began with an interest in the gut.

(Photo: Rebels full-back Dane Haylett-Petty, Yakult Director David Whatley, Yakult Managing Director Kenji Ono, Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson, Rebels scrum-half Will Genia, Rebels centre Bill Meakes. Credit: Melbourne Rebels)

Yakult Australia are excited to extend their commitment with the Melbourne Rebels for a further two years, after an already successful seven-year partnership.

“We are delighted to renew our partnership with the Rebels. In continuing our partnership, we reflected on the Rebels commitment to their community and their focus on always improving as a club” said Mr. Ono, Managing Director, Yakult Australia.

Melbourne Rebels CEO, Mr. Baden Stephenson added “We are very excited that Yakult Australia continue to be a key partner in the Rebels family and look forward to working with them”.  “Yakult is a market leading and globally renowned brand, and these are both attributes that we are constantly aspiring to as a club”.

(Photo: Yakult Director David Whatley, Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell, Yakult Managing Director Kenji Ono. Credit: Essendon Football Club)

Yakult Australia are proud to announce that we have extended our partnership with the Essendon Football Club in 2019, signing on as a premier partner and official match-ball partner once again.

As Yakult enters it’s 15^th consecutive year partnering with Essendon, Yakult Australia’s Managing Director, Mr. Kenji Ono, says “Yakult is proud to be the Bomber’s longest serving commercial partner.”

“We share the club’s passion for loyalty and maintaining the highest standards. We look forward to supporting the team in the coming season and with the players every success”.

Xavier Campbell, Essendon CEO, says “Yakult have shown incredible loyalty to the club over our journey together and we are appreciative of the genuine partnership we have”.