Thank you to everyone who has participated in the November Yakult Trivia – How Much Do You Know About Yakult?

These are the 10 winners below:

1. Shing Chit C.
2. Kit C.
3. Yence A.
4. Liwen Y.
5. Ann C.
6. Yueming W.
7. Deanna D.
8. Kelly T.
9. Demi S.
10. Peter N.

This marks the end of our Yakult Trivia 2022. For more information about the monthly Yakult Trivia, please refer to the blog post here – HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YAKULT?

In the recent years, the environment has become an important topic all over the world. With an increasing awareness around its importance, many companies have incorporated positive changes in order to be more environmentally friendly. The main ways that we look after the environment are by saving electricity, saving water, composting and even changing the material of the grocery bags we use!

Another way to improve the environment is to look towards recycling. The benefits of recycling include lowering greenhouse gas emissions. This is because it requires more energy to produce new products compared to producing products from recycled material. Benefits of recycling also decreases the amount of waste in the limited spaced landfills which overtime can create liquid toxins poisonous to the lakes and rivers.

Globally, the Yakult company recognises the importance of recycling. This is embedded in their corporate slogan and environmental vision that states “In order for people to be healthy, everything around them must also be healthy.” This emphasises the importance of having clean water, air and the soil to live off.

The Yakult global team has three areas of corporate social responsibility (CSR) which include the environment, health and local communities. Each area relates to one or more of the 12 sustainable development goals (SDG’s). Through the 6 SDG’s related to the environment, Yakult is committed to:

• Realising a low carbon society by actively working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Using resources effectively by applying the 3R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle)
• Preserving biodiversity by reviewing our impact on the environment at each stage in our business activities.

The Yakult Group has set a goal to reduce its single use plastic by 30% by 2030 (compared to 2018). The following examples below state how we are working towards our goal:

1. The only factory for Yakult Europe is in Netherlands. This factory produces bottles for 13 countries in Europe including Italy, Denmark, Germany and more. In 2019, Yakult Europe changed its polypropylene packing to cardboard packaging. This action has decreased the use of plastic film by approximately 12,441 kilograms per year.

2. In 2020, Yakult Australia made the decision to remove the single use plastic straws in the Yakult Original 10 pack. Instead, changes were made to the size of the foil cap and adhesive used to make them easier to open. Yakult Australia also uses a soft scrunch-able plastic for the outer packaging that can be possible to recycle in the soft plastic recycling deposits found in many large supermarkets. At the Dandenong factory, we also get our plastic bottles picked up by companies who then recycle our bottles into other goods.

3. Yakult Japan has recycled the bottles to create other goods! In 2008 Yakult Japan created bottle openers and in 2014 the company created rulers that were distributed free of charge to people participating in tours and environmental events.

For our future, we are looking to change our packaging with the aim of becoming more environmentally friendly. Work is in progress, as Yakult aims to consider and investigate potential materials in cooperation with not only national and local governments but internationally as well.

So, watch this space!

References:

• https://www.yakult.co.jp/english/pdf/csr/csr2021_en_41-43.pdf
• https://www.acor.org.au/uploads/2/1/5/4/21549240/acor_australian_recycling_performance_analysis_2016.pdf
• https://www.yakult.co.jp/english/csr/environment/vision/
• https://www.packaginginsights.com/news/yakult-commissions-schubert-for-its-film-to-cardboard-secondary-packaging-transition.html
• https://www.yakult.co.jp/english/pdf/csr2015_en.pdf

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the October Yakult Trivia – How Much Do You Know About Yakult?

These are the 10 winners below:

1. Victoria C.
2. Bonnie N.
3. Airell M.
4. Olivia B.
5. Emily C.
6. Stephen C.
7. Dior P.
8. Dana P.
9. Yori Y.
10. Peter N.

Please come back to our website again for the November entry and a chance to win the prize below!

For more information about the monthly Yakult Trivia, please refer to the blog post here – HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YAKULT?

What is Grandparent’s Day?

Grandparent’s day is a special day to celebrate the important role grandparents play in our lives. It is a day to show our appreciation for all they do for us and to let them know how much we love and cherish them.

Grandparents play a pivotal part in Australian society. As the average age of Australians continues to rise, this special day acknowledges and honours all grandparents for their unconditional love for their families and contributions to society.

Grandparent’s Day event

At the end of the September school holidays, Yakult ran a special Grandparent’s Day event at our facility in Dandenong South. In addition to a tour of our factory, we provided delicious Yakult milk slushies. All attendees including children and their families participated in a spinning wheel lucky draw competition to win a prize. Our mascot Yakult Man also joined us for photographs. Everyone had great fun on that day! Check out our video to enjoy a snapshot of our Grandparent’s Day event.

Grandparent’s Week at Yakult

Missed out on the Yakult Grandparent’s Day event? In the week leading up to the 30^th of October, all our popular Yakult factory tours will be in appreciation of grandparents, with exclusive Yakult Man Grandparent’s Day badges for all children attending. We hope you will join us in celebrating this special week! To secure a spot for you and your family, please make your reservation here.

If your grandparent doesn’t live close by, there are still plenty of ways to show your love and appreciation. You could send them a homemade card or picture, give them a call, or even just tell them how much you appreciate everything they’ve done for you. No matter how you choose to celebrate, Australian Grandparent’s Day is a special day to remember the wonderful people in our lives who have always been there for us.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in the September Yakult Trivia – How Much Do You Know About Yakult?

These are the 10 winners below:

1. Samantha M.
2. Candice N.
3. Andrew C.
4. Michael M.
5. Catherine C.
6. Lewis H.
7. Paul E.
8. Sammy L.
9. Agus A.
10. Peter N.

Please come back to our website again for the October entry and a chance to win the prize below!

For more information about the monthly Yakult Trivia, please refer to the blog post here – HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YAKULT?

As we grow older our body changes. Our body begins to focus on maintenance rather than growing. So, how do nutrients help with this?

Nutrients play a vital role in the development and maintenance of the body’s functions. It nourishes our body and gives us energy for everyday life activities. All nutrients are important for our body however there are specific ones to focus on as we age. This is because our body unable to retain or produce these nutrients the way it used to.

These include:

Vitamin D

As we age, our vitamin D production reduces. This may be due to:

• A decrease in provitamin D₃ which is found in the outermost layer of our skin and ultimately leads to the conversion of vitamin D.
• A decreased response in the skin from the UV light from the sun.
• Spending less time outdoors compared to when we were younger.

Calcium:

As we live longer, our balance and stability weaken therefore, we are more likely to fall and increase risk of fractures. Regular calcium intake will maintain our bone structure and reduce the risk of fractures and Osteoporosis. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) suggest teenagers should aim for 1300mg of calcium intake per day. However, as we age the recommended daily intake lowers to 1000mg per day as our body prioritises maintenance. Excellent food sources for calcium intake include dairy products such as milk, yoghurt and cheese. Vegan options include soy milk, chia seeds and almonds.

We know that Calcium and Vitamin D is important for maintaining our bone health but what about our digestive system?

Calcium and Vitamin D in the digestive system:

To maintain balance in our digestive system, it is important to maintain consistent Calcium and Vitamin D intake.

Calcium has been shown to regulate the fluid transportation in the colon. The colon is vital for fluid absorption and moving feces to the rectum.

Did you know that the colon is also known as the large intestine?

Vitamin D has been shown to improve the intestinal microbiota and restore the good bacteria in our intestines. It can also reduce gastrointestinal inflammation. Studies showed that participants with higher Vitamin D levels had a lower risk of inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease.

How else can we better our gut microbiome?

1. Exercise

• Regular exercise has been shown to increase the beneficial bacteria in our intestines that play a role in the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA). These SCFA’s decrease the risk factors of inflammatory diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

2. Sleep

• Lack of sleep can affect the diversity and composition of good bacteria in our intestines
• The lack of sleep also cause stress which create negative changes in our intestinal microbiome. We may experience bloating, inflammation and increased food sensitivities.

3. Probiotics

Yakult!

Yakult is a fermented milk drink filled with live beneficial bacteria known as Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain (LcS).

With over 80 years of research to show, Yakult can survive to reach the intestines alive where it positively alters the bacteria in the gut, to improve stool consistency keeping us feeling good from the inside out!

Curious to know what Yakult tastes like? Press the link below to find out!

https://www.yakult.com.au/news/flavour-of-yakult/

1. Ting C.
2. Lana K.
3. Diana C.
4. Zambrano M.
5. Charlene K.
6. Pamela T.
7. Jessica W.
8. Yida Z.
9. Andrew X.
10. Shu Min C.

Yakult’s love of sport has meant that we love being able to support and encourage teams around Australia. Recently Yakult visited Sydney in order to further show their support to some local teams. Yakult has built up a partnership with Mate FC https://matefc.com/en/  and Sydney Cheerleading Springs https://sydneycheersprings.wixsite.com/mysite

Yakult has been able to align with their vision at Mate FC to sponsor them. Mate FC aims to promote the joy of physical activity and the importance of having dreams through soccer.
The club would like to teach discipline, greetings, and language, and make the school a place where positive words can be heard on the field.
Our goal is to support the development of children who can adapt to any environment and grow up to be active in soccer and the world. The support from Yakult was further shown by the donation of soccer balls.

Yakult’s corporate physiology is ‘We contribute to the health and happiness of people around the world through the pursuit of excellence in life sciences in general and our research and experience in microorganisms in particular. Being able to support growing communities is a passion we continue to extend.

The Sydney Cheerleading springs is also a community building high energy, encouragement and big smiles to all. The cheerleading program aims to provide opportunities to build self-esteem and a lifelong friendship and to learn courtesy by working together in a team environment. Yakult Australia is a proud supporter of Sydney Cheerleading Springs. The donation of cheerleading mats was also donated to them.

How would you describe the taste of Yakult?

Yakult has a refreshing sweet and tangy taste. This flavour is unique to Yakult but our fans often describe it as tropical and fresh with nods to lime and citrus but with a creamy twist! This is because it has the unique Yakult fresh zesty taste (from the natural fermentation process and add flavour) blended with the creamy vanilla (from the taste of the milk).

Our founder Dr Minoru Shirota first developed the world’s first commercially available probiotic drink to deliver live beneficial bacteria to our intestines in the 1930s, with the hope its benefits and taste would be widely accepted. In honour of Dr Shirota, the Original taste of Yakult has been maintained across 40 different countries around the world.

I have seen flavoured Yakult overseas. Do you have different flavours in Australia?

No. Yakult Australia produces the ‘original’ Yakult and Yakult LIGHT. There are no plans to introduce more flavours to Australia at the current time.

But you can definitely create your own Yakult with flavours by incorporating a bottle in smoothies, milky bubble teas and more. Check out our recipe here.

To keep the goodness of the bacteria LIVE, only incorporate Yakult into cold beverages.

Why does Yakult taste sweet-sour?

During the natural fermentation process of Yakult, the bacteria produce lactic acid that makes the drink taste sour. Therefore, by adding sugar, Yakult is made more palatable and acceptable for taste.

Watch this video to know why Yakult contains sugar.

How would you describe Yakult’s flavour? Drop us a message on our Facebook or Instagram!