Why Kellogg's Stopped Selling Yogos
Regardless of when you grew up, you likely had favorite snacks that were discontinued for no apparent reason. As adults, we know about "demand" and "cost-effectiveness" and all that jazz, but as kids, all we knew was that we would never again get to eat our favorite lunch box snacks. No more Hi-C Ecto Coolers, Butterfinger BB's, or Keebler Magic Middles. No more Yogos.
For kids growing up in the late '90s and early 2000s, the list of discontinued snacks seems to elicit even more nostalgia. Some snacks have been so badly missed that they were reintroduced after years of protesting and petitioning — consider Oreo Cakesters, Dunkaroos, and the grape-flavored Sour Punch straws.
Unfortunately, not all discontinued snacks from our childhoods have been so lucky. Trix Yogurt cups, Hershey Kissables, Skittles bubble gum, Pop-Tart Go-Tarts, and Fruit String Things have been gone for years, with no intentions of coming back (via Buzzfeed). Sadly, our beloved Yogos are among this gone-but-not-forgotten group of nostalgic snacks.
What exactly were Yogos?
Kellogg's introduced us to the sweet and chewy goodness that was Yogos in 2005 (via BabbleTop). Yogos took the concept of fruit snacks and improved upon it, coating little fruit balls with a yogurt shell. Even better, Yogos came in packaging similar to Go-Gurt – the most popular breakfast food between the years 1999 and 2004, just a fun lil' tidbit for you — making them perfect for snacking on the go. Yogos came in several flavors, including Strawberry Slam, Crazy Berries, Watermelon Burst, Island Explosion, and Berry-Berry-Banana, per Eat This Much.
Despite containing yogurt, something we typically consider healthy, Yogos weren't exactly the healthiest snacking option. In fact, a single package contained 80 calories and 13 grams of sugar within a 20-gram serving. For comparison, a Snickers candy bar of about the same weight contains about 11 grams of sugar. Considering how Yogos contained as much sugar, if not more, than a candy bar, you can probably see how this may have had a hand in Yogos' untimely discontinuation.
What happened to Kellogg's Yogos?
After only five years on grocery store shelves, Yogos were discontinued. The exact reason is not known, but people have offered up several explanations over the years. The first, as noted previously, has to do with Yogos nutritional content. According to the American Heart Association, men should consume no more than 36 grams of sugar a day, and women no more than 25 grams. For a woman, therefore, a single package of Yogos is already 50% of her daily sugar allotment, and for children, the percentage is even higher.
On a similar note, others have theorized that Yogos were discontinued due to oils in the yogurt that were making kids sick (via Fusfoo). One parent commented on a Peanut Allergy board that her child got sick after eating Yogos, despite not being allergic to any of the listed ingredients, but other parents pointed out that the snack does contain soy and milk, two common allergens. Another parent thought the Yogos might contain palm oil. Still others wondered if the oil was making the fruit inside the Yogos go bad. Either way, kids getting sick from eating a snack is not a good look for Kellogg's.
The third most common theory for why Yogos disappeared has to do with low-profit margins. Per Candy Turf, Yogos were simply too expensive to produce, and Kellogg's wasn't making enough profit to be worth continuing production. The company simply makes better money with its Frosted Flakes and other cereals.
Are Yogos ever coming back?
If you're still here, you've likely come to the conclusion that Yogos aren't coming back, and you would be right. Over the past decade, countless people have asked Kellogg's about what happened to Yogos and if they're coming back. Unfortunately, all of these messages have been met with responses along the lines of "Thanks for letting us know you'd like to see [Yogos] back on store shelves," or, "We appreciate your interest," and even, "There are no current plans for Yogos to make a comeback" (via Twitter).
Even so, many people have launched petitions, with one on ipetitions collecting more than 17,000 signatures and one on Change.org collecting 5,000 signatures. Although the Change petition closed several years ago, others are still going strong, with Yogos lovers still signing to this very day.
If you're still missing Yogos, there is actually a similar product on the market, produced by Welch's. As it turns out, Welch's Fruit n' Yogurt snacks are a lot like the Yogos we knew and loved. They come in three flavors: Strawberry, Blueberry-acai, and Mango-Peach. Might be worth a try.