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Danone-owned Oikos has today (11 August 2025) announced the launch of Oikos Fusion, a cultured yogurt drink it describes as a first-of-its-kind innovation. We caught up with Rafael Acevedo, Danone North America's president of yogurt, to find out more about the rising trends that drove the launch.

According to new data from research organisation RAND, 11.8% of American consumers have used GLP-1 agonist medications, with 14% expressing interest in using the drugs.

These medications, available under brands like Ozempic, were initially developed as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. However, in recent years their use as a weight management aid has shot up in the US and other parts of the world, including Europe and Australia. The drugs have been shown to significantly impact appetite, leading to reduced cravings for HFSS (high in fat, sugar and salt) foods and lowered food intake.

It is this increasing segment of the population that Danone is targeting with its latest launch under its Oikos brand in the US: Oikos Fusion, a cultured yogurt drink designed to support consumers’ weight loss journeys.

Meeting consumer needs

Acevedo told FoodBev: “We always try to put the consumer first in everything we do, and we saw an opportunity to add value to those that are on the GLP-1 drugs. What we noticed when talking to these consumers is that, on their journey to lose weight, about 20% of the weight they are losing is muscle.”

With this in mind, the brand developed Oikos Fusion, containing a patented blend of nutrients developed specifically to support muscle mass and maintenance and digestive health.

“The patented blend combines whey protein, vitamin D and leucine, which is an amino acid that helps consumers to maintain muscle mass as they lose weight,” he explained.

The blend follows research showing that adequate amounts of leucine can work together with adequate amounts of complete protein and vitamin D to maximally trigger muscle synthesis, particularly when paired with a balanced diet and exercise.

“We’re seeing that households that are on GLP-1 drugs tend to consume three times the amount of yogurt that other households consume – they are naturally gravitating toward nutritionally dense foods and we can add a lot of value to that,” continued Acevedo.

“The advice [GLP-1 users] are getting from doctors is to consume nutritionally dense foods that are high in protein, and to consume more fibre. In many ways, that’s why we’re calling this product Oikos Fusion – because it fuses a lot of these elements.”

The product, available in 7oz bottles, contains 23g of complete protein alongside 5g of prebiotic fibre to feed ‘good’ gut bacteria, as well as vitamins B3 and B12 to help convert food into energy. It comes in three flavours: strawberry, mixed berry and vanilla.

Beyond protein

The rise in GLP-1 medications comes alongside the explosive ‘high-protein’ trend taking over the F&B sector – ‘high-protein’ drinks and snacks used to be a niche area, confined to health food aisles and sports nutrition brands. Now, they are everywhere and piquing the interest of everyday consumers.

But it’s not just amount of protein that is important, Acevedo explained. “The more we learn about our health, it has become clear that consuming more protein is important…but the quality of protein matters a lot,” he said.

“The more that consumers are getting informed and learning about this, the more we are seeing that they tend to gravitate towards high-quality protein options…We feel that although there are a lot of [brands] innovating and adding protein to their products, there’s a difference in finding protein in ‘strange’ areas versus in products like yogurt, where we can deliver a complete high quality protein with all the amino acids.”

“One other point is that more and more, I think it’s less about the protein and more about how you bundle the protein with other elements that are good for consumer – B vitamins, in this case for example…and fibre.”

“Gut health is a very important area that is really helping to support consumers’ wellness…We have brands in the portfolio that are very focused on gut health, like Activia, and then we have other brands like Oikos, where we are focusing more on protein and strength – but where fibre and some other gut health elements can play a secondary role.”

In time, Acevedo believes the industry will continue along this ‘multifunctional’ trajectory, with brands increasingly offering products that lead with a ‘primary benefit’ and then offer a ‘secondary benefit’ too, as in the case of the latest Oikos launch.

He noted that there is also increasing opportunity for innovation within the children’s nutrition segment when it comes to bundling health benefits. And while targeting GLP-1 users, Oikos Fusion aims to support any consumers who are building an active, healthy lifestyle, Acevedo emphasised.

“This product is going to be relevant for consumers living very healthy lifestyles, those who need to maintain muscle mass as they’re doing cardio activities and other exercises,” he said.

“We have been able to leverage a lot of the strong R&I and science we have in the company, so some of the technologies used have been in the works for years – but this specific product has been in development for about a year.”

“Because of the focus we have as a company on the mission we have, delivering products that are healthy to consumers, we are in a good position to help consumers on this journey.”

Oikos Fusion is available exclusively in Walmart’s refrigerated section initially, before rolling out to additional retailers in October 2025.