Chinese dairy company Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group has partnered with SIG Combibloc, a packaging manufacturer, to launch two new UHT yogurt drinks, which contains alginate balls filled with juice.

Intended for teenagers customers, the drinks have been produced using SIG Combibloc’s Drinksplus technology and are available in two flavours, apple and strawberry, in 250ml cartons.

SIG Combibloc Asia-Pacific North marketing head Eric Ding said: “UHT yogurt drinks with filled alginate balls are an innovation in the beverage and dairy products sector.

“UHT yogurt drinks with filled alginate balls are an innovation in the beverage and dairy products sector.”

“The local market is invigorated by new product developments that offer added value for consumers; for example, with new taste experiences. That’s why we believe the combination of yogurt and fruit in the form of small balls fits ideally with the joy of experimentation and curiosity typical of teenagers.

“It took less than two years to progress from product idea to market launch. That’s fast, considering that there were no empirical values to draw on, in terms of either manufacturing the filled alginate balls or the technology to process them.”

SIG Combibloc’s Drinksplus solution has enabled the company to fill products with 10% solid pieces using conventional beverage filling machines.

The machines are equipped with customised valves, valve stems and filling nozzles, to ensure smooth flow of the product when filling beverages with particulates.