chase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc. and Theo Muller Group, the largest privately held dairy business in Germany, announce their U.S. joint venture, Muller Quaker Dairy, and will launch premium yogurt products never before been available to U.S. consumers.

These products, launched in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic U.S. starting this summer include: Muller Corner, a new way to enjoy yogurt with add-ins you can flip, stir or dip. Varieties include Blueberry, Strawberry, Crispy Crunch, Choco Balls, Chocolate Flakes and Crunchy Granola; Muller Greek Corner, Greek-style varieties include Honeyed Apricot, Strawberry, Blackberry & Raspberry, and Caramelized Almonds; and Muller FrutUp, in Blueberry Bliss, Very Cherry, Luscious Lemon, Peach Passion Fruit, Radiant Raspberry and Splendid Strawberry, starting with fruit fresh from farmers and prepared onsite with the yogurt. The unique part is the fruit on top -- perfect for scooping, swirling or mixing. They mark the first entry by either PepsiCo or Muller into U.S. dairy aisles.

"As we've seen through the success of our dairy business in other parts of the world, this is a category with strong growth prospects," says Mehmood Khan, M.D., PepsiCo chief scientific officer, global research & development. "Muller makes some of Europe's most delicious and unique dairy products, and there is no better partner PepsiCo could have in order to meet historic U.S. consumer demand for premium yogurt. With the name recognition and trust Quaker provides, together, we will be able to offer U.S. consumers an amazing range of products that taste delicious and are unlike anything on the market currently."

Worldwide, the dairy category is expected to grow more than any other through 2016, exceeding the growth of the next two food and beverage categories combined, according to Euromonitor 2011 data. This growth is driven by the progressively increasing consumer demand for packaged milk, yogurt and other value-added dairy products, and for other products containing dairy protein, probiotics, and calcium.

The joint venture is building a new, state-of-the-art yogurt manufacturing plant in Batavia, N.Y. Once completed in 2013, it will be one of the largest yogurt plants in the U.S., and is expected to create more than 180 new jobs in upstate New York.