• by Danielle Oster , May 21, 2024

Danone is partnering with a trio of Olympic athletes to promote its line of drinkable yogurts.

Gymnast Jordan Chiles, soccer star Kristie Mewis,  and track phenom (and world champion sprinter) Sha'Carri Richardson are partnering with Danone across its Activia, Oikos, and Too Good brands. The “Nourish Your Hustle” campaign arrives alongside new flavor varieties and product releases, including Oikos Pro Shots and Pro Drinks.

The campaign positions the drinkable yogurts lineup as easy, convenient, and healthy option to work into busy schedules -- a strategy stemming from evolving consumer snacking behaviors. According to a 2023 study from the Food Insight organization, 72% of people say they snack at least once daily, 30% of whom reported doing so to fuel or recover from exercise and/or for a needed energy boost.

“We’re always trying to stay on top of consumer trends,” Danone vice president, Greek and functional nutrition Victoria Badiola, who joined the company in the role earlier this year, told Marketing Daily. “Consumers are trying to balance busy schedules with ways to prioritize their health,” she explained, including ways to add more protein to their diet, low-sugar snacking options, and an increasing focus on gut health.

Each of the stars reflects an individual brand in Danone’s drinkable yogurts lineup, with Richardson representing Oikos, Mewis marketing Activia Dailies, and Chiles promoting Too Good & Co. Smoothies.  “By pairing up each brand with a brand ambassador, we were able to bring the benefits of each of the brands to life in creative, particularly social media,” Badiola explained.

 "Training season is a grind and I need to keep my body feeling strong, but it can be hard to get in all the protein and nutrients I need throughout the day, so I am always looking for snacks that can help me along the way,” Richardson said in a statement, alluding to the 10 grams of protein in Oikos Pro Shots and 23 grams in Oikos Pro Drinks. Statements from Chiles and Mewis reflected Too Good & Co Smoothies’ lower sugar content and Activia Dailies’ purported gut health benefits, respectively.

Danone is not an official Olympic sponsor, but will have local activations in Paris during the Olympics to support the effort. Social media is a central focus of the campaign, and Badiola says that Danone’s athlete partners are also “very social media savvy" and have been active co-creators in the effort.

The campaign will roll out across the brand’s social media pages, as well as those of the athlete partners in the coming weeks, along with packaging and local retail activations.

The campaign follows Danone remixing its line of mix-in products with a cross-brand strategy in April, across its Light+Fit, Oikos, and Too Good brands