The supermarket will launch a strawberry flavoured drink incorporating Forbes Media-Tech's cholesterol-lowering ingredient, Reducol. The product will be market under Tesco's own brand label and is the second yoghurt drink product to feature Reducol.
"With the continued success of cholesterol-lowering milk, spread, cheese, yoghurts and yoghurt drinks containing Reducol, the range of Tesco functional dairy products continue to grow," said Kari Daniels, category director of fresh food at Tesco.
Functional drinks are a growing market and this latest addition is the sixth functional dairy product now stocked by Tesco. In August the food retailer successfully launched Heartfelt Plus Natural Cheese also containing Reducol.
"The strong sales performance of the original flavour Reducol-based yogurt drink prompted the line expansion," said Jeff Motley, vice president for marketing and sales at Forbes Media-Tech.
Reducol is an ingredient that contains plant sterols and stanols, which are commonly known as phytosterols, or "sterols". The ingredient may help consumers reduce their cholesterol by up to 24 per cent.
Forbes, which reported revenues of $1.7m (€1.3m) in its third quarter 2006, Reducol branded sterols business is now the company's main source of income. During the last quarter the emphasis was put on developing the brands presence in Europe.
Asda used the ingredient in new cheese launches; it has started appearing on shelves in Albert-Heijn, the largest retailer in the Netherlands; and a joint venture has been formed with the UK's fayrefield foods, known as Forbes-Fayrefield, with the intention of building distribution for the branded ingredient in the continent.
Frost and Sullivan estimates that the European phytosterol's market will grow by around 114 per cent over the next six years, from its 2005 value of $184.6m (€143.8).