Pushing yogurt as a beauty beverage

It is not the first name that comes to mind for a yogurt.

It is, nevertheless, the word that Groupe Danone, the French dairy company, has chosen for a yogurt that will be launched in France and Spain next month, followed by Belgium and Italy in March.

Danone has a good reason for its unusual choice: Essensis will be the first cosmetic product that Danone, best known for little bottles of gut-cleansing dairy drinks called Actimel, has sold.

Essensis "will nourish the skin from the inside," Danone promises.

It says the yogurt will improve the health of the skin of people who eat it for at least a month, by using certain ingredients -- including borage oil, vitamin E and antioxidants from green tea -- to "feed the cells" of the surface layer of the skin.

"It is an ambitious innovation," says Taous Lassel, Danone's health benefits and innovations director. "The market will say if it is a success or not."

Danone believes it will see 100 million euros in sales from Essensis, which will be available in three flavors, including raspberry-grenadine.

The move into skincare is a new direction for Danone. But it is part of the group's overall strategy of developing dairy products with health benefits -- such as Activia, for help with constipation, and Taillefine-Vitalinea, aimed at controlling weight.

John McMillin, analyst at Prudential Equity Group, says consumers will be open to Danone's products because the company is marketing something recognized by companies such as L'Oreal: the desire for youthfulness and longevity.

"L'Oreal does not sell shampoo as much as it sells beauty to women," McMillin says.

Danone's move into skincare is possibly the most radical move undertaken by a food or drink company to date, although Inneov -- a joint venture between L'Oreal and Nestle -- has also investigated nutritional cosmetics.

Still, the move toward functional food and drink is now so widespread that even iconic brands seem to feel the need to recreate themselves.

Speculation that Coca-Cola Co. has been planning an enhanced version of Diet Coke gained credibility recently after Beverage Digest, an industry newsletter, said the company would launch Diet Coke Plus -- a version of the soft drink with added vitamins and minerals -- in the spring. Coke has not confirmed this.