Yakult

A brand of fermented skim-milk drink containing live Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota, created in Japan and now sold worldwide in distinctive small bottles. It is one of the pioneering probiotic foods, drunk daily by millions with the aim of maintaining the health of the gastrointestinal tract through the delivery of live beneficial bacteria. Its sweet-sour taste, single-serve format, and doorstep-delivery heritage made the daily probiotic habit mainstream long before the current functional-food boom. The Shirota strain was selected for its ability to survive passage to the intestines, and the product’s quality control centres on maintaining viable cell counts through shelf life. Whatever the ongoing scientific debate over specific health claims, its commercial success shaped the global probiotic category.