What is FAGE?
FAGE (pronounced fa – yeh) is an international dairy giant which focuses primarily on manufacturing yogurt based products. It has been one of the leading dairy providers in Greece since the mid 1920’s when the company was founded by Mr Filippou in Patissia, Greece. Since its inception the company has spread to over 40 countries and now has a strong presence in the United States yogurt market as well.
Where are the Products Manufactured?
All of the Fage products are made in a facility located in Johnstown, New York which is the company’s largest yogurt manufacturing outfit. This production unit is used to meet the supply demands of the U.S and other South American countries. The company also has 3 manufacturing plants in Greece which take care of the demand in countries like Germany, United Kingdom and Italy.
What is Different About Fage?
Fage yogurt is made from a traditional, secret recipe that dates back to as far as 1926. It does not contain any additional sweeteners, thickeners, external preservatives, dried milk powder, powdered cream or powdered protein. The primary ingredients used to make the product include whole milk, cream, and probiotic bacterial cultures which produce a rich yet healthy super food. Another interesting fact is that approximately 4 pounds of milk is needed to make a pound of this yogurt, making the product extremely rich in protein and calcium.
Benefits of Eating Fage Products
The product has the following properties:
(i) High protein content: the straining process used to yield this yogurt provides users with highly concentrated levels of protein. Proteins are very useful in building muscles, improving strength and delivering a sustained amount of energy throughout the day to consumers. Each serving of Fage contains 23 grams of protein.
(ii) Contains only natural ingredients: All Fage products are designed to be healthy and low in calorific content. They use only natural whole milk and cream obtained from cows that are not fed any hormones or supplements.
(iii) Low calorie intake: since there is no sugar or artificial sweeteners added to enhance taste, all Fage products are low in calorie content but at the same time are rich and filling.
(iv) Approved by GFCO: all products are certified by the Gluten Free Certification Organization (GFCO) and can be consumed without any worry of allergies or reactions.
(vi) Good source of vitamins and proteins: Fage products are a good source of vitamins B6,B12 and riboflavin. Similarly they also provide the body with essential minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium.
List of Fage Products
Fage offers users with a variety of flavored yogurts and other yogurt based products made with varying amounts of natural fats. These products include:
(i) Fage Total Plain: this is an all natural Greek-style yogurt made using milk and active bacteria culture. It contains probiotic cultures like L.Bulgaricus, S.Thermophilus, L.Acidophilus, Bifidus, L.Casei.
(ii) Fage Total 2%: it uses the same base as Fage Total but contains only 2% fat.
(iii) Fage Total 0%: this variant has all of the fat content skimmed out, it is however still thick and consistent and tastes similar to the other yogurts.
(iv) Fage Total Split cup: it is a Greek style yogurt which comes with a wide variety of flavoured topping options and varying fat content. There are 3 types of Total split cup varieties available:
Total Split Cup: this kind comes in 7 different flavours including strawberry, peach, cherry, honey, blueberry, mango and raspberry.
Total 2% Split Cup: this variety comes in 11 different flavours including blood orange, key lime, mixed berries, pineapple, blackberry, raspberry pomegranate, strawberry, peach, cherry, honey, blueberry, mango and raspberry
Total 0% Split Cup: this type comes in 8 different flavours including blueberry acai, cherry pomegranate, honey, strawberry, peach, cherry, honey and raspberry.
(v) Fage Crossovers: these are snacking options made with yogurt as their primary base agent. They are designed to be delicious yet healthy. Variants include:
Maple syrup with granola: maple syrup blended with low fat reek yogurt and mixed with granola.
Carrot ginger with pistachios: carrot and ginger blended with low fat Greek yogurt served with lightly roasted pistachios.
Honey with glazed pecans: a sweet mixture of honey, low fat Greek yogurt and glazed pecans.
Coconut curry with cashews: curry made from coconut blended with low fat Greek yogurt and served roasted cashew nuts.
Caramel with almonds: a sweet and salty snack which combines caramel, low fat Greek yogurt and honey roasted almonds (lightly salted).
Coconut with dark chocolate: coconut mixed with low fat Greek yogurt and topped with dark chocolate pieces.
Tomato basil with almonds: tomato basil chutney mixed with low fat Greek yogurt served with roasted almonds.
Olive thyme with almonds: olive-thyme preparation blended with low fat Greek yogurt served with roasted almonds.
(vi) Fage Fruyo 0%: this variant contains strained Greek yogurt along with real vanilla beans. It does not contain any fat and can be used as a snack between or after meals.
What is ‘Fage Recipes’?
Fage offers users with a host of recipes using Greek style yogurt as the primary base along with a variety of other ingredients. The aim is to produce food that is healthy and easy to prepare.
Using an online tool the user can enter details like what ingredients they would like to use, which meal (lunch, dinner, breakfast or snack) they would like to prepare, how much time the dish should ideally take to prepare along with a variety of other settings to obtain the optimal recipe.
The use of this service is absolutely free and can be accessed online on the company’s website. There are new recipes available every month and recipes are constantly submitted by users and chefs to provide users with new healthy eating habits.
Purchase Information
The easiest way to make a Fage product purchase is to determine the location of the nearest store that supplies the desired product. Using the online shop locator at http://usa.fage/storelocator one can easily find their nearest retailer.