Decision that changed the course of yogurt's
evolution in Japan
If this joint research project were to succeed, it would alter the conventional concept of what yogurt was, and could cultivate an entirely new market for yogurt products. However, the path to success was clearly fraught with difficulty. A series of intense internal discussions ensued, with roughly equal numbers of people both arguing for and against the idea. Finally, however, Meiji management agreed to embark on the joint research endeavor, several weeks after that initial phone call. Meiji decided to take a chance because it thought the project had huge potential for improving the health of people in Japan. Had this decision not been made, perhaps the yogurt products we know would never have evolved in Japan.
