Meiji BizCharge Banana Yogurt with Konnyaku

Have you ever asked yourself whether or not there is a yogurt out there that is masculine enough for you? It seems that Meiji has pondered this question as well and has determined that existing products lack the Y-chromosome appeal they need.

The reason this is called "BizCharge" is that it is marketed as yogurt for businessmen. Yes, this isn't your typical sissy food for little girls trying to watch their weight. It's a man's yogurt. The top tells you exactly how to use this product (Open->Charge->Go), in case you don't know how to peel the foil off the top of a cup of yogurt and consume it. I guess those businessmen aren't as well educated as they used to be, or that they lack the energy to think before consuming this yogurt.

Part of the promotion for this mentions that you get 86 calories of the total 137 calories in this from banana, though only 5% is banana. The idea is that men can power themselves up on that banana fuel. The ingredients list includes coconut oil, banana sugar, Stevia, and banana juice. The portion size is rather bigger than usual, 170 grams (6 oz.). I'm guessing the bigger size is due to the fact that this is for men to energize themselves on, and the calories aren't higher than they are because konnyaku has no calories to speak of.

The yogurt smells nice and banana-like and has a lumpy texture. The lumps are both bits of banana and little chewy balls of tapioca-like konnyaku. The yogurt isn't as sour as most and not as sweet as some others. It's got a good, authentic banana flavor and has excellent fruit, yogurt, and sweetness balance.

I found this at Seiyu supermarket for about 120 yen ($1.37). I haven't seen it in other markets or convenience stores, but I'll be honest and say that I rarely pay exquisite attention to the yogurt sections as I always buy cheap, plain low-fat yogurt or Luna vanilla yogurt. This caught my eye because of the name. Banana yogurt also isn't very common, but this was really good. I'd definitely recommend any yogurt fans sample it, whether they are businessmen or not.