Traditional Indian drink gets a modern new image

Hayley Hadfield and Laurence Nair-Price began selling Schmoo, their version of the Indian yoghurt drink – which is popular in curry houses as it cools the palate – in 2007, having graduated from Leeds University the previous year.

Since then, they have won listings in supermarket giants Morrisons and Tesco and plan to start taking Schmoo into local employers to meet their core customer base – lifestyle-driven professionals aged between 18 and 35 who are health conscious brand-lovers.

Today, Miss Hadfield, whose father came to Britain from Pakistan when he was 14, and Mr Nair-Price, whose father is from India, are due to hand out Schmoo and Indian food to staff at vehicle-tracking firm Masternaut Three X, based in Leeds.

They are also planning other unorthodox schemes to interest shoppers in the drink, such as running a "Russian roulette" hot chilli competition in Leeds with South Devon Chilli Farm.

Schmoo, formerly known as Yalp, was approached by Masternaut after a member of staff tried the drink when a free sample was included in a Tesco home delivery, and mentioned it to colleagues.

Miss Hadfield, 25, said Masternaut's 150 staff included many young professionals who would be classed as the target market for Schmoo.

"Masternaut is a well-known company in Yorkshire, and managing director Martin Port is known from the Dell public relations campaign.

"We want to be a business that does not carry out traditional marketing like the hard sell. We want to do a few more experiential PR things."

Schmoo was re-named from yalp – "play" spelt backwards – last month, in order to appeal to its core market after the firm's work with a branding agency.

Last month, it was launched across 60 Tesco stores in Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Liverpool, which comes after its previous incarnation was listed in 382 Morrisons stores across Britain.

The drink is made entirely from natural ingredients, including fresh yoghurt, and is based on a traditional Indian recipe known to aid digestion. Miss Hadfield and Mr Nair-Price began with just the mango flavour and have since added vanilla and strawberry.

The pair launched Yalp early last year but the early listing with Bradford-based Morrisons helped them survive Britain's longest and deepest post-war recession.

At the time, Mr Nair-Price said: "Some people might question launching a new product in the recession but you can never get the timing right, whatever you do, there's always something in the way. Sometimes, you've just got to go with what you have got planned.

"Even in the credit crunch, people's purchasing motivators are still quality. There is still a need for iconic brands."

Now they are targeting a 600,000 turnover for the year to April 2011 and will continue to develop their other venture, Chroma Life, which produces art work for hotels.

Chroma Life turned over 120,000 last year, its second year of trading, providing artwork, mirrors and accessories for the hospitality industry, and expects to increase that to between 200,000 and 250,000 this year on the back of projects for which it is currently tendering.

Will lassi be the new smoothie?

Schmoo wants to position itself between smoothies and dairy. Its lassi is made with unpasteurised probiotic yoghurt which keeps the "good bacteria".

Its marketing material suggests its nearest rival is Innocent Drinks, the highly successful smoothies firm set up by former Batley Grammar School boy Richard Reed. Last year, he attracted controversy after selling a stake to Coca-Cola.

Lassi drinks have mainly been available in Indian restaurants until now.