Trimona Plain Kefir Replaces Drinkable Yogurt at Whole Food; Vanilla Kefir Now at Costco in the Southeast

PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y. — Trimona Foods, maker of Bulgarian-style A2A2 yogurt, is launching its first kefir. Trimona Plain Kefir (32 ounces) will replace the brand’s drinkable yogurt at Whole Foods Market nationwide in November. Trimona Vanilla Kefir (50 ounces) is now available at select Costco locations in the Southeast.

The organic A2A2 kefir is made with a proprietary blend of 11 beneficial bacterial strains. It is thicker and creamier than most drinkable yogurts, with the signature Trimona tang.

Did we turn yogurt into a drink because we’re too busy to pick up a spoon? Is the only difference between yogurt and kefir that one is spoonable and the other drinkable? The answer is yes and no.

“People often ask me whether kefir is just drinkable yogurt,” said Atanas Valev, Trimona’s founder and chief yogurt officer. “That’s a little like asking whether bread and beer are the same thing because they both involve fermentation. They’re related, but the magic happens differently.”

Plenty of foods start with fermentation, including bread, beer and vegetables. Yogurt and kefir both begin with milk, but the cultures doing the work are different.

Traditional Bulgarian yogurt relies on two bacterial cultures that work in symbiosis to turn milk into something creamy, spoonable and slightly tangy. Traditional kefir brings in a far more diverse community of microbes that ferment at lower temperatures. The result is a lighter, drinkable body and a stronger tang that can almost taste fizzy.

Two time-honored traditions, each with its own character, and both a celebration of what nature and a little microbial magic can do with milk.

Both are nutrient-rich fermented dairy foods that provide probiotics, protein, calcium and B vitamins. Trimona’s kefir offers a greater variety of cultures that may benefit the gut microbiome, along with 70 billion live probiotics and 8 grams of protein per serving.

“When deciding to bring our own kefir to the retail space, we knew it had to be Trimona-appropriate, meaning really tangy, made with only A2A2 milk supplied by small Amish family farms from Pennsylvania, and paying homage to our Bulgarian history, while at the same time bringing healthy food products to the future,” Valev said.

Trimona Plain Kefir will be available at Whole Foods Market nationwide beginning in November, with additional retailers to follow. Trimona Vanilla Kefir is available in a 50-ounce bottle at select Costco locations in the Southeast.

About Trimona Foods

Trimona Foods produces authentic Bulgarian-style yogurt using time-honored crafting methods, proprietary cultures and carefully sourced A2A2 milk. Unstrained and naturally low in sugar, Trimona has a distinctly tangy flavor. It is a versatile yogurt that works equally well sweet or savory, on its own or as an ingredient. Trimona is Certified Organic, grass-fed, Non-GMO Project Verified, gluten-free, kosher and rich in live cultures. Trimona Bulgarian yogurt and kefir are produced in Pennsylvania and available at retailers nationwide.