People are paying up for this $39 yogurt that went viral on TikTok

We’re only in the third month of the year and already there have been a number of bizarre food trends go viral on TikTok—from a $19 strawberry to feeding babies spoonfuls of butter. The latest is a yogurt, called Coconut Cult, that costs $39 for a 16 ounce jar. 

On many a for-you-page, you can find influencers incorporating a scoop of the super-live probiotic yogurt into their morning routine and instructing viewers how to properly eat it. “I’ve never looked hotter,” one user posted, adding her stomach “has never been flatter.” (Not everyone on the platform was impressed with the results, however, and some weren’t fans of the reportedly sour taste.)

@clararpeirce why is it spicy #coconutcult ♬ son original – Reverse.Soundeffects – Reverse.story

Available in three standard flavors (Original, Chocolate Mousse, and Harvest Strawberry) and limited, seasonal releases, Coconut Cult is not a regular yogurt you snack on. According to the California-based brand, it is meant to be consumed more like a daily probiotic supplement. The website claims that two tablespoons a day is enough to experience less bloating, more regularity, improved mood and mental health, better digestion and skin, and boosted immunity,. (The brand warns against double dipping into the same jar with a dirty spoon to avoid interfering with the live bacteria.) 

“This is the most probiotic-rich coconut yogurt you will find on the market in the grocery store,” one nutritionist weighed in on TikTok. The certified nutritionist, NTP, BFA, who goes by Claire The Nutritionist, did disclaim that people with certain conditions, such as small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, might be best avoiding the product as it can worsen the symptoms. 

For the everyday yogurt enthusiast, however, the difference between this yogurt and other options, according to founder Noah Simon-Waddell, is that many yogurts are pasteurized after fermentation to be shelf-stable, despite the fact this process can reduce or eliminate live cultures. (Some manufacturers may add them back in after the process as probiotics need to be alive and active in order to do their job in creating a healthy environment in the gut.) Packaged with roughly 50 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) per ounce (plain yogurt typically contains at least 1,000,000), Coconut Cult is certainly not lacking in that department. 

“Fifty billion CFU per ounce is extremely high for food-based probiotics,” health creator Brooke Harter, who is currently pursuing her Masters in nutrition, told Delish. While high doses may be beneficial for some, excessive amounts could lead to digestive distress like bloating, gas, and diarrhea.” She added that research also says a lower-dose of well researched and specific probiotics is better than a higher-dose of mixed dose of strains, like those found in Coconut Cult.

However, thanks to the glowing endorsements, jars of the stuff are flying off the shelves at Whole Foods and the website is experiencing shipping delays up to three weeks due to demand. Coconut Cult is reportedly producing five times as many jars as they were in 2024 to keep up with demand. 

“I created this yogurt as part of my healing journey, as a way to heal myself and my gut, which was really sick,” founder Simon-Waddell posted on TikTok in 2022. “I didn’t create this yogurt as some kind of genius startup business plan to sell incredibly expensive yogurt.” 

And at approximately $10 per 8-ounce jar (the brand’s website, thecoconutcult.com, sells 16-ounce jars for $39 with a two-jar minimum purchase), it certainly costs more than your standard Chobani. 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91294541/people-are-paying-up-for-this-39-yogurt-that-went-viral-on-tiktok?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss