April 12/Northbrook, Ill./Reuters -- Kraft Foods is discontinuing its Athenos line of Greek yogurt, the company said, exiting the fast-growing U.S. Greek yogurt market.

Athenos, which also makes feta cheese, hummus and pita chips, discontinued the yogurt in March.

"Although we had a loyal following of Athenos Greek yogurt fans, we have decided to refocus our efforts on innovating new products for the Athenos brand," a Kraft spokesman said in a statement. "We know that this is very disappointing to consumers, and it was an extremely difficult decision for us to make."

Sales of Greek yogurt, which is thicker and has more protein than other yogurt, have soared in the U.S. in the last few years. The market is dominated by privately held Agro Farma, whose Chobani brand has about a 60% share. Danone is second, with 17%, followed by Greece-based Fage, and Yoplait owner General Mills.

 From the April 13, 2012, Prepared Foods’ Daily Update