Probiotic products have been marketed for a number of years, primarily in the yogurt category or as live microbial dietary supplements whose biological activity needed to be preserved. This tends to limit their consumption to supplements taken after meals or in fresh dairy foods. One technology now makes it possible to "have your probiotic and eat it, too!"

The interest in probiotics outside the dietary supplement form is on the rise. Consumption of yogurt has increased steadily since the 1940s, with an expected growth rate of 8.5% in 2002 and 2003 (Frost & Sullivan, U.S. Probiotic Market Study, 2001). Probiotic use in functional foods seems to be the next logical step. However, their applications in food products have been limited, due to industrial processes adversely affecting their survival rates.