Yogurt has always been advertised toward females with its feminine-colored packaging and commercials featuring thin women. Remember the itsy-bitsy-teenie-weenie-yellow-polka-dot-bikini Yoplait ad? It summed up the message: yogurt helps women lose weight. Carlos Ramirez, CEO and founder of Powerful Yogurt, recognized the need for a yogurt for men in the food industry, and developed a high-protein, all-natural Greek yogurt in a larger package for the active male.

Expo West, the world's largest natural foods trade show, was the perfect place to launch the new product, and Powerful Yogurt's team made sure it would stand out from the crowd.  The team, which consists of employees from Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina, created an ab-o-gram, an ultrasound machine that allowed attendees to "find your inner" abs when they stopped by the booth. "We hired a model to play a nurse and speak about the product while she showed men their inner abs on the ab-o-gram screen," says Sarah Goldthwait Shoemaker, marketing and communications manager at Powerful Yogurt. "We gave branded hats, T-shirts and rubber USB drives to attendees who stayed at the booth and showed a deep interest in the yogurt. Plus, we gave out thousands of samples throughout the show and people went wild."

The booth also featured a media reel, where visitors could see the attention that Powerful Yogurt had earned in such a short amount of time, adding credibility to the brand. "We pitched proactively, but most happened organically as word of the product got around," says Shoemaker. "Once it was picked up by one outlet, others caught on and soon we were getting mentions on Anderson Cooper, Conan O'Brien, CNN, Today Show, etc."

The protein-packed product was awarded one of the top five most creative U.S. Hispanic ideas by Circulo Creativo, a nonprofit association that promotes creative excellence and communication between professionals working in the U.S. Latino market. And, although the idea caters to all cultures – it's just another sign of how integrated Hispanics have become in what marketing executives are calling the new mainstream. "Our goal is to target men who lead active lifestyles and are conscious about what they're putting into their bodies, and we've had a tremendous response from a diverse group of consumers," says Shoemaker.

Shoemaker credits much of the initial success to a strong online presence. "We had our website set up and it included a coupon, background info about the company, store finder app and high resolution images available to the media, plus we had Facebook and Twitter presence," she says. "When people searched Powerful Yogurt and found all this, they knew it was legitimate. We're now in 350 stores and counting."