Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Dairy products |
Founded | March 2005 (as Agro Farma) South Edmeston, New York, U.S. |
Founder | Hamdi Ulukaya |
Headquarters | Norwich, New York, U.S. |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | 2,000+ (2018) [1] |
Subsidiaries | La Colombe Coffee Roasters |
Website | www |
Chobani is an American food company specializing in strained yogurt. The company was founded in 2005 by Hamdi Ulukaya, [2] [3] a Turkish businessman. [4] [5] [6] Chobani sells thick, Greek yogurt with a higher protein content than traditional yogurt and is one of the main companies to popularize this style of yogurt in the US. [7] The company has also expanded to non-dairy, plant-based products such as dairy-free vegan yogurt and oat milk. Chobani produces a variety of Greek yogurt products, oat drinks, and snacks. [8] Chobani's yogurt's market share in the U.S. rose from less than 1% in 2007 to more than 20% in 2021, and is the top-selling Greek yogurt brand in the United States and operates the largest yogurt facility in the world. [9] In April 2016, Chobani announced it was giving 10 percent of its ownership stake to its employees. [10] [11] [12]
In December 2023, Chobani entered the cold coffee market through the acquisition of La Colombe Coffee Roasters for $900 million. [13]
Chobani was founded in 2005 by Turkish businessman Hamdi Ulukaya. He chose the name Chobani as a variation of the Greek word chopani, which means "shepherd". [14]
Chobani was inspired by Ulukaya's childhood spent raising sheep and goats and making cheese with his family. [15] Not impressed by the yogurt options available in the United States, Ulukaya made strained yogurt at his home in Upstate New York. He hired a yogurt master from Turkey, with whom he developed his own recipe. [16] Using different bacterial cultures at differing temperatures and fermentation durations, they tested hundreds of recipes to come up with a yogurt with the desired taste, texture, and natural shelf life. [6] Strained yogurt is thicker, creamier and tangier, with a higher protein content, as the whey is strained out. [17] Ulukaya bought a plant in the town of South Edmeston, New York, that was being closed by Kraft Foods; [18] Ulukaya purchased it with a Small Business Administration Loan. [19] Ulukaya hired several of the former Kraft employees and launched his brand in 2007. [20] In 2009, the chain stores Stop & Shop and ShopRite began carrying Chobani, [21] and by the middle of 2009, Chobani was selling 200,000 cases a week. [6] Later that same year, a major breakthrough came when the warehouse club stores BJ's Wholesale Club and Costco began carrying the brand. [20] [19] Ulukaya began adding new product lines to his brand in 2010. [22] By 2010, Chobani realized over $1 billion in annual sales and became the leading seller of Greek yogurt in the U.S. [23] [24]
In November 2011, Chobani expanded into Victoria, Australia through the purchase of Victorian dairy company Bead Foods. [25] It then invested $30m to expand the facility and began manufacturing from the Dandenong South plant in December 2012. [26] In 2012, the brand opened its second plant in what became the world's largest yogurt facility in Twin Falls, Idaho, with an initial investment of $750 million. The move created approximately 7,000 jobs, and unemployment rates in the region dropped from 6.3% to 2.4%. [27] Chobani also opened its first brick-and-mortar cafe in SoHo, New York City in July 2012. [28] [29] [30]
Following the success of its product in Australia, in 2014 Chobani expanded its distribution to Asia and Latin America, beginning with Singapore, Malaysia, and Panama. The company announced plans for the Caribbean as well. [31] In April 2014, Chobani reached a deal with private-equity firm TPG for a $750-million investment, which funded the company's expansion and the launch of a new line of products. [32] In 2014 the company launched Chobani Oats, a blend of Greek yogurt, steel-cut oats and fruit; Seasonal varieties, including watermelon and pink grapefruit; Chobani Indulgent, a dessert yogurt; and a 4%-fat plain Greek yogurt. [33] Chobani introduced its products in Mexico in August 2016. [34]
In 2017, Chobani surpassed Yoplait as the No. 2 manufacturer in overall yogurt. [35] The company also announced a $20 million expansion of the Twin Falls plant, with a 70,000 square-foot facility and a new global research and development center. [36] When Chobani was launched, Greek yogurt made up less than 1% of the yogurt market in the U.S. As of 2017, Greek yogurt accounted for 50% of U.S. yogurt sales. [37]
Chobani announced in December 2020 that former finance chief of 8th Avenue Food & Provisions Jody Macedonio would be the company's new CFO. [38]
In September 2022, Chobani withdrew its plans for an initial public offering of more than $10 billion citing current market conditions. It had filed to go public in July 2021. [39] [40]
The company leased the entirety of Manhattan office building 360 Bowery in September 2024. [41] [42] The company intends to move its headquarters from 200 Lafayette to 360 Bowery. [41]
Initial Chobani yogurt flavors included plain, vanilla, strawberry, peach, and blueberry. [43] Later products included a yogurt-based condiment, [44] plant-based beverages with organic oats as well as milk and cream from the company's yogurt-making process, [45] four flavors of iced coffee, [46] a nutritional shakes, [47] and probiotic yogurt and drinks. [48] Restaurants offering Chobani products include Tim Hortons. [49]
Approximately 30% of Chobani's workforce consists of refugees and immigrants. [50] [51] In 2016, following reports on Chobani's practice of employing refugees, the company received calls for boycotts and death threats. [50]
In April 2016, Chobani announced it was giving 10 percent of its ownership stake to its employees. [10] [11] [12] The company allotted shares to its employees based on tenure, reportedly helping some of the company's longest serving employees become millionaires. [12] In October 2016, the company announced that it was implementing a program to give six weeks of paid parental leave to new parents. [52] In 2021, wages increased for the company's hourly workers, making up 70% of people employed by the company, from $13 to at least $15. [53]
Since its founding, Chobani has been involved in philanthropic endeavors. [15] [54] The company's philanthropy focuses on improving childhood nutrition, strengthening the communities near its plants in New York and Idaho, [55] [56] [57] and supporting those in need after major disasters in the U.S. [58] [59] The company has also been giving 10% of its profits to charities and organizations around the world since the beginning of the company. [60]
In the spring of 2018, CEO Hamdi Ulukaya appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Good Morning America to announce that the company was celebrating its 10th anniversary as a national brand by giving a Chobani yogurt to every person in America. [61]
In November 2018, Chobani announced a new partnership with the national nonprofit Operation Homefront, with the aim of raising $1 million for America's military families for financial assistance and support. Chobani donated $500,000 and the company pledged to match up to $250,000 in additional donations facilitated by a new Chobani product called "Hero Batch" Red, White and Blueberry Greek yogurt, which was designed by military veterans at Chobani. [62]
In May 2019, CEO Ulukaya pledged to pay the student lunch debt for all Warwick school district students in Rhode Island and urged other companies to step up to fight food insecurity across the country. [63]
In October 2019, Chobani launched a limited edition product, "Farmer Batch", with a portion of profits going to the American Farmland Trust (AFT). [64]
In 2012, Chobani became an official sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team [65] and premiered their first national commercial during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony. [66]
Hamdi Ulukaya launched the Chobani Food Incubator in 2016 to support entrepreneurs at food and beverage startup companies with a nonequity investment, resources, mentorship and programming. [67] [68] In 2018, the company announced the creation of the Chobani Incubator Food Tech Residency. [69] Participants in the incubator program have included Banza, Misfit Juicery, [70] Chloe's Fruit, Pique Tea Crystals, [71] NOKA, [72] MatchaBar, and Ithaca Cold-Craftede. [73]
In November 2019, the Chobani Incubator introduced its new Vets Cohort to help current and former armed service members who are also food entrepreneurs grow their business. The program was formed through a partnership with the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. [74]
In 2013, Chobani was ordered to change their yogurt's labeling in England and Wales after a judge ruled that the wording "Greek yoghurt" (rather than Greek-style) misled consumers into thinking the yogurt was made in Greece (yogurt imported from Greece is sold in Britain, and is the only type sold as "Greek"). [75] [76]
On September 3, 2013, Chobani pulled some of its Greek-style yogurt from supermarket shelves after hearing of "swelling or bloating" in cups. The company said it has investigated and found a type of mold commonly found in dairy that may be to blame. [77] Chobani announced a voluntary recall on September 5 in cooperation with the FDA. [78] On September 9, 2013, the FDA reported at least 89 people reported becoming sick after eating the yogurt. [79]
Yogurt is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture and characteristic tart flavor. Cow's milk is most commonly used to make yogurt. Milk from water buffalo, goats, ewes, mares, camels, and yaks is also used to produce yogurt. The milk used may be homogenized or not. It may be pasteurized or raw. Each type of milk produces substantially different results.
Danone S.A. is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in 1919 in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris, where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of the company's products are branded Dannon in the United States.
South Edmeston is a hamlet on the Unadilla River in the Town of Edmeston in Otsego County, New York, United States.
Yoplait is the world's largest franchise brand of yogurt. It is fully owned by French dairy cooperative Sodiaal since 2021.
Plant milk is a category of non-dairy beverages made from a water-based plant extract for flavoring and aroma. Nut milk is a subcategory made from nuts, while other plant milks may be created from grains, pseudocereals, legumes, seeds or coconut. Plant-based milks are consumed as alternatives to dairy milk and provide similar qualities, such as a creamy mouthfeel, as well as a bland or palatable taste. Many are sweetened or flavored.
Silk is an American brand of dairy-substitute products currently owned by Danone after it purchased WhiteWave Foods in 2016.
Activia is a brand of yogurt owned by Groupe Danone and introduced in France in 1987. As of 2013, Activia is present in more than 70 countries and on 5 continents. Activia is classified as a functional food, designed to improve digestive health.
Dairy Farmers Pty Ltd, originally established in 1900, whose parent company is Australian-owned Bega Cheese, is distributed mainly in New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. The core products sold under Dairy Farmers brand are fresh milk and UHT "long-life" milk, as well as various other dairy snacks. It supplies products to local and international markets such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Oat milk is a plant milk derived from whole oat grains by extracting the plant material with water. Oat milk has a creamy texture and mild oatmeal-like flavor, and is manufactured in various flavors, such as sweetened, unsweetened, vanilla, and chocolate.
Ultima Foods Inc. is a Canadian manufacturer and marketer of yogurt and fresh dairy products. Founded in 1993, Ultima Foods is owned by Lactalis. In 2017, the company had 660 employees across the country and annual sales in excess of CA$300 million.
Strained yogurt, Greek or Greek-style yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, kerned yogurt or labneh is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive sour taste of yogurt. Like many types, strained yogurt is often made from milk enriched by boiling off some water content, or by adding extra butterfat and powdered milk. In Europe and North America, it is often made from low-fat or fat-free cow's milk. In Iceland a similar product named skyr is made.
Express Dairies is a former brand of Dairy Crest, that specialised almost entirely in home deliveries of milk, and other dairy products.
Yogen Früz is a Canadian chain of frozen yogurt and smoothie stores that also serves healthy alternative food products. The chain is run through company-owned, franchised, and non-traditional partnerships. The chain operates worldwide and has its global headquarters in Markham, Ontario in the Greater Toronto Area of Canada.
Hamdi Ulukaya is a Turkish billionaire businessman, activist, philanthropist of Kurdish ethnicity and based in the United States. Ulukaya is the owner, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Chobani, the #1-selling strained yogurt brand in the US. He established production facilities first in upstate New York, and since then has expanded. According to Forbes, his net worth as of October 2022 is US$2.1 billion. On 26 April 2016, Ulukaya announced to his employees that he would be giving them 10% of the shares in Chobani.
Byrne Dairy is a regional dairy company headquartered in Syracuse, New York. It was founded during the Great Depression in 1933, delivering milk bottles to New Yorkers by horse-wagons. The company is privately run and has expanded, distributing across the Upstate New York region, supplying many wholesale and retail locations. The company also has a wholesale distribution center in Massachusetts and operates a chain of convenience store/gas stations in Central New York.
La Colombe Coffee Roasters is an American coffee roaster and retailer headquartered in Philadelphia. Founded in 1994, the company has cafés in locations including Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Boston, and Washington D.C. In 2023, it was acquired by Chobani for $900 million.
The Tent Partnership for Refugees, previously known as the Tent Foundation, is a non-profit organization founded by Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder and CEO of Chobani Yogurt. It is a coalition of businesses that have committed to take action to help refugees and it has been created to help mobilize the business community to connect refugees to work.
Siggi's Dairy is an American multinational brand of skyr – an Icelandic version of yogurt – that is owned by Icelandic Milk & Skyr Corporation. The company was founded in 2005 by Icelander Siggi Hilmarsson, who sold his yogurt locally in New York, before launching in Whole Foods Market stores across the United States in 2008.
Commonwealth Dairy, LLC, formally known as Ehrmann Commonwealth Dairy, LLC is a Vermont food company that produces yogurt and other products in United States facilities for sale under its own brand and for relabeling by other retailers. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lactalis US Yogurt Holding, Inc.
Oatly Group AB is a Swedish food company that produces alternatives to dairy products from oats, including oat milk. Oatly was formed in the 1990s using research from Lund University. Oatly has headquarters in Malmö and a production and development center in Landskrona.
I had the happiest day of my life to be here as a Turkish businessman.
{{cite web}}
: |last=
has generic name (help)