THE VOICE OF THE FOOD SHIPPER
Chobani: Putting Humanity First in Its Business Focus Hamdi Ulukaya, known as the “Yogurt King,” is the founder of America’s most popular Greek yogurt brand, Chobani. At the recent Food Shippers of America Conference in Orlando, he shared his story on stage that practically defines the American Dream. Read how he built a company with a corporate culture that fosters collaboration and teamwork to produce outstanding results – all while giving back to the community.
Hamdi Ulukaya grew up in a Kurdish dairy-farming family in Turkey. He left his family farming operation to study political science at Ankara University in Turkey and he eventually immigrated to the United States after a stranger advised him to go to America. He immigrated to the United States in 1994 to study English in upstate New York, an area that reminded him of the small farming villages of Eastern Turkey. His new life in America kicked off on Sept. 15, 1994. At the beginning of 2005, he saw an ad for an old factory that was for sale in New York, and it was already outfitted as a fully equipped yogurt plant, he recalls: “I went to visit the plant the next day and it turns out that this was a very old "I think the factory, almost 80 years old, pandemic has and it was being closed by shown us that Kraft. They were getting out we must go back of the yogurt business and the to basics, and price was extremely cheap. that is people, So, through a loan from the communities, Small Business Administration and the human and some help from local agencies, I bought the plant for relationships $700,000. I hired the first four we have." people from the previous 55 Hamdi Ulukaya and worked on the recipe.” He continues: “I thought ‘I have one shot at this. I bet that people, if they had an option of yogurt being more natural, better and more nutritious and accessible, I could make something out of this.’” He hired a small team to make yogurt that was less sugary and less watery than what was generally produced in the United States. The product was called Chobani and it was a hit. Today, Chobani is a global player and has more than 20 percent of the U.S. yogurt market. In 2012, he built a 1.4 million-square-foot factory in Idaho. “I’ve always had the image in my head of how far Chobani can go, and what kind of challenges I’m going to face during this time,” he says. “It comes down to one reality: it’s all
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| FOOD CHAIN DIGEST • EDITION 2 • 2022
about people. The changes that you make along the way, the people who you bring along the way, but the most important is how flexible you are as an organization, to go from one thing to another thing. How do you change? How do you adopt a new reality? That has to be part of the culture. At Chobani, we always welcome it and try to find a way to solve it, or even make it even better.” He says seeing a business as part of the community to serve people was his way of thinking. With no educational background in business, the food industry, or retail, he re-hired four of the original factory workers to turn the building into a new business. He credits the success of Chobani today to those people that helped him get started. “It's one of the most impactful engines you can have,” he says. “The power of people following your business to do things that common sense will say it's impossible to do.” He says today they call it “conscious capitalism.” Ulukaya says his concept of running a business is tied closely to his living experience trying to survive in the United States. His passion for community led him to rehire most of the original workers from the factory. Then, hiring expanded in 2008 and the company started to gain more attention. During Chobani’s growth, Ulukaya learned there were refugees from across the world settling down in the city. Though the government was offering some assistance, they were still having a hard time finding jobs. With his commitment to helping the community over making the most profit, Ulukaya decided he would find a way to help those people by bringing them on to the Chobani team.
