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 Kraft. They were getting out of the yogurt business and the price was extremely cheap. shown us that we must go back to basics, and So, through a loan from the that is people, Small Business Administration communities, and some help from local and the human agencies, I bought the plant for relationships $700,000. I hired the first four we have." people from the previous 55 and worked on the recipe.” Hamdi Ulukaya 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 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.

Evolution of the

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He offered solutions to the many obstacles that laid in their way of having a successful life in America. “They're not trained to do the work that people ask about here. They don't have the knowledge. And the last one is, I thought that was the biggest one, is that this you know, unknown. Maybe there’s a little bit of fear of unfamiliarity that people are not used to hiring people from around the world,” Ulukaya recalls. His response was to start something. They found buses, translators, and trained the workers in the factory. Soon, he had team members from across the world working shoulder-toshoulder making yogurt, helping those individuals provide for their families.

“Sometimes we forget how lucky we are until you meet someone who left children behind, or lost a husband, or traveled through the night through the mountains,” Ulukaya says. “I attribute Chobani’s success to those community workers.”

Chobani, which means “shepherd” in Turkish, grew as a successful business at an astronomical rate. In no time, Ulukaya and his crew were running the most popular, natural, delicious Greek yogurt company in the country. “These people you don't know, just give them a chance,” he says. “And you'll find what they can do. And they will bring blood and energy and most importantly, the human spirit, to the position, that you cannot capture in specialists. And in that you will find a lot of refugees and immigrants, shoulder to shoulder risking their lives.” Ulukaya says today, everyone who works for Chobani has to buy shares. His business model concept is based on his thinking of “why should I get all the credit, when everyone else works just as hard?” He says when it comes to business, it’s always about people. Even with the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses across the world, Ulukaya stayed focused on the positive and continued to keep his frontline workers at top of mind. “These are important times,” he says. “We’re all going to watch who is doing what during this time,” he says. “We’ll never forget the neighbor that knocked on your door and asks ‘are you okay?’ We’ll never forget the companies or brands that come out to society and participate to inspire, or help, or encourage. And we’ll never forget, inside the company, how leaders behave.”

Ulukaya says keeping his team safe was a top priority during the pandemic. Luckily, in a two-year span, no one in his factory was affected while at work. He also made a point to continue to take care of his workers financially if they had to stay home due to feeling ill. He also offered childcare subsidies to workers with children.

“I think the pandemic has shown us that we must go back to basics, and that is people, communities, and the human relationships we have,” he says.

“Chobani uses food as a force for good in the world – putting humanity first in everything we do. Our philanthropic efforts prioritize giving back to our communities and beyond: working to eradicate child hunger, supporting immigrants, refugees and underrepresented people, honoring veterans, and protecting the planet. We manufacture our products in New York, Idaho, and Australia. Chobani products are available throughout North America and distributed in Australia and other select markets.” - Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder, Chobani