Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya took a break from watching the Olympics in London to appear live Friday morning on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” show to talk about his yogurt business and its future.
Parent company Agro-Farma, Inc. got its start in 2005 by purchasing a shuttered Kraft yogurt plant in South Edmeston, hiring on 5 of the 55 former Kraft employees to get things up and running to make Greek yogurt. In October 2007, the company launched its Chobani brand, which is now the number one yogurt brand in America by market share and expects sales to approach $1 billion this year, according to the show.
Ulukaya spoke briefly about his decision for Chobani to sponsor this year’s U.S. Olympic team, which he made after learning that many Olympic athletes were eating his high-protein yogurt after training workouts. “It’s a perfect fit,” he says of the sponsorship.
This year, Chobani opened a second production facility, selecting Twin Falls, Idaho to take advantage of the ready supply of milk. In New York State, Ulukaya says, Chobani uses 4 million pounds of milk daily and is currently facing milk-shortage issues as farmers struggle to keep up with Chobani’s demand.
The Idaho plant, which employs 400 people, is about 1 million square feet, Ulukaya said. Chobani announced plans for the $100-million plant in 2011.
Ulukaya also spoke briefly about how he perceives the government’s role in business. “You’ve got to leave people alone and let them do what they know best,” he said. Government’s role should be to assist businesses, not tell people how to run their business, he said.
Contact DeLore at tdelore@tgbbj.com