When you think of innovative companies that raked in billions of dollars, you probably
think of Google or Facebook.
But you don't have to revolutionize the internet in order to join the ranks of the business
elite — you can build an empire making a high quality cup of yogurt and selling it
for a reasonable price.
That’s what Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya did, and this yogurt company with humble origins
has been making headlines ever since.
So how did they rise to the cream at the top?
Here's what you need to know about Chobani.
Humble beginnings
The American dream is alive and well for Hamdi Ulukaya, who was born into a Kurdish sheepherding
family in eastern Turkey.
Ulukaya emigrated to the United States when he was 22, with no friends and no competency
in English.
Over a period of ten years, he finished his education, and in 2005 he took out a loan
to purchase a defunct yogurt factory in New Berlin, New York.
Then, with a small group of employees, he built up the business of Chobani, one case
of yogurt at a time.
Rural revival
The dairy factory that Ulukaya would eventually buy was originally operated by Kraft Foods
with a skeleton crew of 55 employees.
Factories decommissioning is not an uncommon event in the rust belt, which suffered near-economic
collapse as industry declined in the region.
So Chobani's success has been a boon to the small town of New Berlin, providing sustainable
jobs both inside and outside of the factory.
Additionally, the real estate market has improved because of people moving into the region for
work.
And in Twin Falls, Idaho, Chobani's second factory has breathed new life into the economy
as well.
They hire refugees
Ulukaya has often expressed his support for refugees, which is not surprising given the
persecution he faced in his native Turkey for being Kurdish.
He told WWLP,
"I left Turkey because I was Kurdish and was very serious about Kurdish rights.
[...] Their human rights were violated, their villages were bombed."
But he's not just empathetic of their plight, he also actively hires refugees at his factories,
citing them as model employees.
"The minute they get a job, that's the minute they stop being a refugee."
Ulukaya has also donated significant money to refugee causes, and pledges to eventually
give away most of what he's earned to help refugees in need.
LGBT rights
Chobani has a pretty solid record on LGBT rights.
For one, they spoke out against Russia's anti-gay laws during the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi,
joining co-sponsors DeVry and and AT&T in their support of equality.
They also showed their support on Twitter, incorporating gay pride colors into an advertisement.
Additionally, they featured a lesbian couple in one of their advertisements as part of
their Love This Life campaign.
And they're aware that they're putting their money where their proverbial mouth is.
Peter McGuinness, Chobani's chief marketing and brand officer, told Ad Age:
"We've been an inclusive brand from the beginning and equal rights has been fundamental and
foundational for this brand.
The founding mission of Chobani was better food for more people.
Good food shouldn't be a privilege, it should be a right, and we want to make it available
to all."
That's some solid support.
McDonald's test
Chobani might not be an official partner of McDonald's, but they've worked together before.
In 2016, McDonald's started using Chobani's fat-free vanilla yogurt in all of their yogurt-based
dishes.
That change also meant that their fruit and yogurt parfait and McCafe smoothies would
feature nonfat yogurt instead of the low-fat yogurt they were previously using.
McDonald's does have an established partnership with Yoplait, who supplies them with the yogurt
they use in their kid's meals.
Perhaps in the future there's room for more than one yogurt company at the Golden Arches,
but for now, it looks like the partnership didn't work out.
McDonald's no longer lists Chobani as an ingredient in their smoothies or parfaits.
They turned Pepsi down
One company Chobani will likely not be working with anytime soon is Pepsi, despite the beverage
giant's offer to become a large investor in the company.
While Chobani was interested in selling some of their company, they weren't looking to
sell a majority stake, which is what PepsiCo was after.
For Chobani, a move like that would mean that they'd have to relinquish their independence,
something they consider an important asset.
Pepsi wasn't the only beverage company interested in investing in Chobani.
Coca-Cola was in talks with them as well.
However, Coca-Cola walked away, stating that Chobani was not the "right fit" for their
portfolio.
Personal threats
Hamdi Ulukaya employs thousands of people at his two Chobani factories, both citizens
and refugees.
But his outspoken verbal and financial support of refugees has drawn considerable ire from
opponents.
“One publication had a headline that said American yogurt tycoon vows to choke the U.S.
with Muslims.”
These opponents also took to social media to level racist insults at Ulukaya and his
company, and even threaten the life of the mayor of Twin Falls, Idaho.
The New York Times attributes the source for much of this harassment to be Breitbart, a
right-wing media outlet that allegedly published misleading stories about Chobani.
They sued Infowars
Breitbart isn't the only outlet that's critical of Ulukaya and his company.
Far-right commentator and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones at Infowars has also made plenty
of comments about Chobani, including one particularly inflammatory headline.
It was this material that prompted Chobani to take legal action against Jones, filing
a defamation lawsuit that demanded the content be removed, and that more than $10,000 in
damages be paid.
According to the lawsuit, Chobani felt
"[The article] caused and continue[s] to cause harm to Idaho residents, including Chobani
employees, their families and other members of the Twin Falls community."
Both Jones and Chobani settled the lawsuit, and Jones issued an apology and a retraction.