I just want to add a small personal anecdote.<p>I eat yogurt regularly, and I've been a convert to Chobani lately. I started eating greek-style yogurts with Fage, and have had several other brands but Chobani flavors and texture are superior (IMO).<p>If you don't already know, it's the most expensive yogurt at most supermarkets, and is even pretty expensive compared to other brands at specialty retailers. So in the interest of saving some money, I recently bought some Dannon greek yogurt with coupons for about 1/4 the price.<p>It was awful in comparison. To get a similar texture, they use gelatin. The texture is still inferior. And the flavors are not in the same league either. I think it's refreshing to see someone rewarded for not buying into the conventional wisdom that the American public has no taste and can't recognize/won't pay up for quality products.
<i>Ulukaya: We’ve said no to almost everybody you can think of. We’re having fun. I’m going to be here a long, long time. I’m not somebody who is going to build something for a few years, sell it and then go off and just have fun. That’s not why I did this.</i><p>Wow, such a refreshing view. Especially considering the recent sellouts of natural/organic brands to major CPG companies.
<i>I had always thought the yogurt in America was, well, horrible. I thought if I could make something better, people would immediately take to it.</i><p>I am kind of surprised that existing food heavyweights, as well as smaller "organic" labels failed to see the opportunity for a premium yogurt that's not loaded with sweeteners.<p>The interview really didn't get into distribution, but it is quite impressive. A few weeks ago I even saw it in groceries in a very rural part of northern NY. From what I have read about the grocery business, it's extremely competitive and there is huge pressure from manufacturers and distributors to dominate prime shelf space. For a startup to muscle in so quickly is a real accomplishment.<p>EDIT: The rural NY distribution may relate to the dairy industry connection described by kcurtin and Gaussian.
If you're doing a yogurt startup, do you need a technical cofounder who is an expert in yogurt?<p>This is not a joke, I'm genuinely curious whether "technical" cofounders are specific to the tech domain or if they are necessary in every startup (another example is chef / restaurants)
I grew up in upstate NY and everytime I make it home I hear about this story. It's pretty amazing to read about growth like this from a non-tech company. It's also interesting to think about how big of an impact they have had on the dairy industry in NY(and I'm sure other places as well). Their success has revitalized the industry and helped a TON of farmers get back on their feet.
Maybe I should do something like that instead of software! What about the cheese market in the United States? Americans are branching out more and more from the limited kinds made here, so it seems like a worthwhile business venture might be to start making some of the European kinds we import.
<i>the great American discovery of Greek yogurt.</i><p>Hah. I have friends who rave about Greek yogurt, but not a one of them doesn't drown it in fruit, sugar and honey first.
Chobani got an old factory that Kraft was letting go. Tesla got the GM NUMMI factory for pennies on the dollar, too.<p>It would do these large companies well to hand old factories over to internal skunk-works teams to tinker first.
Just wondering if anyone knows what the difference between this and some of the other simple, so called 'Balkan Style' yoghurts is. Something like Olympic's or Astro's where the ingredients consist only of milk and bacterial culture.<p>I live in western Canada and haven't had opportunity to try anything from Chobani, so I'm genuinely curious.
I'm a huge fan of Chobani and it's become my breakfast of choice lately -- but I did so for a very specific reason: It's a high-protein, low-carb food, and the diet and fitness routine I'm on specifically requires that.<p>What I'm curious about: Is that the main reason they've become so popular and done so well? I wonder if many others are following the same diet, or if there's another reason they've become so popular vs. all the other yogurts out there.<p>Anyone else on HN eat Chobani regularly and, if so, what are your reasons? Any other insights as to why they've done so incredibly well?
Interesting naming choice. The guy is Turkish, and "Coban" means shepherd in Turkish, it seems they preferred adding an i to the end to make it sound greek. "Yogurt" is also of Turkish origin.
I was just wondering about seeing the Chobani brand everywhere, it used to be just in small chains. Strained yogurt used to be niche, now shelves are stacked with it. This company singlehandedly changed the yogurt landscape but the real test will be to hold up to competition from giants. Dannon has followed the trend, too.
This is pretty cool. I could never (under)stand how sugary most American yogurts are (Stonyfield farms being the lone exception). My significant other, a U.K expat, has long been a fan of plain greek yogurt. It is really good. The chobani fruit mixes taste great as well - pineapple being a personal favorite.
I'm curious -- I still buy Chobani and I still prefer it, but I've had what I consider to be a disappointing spoilage rate for unexpired yogurt (estimating 3-5%, for something I eat most days). Has anyone else had a similar experience? I realize I'm fishing for anecdata here, but I'd really like to know.
Haven't tried this brand, but was introduced to Fage while in Greece and loved it--until I realized it was 50% saturated fat.<p>I have a feeling what this guy means about American yogurt being "horrible" is that it is typically low fat and healthy.<p>I've tried products all over the world and whenever I hear this type of statement it tends to come from someone who has never looked farther than Velveeta and cheeze wiz. You can buy just about whatever you want in America, if you look a little harder. Heck, I can get my Brazilian Cachaça and Açaí at Ralph's (local chain) for C-sakes. It's a world economy these days.
Too bad I missed out on that Chobani yoghurt deal Aisle50 recently ran. I wonder if writing an article like this was part of the deal to subsidize the price seeing as the co-founder of Aisle50 wrote this article.