Hamdi Ulukaya is a Turkish man who has earned a great deal of money thanks to his business. What business, you ask? He is selling Greek yogurt “Chobani” in the USA.
The forty-year-old man, who has been working in the cheese production sector for many years, decided to expand his business by selling ‘Greek’ yogurt and as appears, this was a pretty wise decision.
“I came with my family- farmers who have been involved in the cheese and yogurt industry- to the USA to get educated, learn the English language as well as learn everything about my relatives’ job,” he says.
One day, he received an email informing him about a “fully-equipped factory which was for sale”. This ad but also the fact that every yogurt he tried while being in the USA tasted “terrible” encouraged him to try running his own company. At first, he deleted the email but the day after, he decided to search for resources in order to get the job done.
After much effort, he raised a million dollars. 18 months later, he made the first “Chobani” yogurt.
As is typical in such cases, he first sold his products in local mini markets and small super markets. In 2009, he was selling 200 crates of yogurt per week but he is now selling 1.5 million crates, that is about 10% of the total yogurt market in the USA.
Mr Hamdi Ulukaya plans to establish the first Chobani store in New York, in the Soho area. It will offer yogurt in glass bowls served in many delicious ways (mostly with fruits and peanuts). “We want to change the way Americans see yogurt,” comments the Turkish businessman in regards to his upcoming Soho store.
The firm has already announced that they plan to build a new Chobani brand in Victoria, Australia.
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