Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated Chobani's investment amount.
Dive Brief:
- Chobani has announced a $100 million incremental investment to expand its Twin Falls, ID, manufacturing plant, according to a news release.
- Expansion initiatives include adding production lines for Chobani Flip, the company's fastest growing yogurt brand; new production lines for foodservice customers; new equipment for its upcoming Chobani Meze dips and yogurt drinks; and launching products in new international markets, including Mexico and Puerto Rico.
- Chobani is also considering plans for expansion of its Central New York facility, the company's original plant.
Dive Insight:
The plant expansion comes not long after Chobani announcednew product linesthat aim to increase Greek yogurt's presence beyond the breakfast category and into other fast-growing segments, such as snack dips and beverages. By encouraging consumers to find new eating opportunities for Greek yogurts through integration with other non-breakfast categories, Chobani may have found a way to drum up growth for a category that's become stagnant.
Chobani was looking for adistribution partnerlast year to help fuel some of the growth it had planned. Itturned downoffers from PepsiCo and other investors that wanted to acquire a majority stake in the company, rather than purchase the minority stake Chobani offered. Notably, Chobani is leaving that deal in the past to instead self-fund this expansion. A partnership could still be a possibility in the future, but for now, Chobani is moving forward on its own efforts—and its own dime.
Chobani's new products and expansion investments signal the company's hope that Greek yogurt can return to the rate of fast growth it had attained just a few years ago. Traditional yogurt makers struggled in that time as they steadily lost market share to Greek yogurt. PepsiCoshutteredone of its yogurt plants last year.
