Dive Brief:
- Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya has taken a stake in La Colombe Coffee Roasters, a company dedicated to the connoisseur audience of specialty coffee. His plans for the coffee company include growing "La Colombe into a coffee empire with 150 stores, a thriving online store and robust sales into restaurants," according to The New York Times.
- Ulukaya opened the Chobani SoHo Cafe in New York City and needed a coffee to serve in it. After trying dozens of coffee brands, Ulukaya decided on La Colombe for the cafe.
- Though Ulukaya's original intentions weren't to invest, "In La Colombe, he saw a chance to mount an insurgency in a food category dominated by two or three major players and dozens of boutique roasting businesses, rather like the opportunity he saw in yogurt," The New York Times reported.
Dive Insight:
Despite a new Starbucks or other niche coffee shop popping up on every corner, the USDA reported earlier this year that coffee consumption in the U.S. is predicted to be on a slightly downward trend for the 2015-16 year. The specialty coffee segment, however, is on the rise, having reached more than half of the market for the first time, at 51% of the coffee market share, in 2014, up from about 40% in 2010, according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
As Ulukaya saw an opportunity in the Greek yogurt market, he is using that same insight to invest in La Colombe. Considering Ulukaya's track record, the specialty coffee market could continue to rise in consumption and further dominate the category.