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 announced new product lines that 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 a distribution partner last year to help fuel some of the growth it had planned. It turned down offers 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. PepsiCo shuttered one of its yogurt plants last year.