Dive Brief:
- Chobani announced it’s updating all of it’s packaging with a new logo to help it stand out among its competitors, according to the company. The yogurts themselves are not changing. Products with the new look will start appearing in the yogurt case in supermarkets this week.
- The new logo updates the font and finish on the container, and adds watercolor paintings of fruit, rather than photographs.
- "What this new identity enables us to do is start to seed, if you will, us going into other areas beyond yogurt," Peter McGuinness, Chobani's chief marketing officer, told the Associated Press. There is still no word on what new foods or products Chobani may be launching, or when.
Dive Insight:
Chobani appears to be gunning to disrupt the food space again. The question is, which category are they planning on revolutionizing?
The overhaul of the Chobani logo freshens their look, which has been consistent since the company’s launch almost a decade ago. In addition to modernizing its label, Chobani announced plans to increase it’s marketing spending by 35% next year. They’re clearly on the verge of a big announcement beyond their decision to introduce a Greek yogurt with less sugar.
The Greek yogurt market, which Chobani largely created, appears to be leveling off after meteoric growth. Ten years ago, Greek yogurt represented less than 1% of U.S. yogurt sales. Today, it's almost half of the total market, thanks to Chobani. Even Chobani has expanded beyond Greek yogurt after it debuted a non-Greek option earlier this year.
Despite its strong presence in the yogurt case, dollar sales for Greek yogurt fell nearly 5% in the 52 weeks ending Oct. 28, CNBC said, citing data from Nielsen. In addition, IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm, said dollar sales of yogurt in general dropped almost 2% during the last year, the business outlet reported.
As part of its effort to keep consumers and attract new ones, Chobani is launching a lower-sugar line of yogurt called ‘A Hint Of,’ in December. The new product combines Greek yogurt with real fruits and spices, and only natural sweeteners. The new line has 9 grams of sugar and 12 grams of protein. Wellness trends have many consumers cutting back on their daily sugar intake, so this launch has the potential to do well.
Competitors are not waiting idly by while Chobani rebrands itself and introduces new products. General Mills recently released a French yogurt, whose success has helped offset some losses from Yoplait Greek and Yoplait Light. In 2016, Chobani overtook Yoplait — the segment's long-established leader — to become the U.S.'s largest brand.
Danone, meanwhile, is considering launching a new plant-based yogurt. The company acquired So Delicious and Silk parent WhiteWave this past April, and could be interested in tapping into the growing section of consumers moving away from dairy toward nut-based milks.
Regardless of what new food product Chobani is developing, now is a good time for the company to invest in its new image and capitalize on it’s household name. As demand for Greek yogurt declines, it’s smart for Chobani to diversity its products. Potential options include non-dairy yogurts and milks, and portable snack versions of its popular products.
When Chobani hit the market it didn't take long for it to become synonymous with Greek yogurt. Today, Noosa, Siggi's and other Green yogurt products from large CPG companies such as Danone and General Mills have moved into the market. Chobani is determined to make itself stand out and keep its perch as a yogurt juggernaut. It's cognizant of the fact that competitors took note of its success and copied it. Now, for it to keep going it has to find ways to reinvigorate the space to allow it to stand out, or it will become just another brand in an already crowded yogurt space
"We're not going to do this for nothing," Peter McGuinness, Chobani's chief marketing and commercial officer, told CNBC. "We're the leader, so we'll disproportionately benefit, so the more the category grows, we're going to grow. So it's not all like we're out to grow the category. We're fierce competitors, too, and we want to maintain our No. 1 standing."