{"id":925,"date":"2015-12-04T14:35:11","date_gmt":"2015-12-04T19:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/"},"modified":"2015-12-04T14:38:50","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T19:38:50","slug":"chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/","title":{"rendered":"Chobani: Sour Milk Never Tasted So Sweet"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2005 the only way to get Americans to eat yogurt was to load it with sugar, preservatives, and pastel-colored dyes.<\/p>\n

At least, that\u2019s what Yoplait and Dannon thought<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That same year Turkish immigrant Hamdi Ulukaya saw a listing for a 90-year-old dilapidated Kraft yogurt factory in New Berlin, NY to be sold with milk processing machinery as-is. Against advice from his lawyer, Ulukaya filed for an $800,000 loan from the Small Business Administration, purchased the plant, and founded Chobani, a strained yogurt manufacturing company that brings pure yogurt to the masses. [1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Since then, Chobani has expanded rapidly, reaching a billion dollars in revenue within its first five years of operation. [1]<\/a> How did a niche packaged foods player outcompete larger incumbents to achieve Silicon Valley-level growth?<\/p>\n

\"From:<\/a>
Chobani Bite [7]<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>Chobani focused its business model on delivering affordable, high-quality yogurt to the average consumer. To deliver on this promise, the company configured its operating model to source large volumes of quality milk, process the milk using its proprietary recipe, and deliver individually-wrapped yogurt containers at scale. The company successfully aligned business and operating model by implementing the following strategies:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"From:
Yogurt cup filling process [7]<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>Scaling sustainably.<\/strong> Chobani received no outside equity investment. The company is wholly-owned by Ulukaya and financed through debt. [2]<\/a> As a result, the company had to balance operational shortcomings with its business objective of scaling quickly. Its first factory in New Berlin is emblematic of this tension. A labyrinth of stairways and tangled equipment, the plant has been expanded and reconfigured to double capacity multiple times as orders rolled in. Instead of buying new equipment, Chobani retrofitted used equipment to deliver the product customers demanded. This minimized upfront capital expenditure and ensured that money was only invested once there was proven long term demand.<\/p>\n

As of 2013 the New Berlin plant operated 24\/7. Machines were on for 10 hours followed by a four hour cleaning period. Workers operated in a four-shift system, wherein employees worked two 12-hour days followed by two full days off. [3]<\/a> Given the plant\u2019s stretched capacity, Chobani built the world\u2019s largest yogurt plant in Twin Falls, Idaho in late 2013. Using an innovative design-build approach that combined the engineering and design steps of construction, the $450 million plant was constructed in 10 months rather than the usual two year time horizon. [4]<\/a> The Idaho plant accommodates 14 production lines and can process 11 million pounds of milk per day. [4]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"From:<\/a>
Chobani’s first plant in New Berlin, NY [7]<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\"Arrow\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"From:<\/a>
Chobani’s Twin Falls Plant, the world’s largest yogurt plant\u00a0[7]<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>Delaying new plant construction until absolutely necessary allowed Chobani to remain nimble in its early days and invest money only in products that sold well. This agility in operating model was a major advantage. A\/B testing products at Yoplait simply wasn\u2019t as easy as it was in Chobani\u2019s highly experimental facility.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/Chobani_B-roll.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"From:<\/a>
Packing Cases\u00a0[7]<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Focusing on mainstream retailers.<\/strong> Unlike existing \u201cGreek\u201d yogurt producers, Chobani targeted the mass market by pricing its product at $1.50, slightly above the 99 cent traditional yogurts but far below the $3 gourmet yogurt that sold in health food aisles. [2]<\/a> The company also ignored specialty retailers and instead grew relationships with mass-market retail stores such as ShopRite. Shelf space was expensive. At $10,000 per SKU, Chobani could not afford to stock its product alongside more established competitors. [2]<\/a> The company therefore negotiated paying slotting fees in installments, which helped smooth out costs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Maintaining milk vendor relationships above all else.<\/strong> Not only does yogurt production require large capital expenditure up front, but it also has high working capital requirements. Ulukaya prioritized relationships with key suppliers and let payments to other vendors fall behind in order to remain solvent. [2]<\/a> He identified milk suppliers and his employees as top priority and made sure to pay them first. Prioritizing relationships ensured that Chobani stretched every dollar to scale its business and continually improved its cash conversion cycle.<\/p>\n

\"Chobani's<\/a>
Chobani’s production process as presented to consumers [6]<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>Even with deliberate focus on scaling responsibly, Chobani operations have not gone without a hitch. In late 2013 the company had to recall an undisclosed number of its yogurt cups after reports of fizzy yogurt. Caused by mold in Chobani\u2019s Idaho plant, the spoiled yogurt caused only minor illness in some consumers. [5]<\/a> Nevertheless, as Chobani\u2019s first recall, the incident served as a warning sign to scaling too quickly. Since the incident, the company has refocused on maintaining quality throughout its operating model but has vowed to continue keeping preservatives out of its recipe.<\/p>\n

With rumors of a near term IPO, Chobani\u2019s high growth highlights the importance of aligning operating objectives with an agile business model in order to be able to face industry giants head on.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/chobani-founders.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Rebecca Mead, \u201cJust Add Sugar,\u201d New Yorker<\/em>, November 4, 2013.<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Hamdi Ulukaya, \u201cChobani\u2019s Founder on Growing a Start-Up Without Outside Investors,\u201d 性视界 Business Review<\/em>, Entrepreneurial Finance, October 2013.<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Bryan Gruley, \u201cAt Chobani, the Turkish King of Greek Yogurt,\u201d Bloomberg<\/em>, January 13, 2013.<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Amy Florence Fischbach, \u201cChobani Builds World\u2019s Largest Yogurt Plant,\u201d Electrical Construction and Maintenance<\/em>, February 18, 2014.<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Cadice Choi, \u201cChobani Recalls Greek Yogurt Cups,\u201d Huffington Post<\/em>, September 5, 2013.<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. “The Chobani Story,” Chobani Media Kit.<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Chobani multimedia: http:\/\/www.chobani.com\/media<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    How a Turkish farmer grew a 90-year-old abandoned Kraft factory into the world\u2019s largest yogurt plant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":931,"featured_media":927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[132,33,161,72,109,194,201,16,187,7,127,216],"class_list":["post-925","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-model","category-food","category-manufacturing","category-nutrition","category-operational-efficiency","category-operational-innovation","category-package","category-retail","category-specialty-retailer","category-winner","category-winners","category-yogurt"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/the-tom-challenge-tom-winners-and-losers-assignment\/","yoast_head":"\nChobani: Sour Milk Never Tasted So Sweet - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chobani: Sour Milk Never Tasted So Sweet - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How a Turkish farmer grew a 90-year-old abandoned Kraft factory into the world\u2019s largest yogurt plant.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-12-04T19:38:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/FOB_OVERWRAP_FAMILY.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"4750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\\\/\",\"name\":\"Chobani: Sour Milk Never Tasted So Sweet - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/FOB_OVERWRAP_FAMILY.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-04T19:35:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-12-04T19:38:50+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/FOB_OVERWRAP_FAMILY.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/FOB_OVERWRAP_FAMILY.jpg\",\"width\":4750,\"height\":2500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Chobani: Sour Milk Never Tasted So Sweet\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chobani: Sour Milk Never Tasted So Sweet - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chobani: Sour Milk Never Tasted So Sweet - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"How a Turkish farmer grew a 90-year-old abandoned Kraft factory into the world\u2019s largest yogurt plant.","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","article_modified_time":"2015-12-04T19:38:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":4750,"height":2500,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/FOB_OVERWRAP_FAMILY.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/","name":"Chobani: Sour Milk Never Tasted So Sweet - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/FOB_OVERWRAP_FAMILY.jpg","datePublished":"2015-12-04T19:35:11+00:00","dateModified":"2015-12-04T19:38:50+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/FOB_OVERWRAP_FAMILY.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/FOB_OVERWRAP_FAMILY.jpg","width":4750,"height":2500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/chobani-sour-milk-never-tasted-so-sweet\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Chobani: Sour Milk Never Tasted So Sweet"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/931"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}