The OG of Millennial lactose tolerance... Turkish entrepreneur Hamdi Ulukaya fed America's Greek yogurt cravings when he created Chobani in '05. Now the strained yogurt pioneer is launching a new line featuring nut butters (almond, cashew, hazelnut) in 5 flavors nationwide this month. But when we looked deeper into Greek yogurt, we noticed it's having a problem.
- All yogurt: Sales fell 2% last year (their 3rd straight annual decline).
- Greek yogurt: Sales dropped 7% in 2018.
- Chobani Greek yogurt: Sales rose 4% — It's the only major yogurt-churner with positive sales growth right now.
If cows could talk... they'd tell you that Chobani products' successes and failures reveal its strategy — the Greek yogurt-based ones are thriving while its non-Greeks suffer:
- What’s working at Chobani: Its "Less Sugar" version, Chobani "yogurt drink" (picture a yogurt milkshake), and the kids' version, "Gimmies," with cartoons on the box, launched last year.
- What’s not working: Chobani Smooth — its non-Greek yogurt. After 2 years, it's getting shut down.
Chobani is pulling a Coca-Cola... It's using product spinoffs to save slowing growth. With soda sales shrinking, Coke's using Coke Zero, Coke Vanilla, and Cherry Coke to find growth with the same brand. It tweaked the product just enough to attract new customers without hurting the identity. Chobani is digging into the same playbook: Change the packaging and purpose, don't change the core ingredients or brand.