Chobani Review – Right Choice For You?
Chobani is a lineup of yogurt that has recently become popular for its “flip” design and its natural ingredients. Here’s our review of whether or not Chobani is the right yogurt for you.
What is Chobani?
Chobani is a lineup of yogurt products that emphasizes using natural Greek yogurt sweetened with natural ingredients.
The company’s lineup includes yogurts with fruit on the bottom, blended yogurts, 100 calorie yogurts, “flip” yogurts, kids yogurts, and dessert yogurts.
The company is based in upstate New York. Chobani’s CEO recently made headlines after he decided to distribute 10% of company shares to employees prior to Chobani’s IPO – a decision that could net each of the company’s employees hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Chobani Products
Chobani products emphasize many of the same things. Chobani emphasizes using non-GMO ingredients along with natural flavors “derived from the real juice of fresh fruits and vegetables”, according to a post on the company’s Facebook page.
The milk used in Chobani yogurt comes from “family farms in or near the Magic Valley in Idaho and Unadilla Valley in upstate New York. The company also emphasizes that since the first day of operation, they have only used milk from cows not treated with rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin).
The company’s yogurts are separated into all of the following categories:
Fruit on the Bottom
These yogurts layer the company’s yogurt on top of a foundation of real fruit. Flavors include Apricot, Blackberry, Black Cherry, Blood Orange, Blueberry, Mango, Passion Fruit, Peach, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Strawberry, and Strawberry Banana.
Blended
The Blended yogurts feature the yogurt and fruit all mixed up together – so you don’t have to do any mixing yourself after opening the yogurt. Blended yogurt flavors include Watermelon, Guava, Coconut, Coffee, Key Lime, Lemon, Mixed Berry, Non-Fat Vanilla, Strawberry, Whole Milk Honey, and Whole Milk Vanilla.
Plain
The Chobani plain yogurts just contain milk with live probiotic cultures. They’re available in two varieties, including Non-Fat Plain and Whole Milk Plain.
Chobani Simply 100 Greek
This Greek yogurt comes in 100 calorie serving sizes. 16 different flavors are available, including Strawberry Banana, Mixed Red Berry, Strawberry Chocolate Truffle, Blueberry Cookie Crumble, Mango Cone Crisp, Black Cherry, Blueberry, Key Lime, Mango Passion Fruit, Peach, Pineapple, Pineapple Coconut, Raspberry Lemon, and Strawberry.
Chobani Flip
You may have seen the recent advertising campaigns on TV promoting the “flip” yogurts. These yogurts come with one main yogurt container and another smaller container attached on the side. You rip the lids off both and then “flip” the smaller container into the yogurt. That smaller container contains nuts, seeds, and other ingredients. Flavors include all of the following: Mango Passion Power, Sriracha Mango, Chipotle Pineapple, PB&J, Peanut Butter Dream, Coffee Break Bliss, Chocolate Haze Craze, Salted Caramel Crunch, Almond Loco Coco, Key Lime Crumble, Nutty for ‘Nana, Peachy Pistachio, and Tropical Escape.
Chobani Mighty Oats & Ancient Grains
These yogurts promise to deliver the “perfect ratio of yogurt to fruit to grains”. There are seven flavors in total, including: Apple Cinnamon Mighty Oats, Raisin Brown Sugar Mighty Oats, Mixed Berry Ancient Grains, Apricot Ancient Grains, Banana Maple Mighty Oats, Blueberry Mighty Oats, and Peach Mighty Oats.
Chobani Kids and Tots
Chobani sells a lineup of yogurts for kids and tots. The yogurts come in smaller, kid-friendly sizes designed to fit into lunch boxes or be easily fed to a baby. They include basic flavors like Banana, Mixed Berry, and Strawberry.
Chobani Indulgent
Chobani’s Indulgent lineup is made with dark chocolate and extra-creamy yogurt. They’re designed to be eaten as dessert chocolates while still being healthy for you. Popular yogurts in this lineup include Cherry and Dark Chocolate, Double Chocolate Chunk, Dulce de Leche and Dark Chocolate, Banana and Dark Chocolate, Raspberry and Dark Chocolate, and Mint and Dark Chocolate.
How is Chobani Yogurt Made?
Chobani takes great pride in its manufacturing process. On the official website, they explain how they craft their yogurt in the following process:
Step 1) Local Sourcing: Chobani uses milk produced from regional farms in upstate New York and Idaho
Step 2) Authentic Straining: The milk is turned into yogurt using “an authentic straining process that’s been around for generations”. This secret straining process claims to give Chobani extra thickness and twice as much protein as regular, unstrained yogurts.
Step 3) Natural Ingredients: Chobani uses real fruit and natural sweeteners to give Chobani its flavor. AS an example, Chobani Greek Yogurt contains 13 to 17 grams of sugar in each 150 gram serving, while Chobani claims the other guys use 29 grams of sugar in each 150 gram serving.
Step 4) Responsible Manufacturing: Chobani claims to “actively implement sustainability practices” as part of the company’s commitment to the surrounding environment and community. The whey byproduct created during manufacturing, for example, is used as supplemental feed for livestock or as fertilizer for local farms.
About Chobani
Chobani was founded by Hamdi Ulukaya, who moved to New York from his native Turkey. Hamdi found American yogurt was not nearly as delicious and widely available as it was back home, so he started to make his own Greek yogurt in America.
The company was founded in 2005 when Hamdi purchased a yogurt plant in upstate New York that had recently closed down. By 2007, the company had refined its manufacturing process, hired a “master yogurt maker” and was producing high-quality yogurt.
Today, 9 years after launching in 2007, Chobani is America’s number one Greek yogurt.
The company is based at the following address:
147 State Highway 320
Norwich, New York 13815
You can contact the company by email at [email protected].
The Chobani IPO
Chobani has been in the news this past week after CEO Hamdi Ulukaya announced that all company employees would receive an ownership stake in the company prior to the IPO. The news was announced to the employees in a surprise company meeting.
The shares could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars per employee. Each of the company’s 2,000 employees is receiving shares based on their role and the time they’ve spent with the company.
Despite the generosity, Hamdi emphasized that it wasn’t a gift:
“This isn't a gift. It's a mutual promise to work together with a shared purpose and responsibility.”
Chobani has not yet announced a date for its IPO, although it’s likely to occur in the near future.
Where to Buy Chobani Yogurt
Chobani yogurts are available across America at Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aid, and many major grocery stores.
You can also stop by the Chobani SoHo café, where you can “experience our Greek yogurt like you never have before”, according to the company’s official website.
To find places you can buy Chobani in your local area, visit the Product Locator at the official Chobani website: Chobani.com
