If you are like most Americans you have never heard of Hamdi Ulukaya. And, if he was in an immigration line today and disclosed he was a Turkish-Kurd “political science” major at Ankara University, he would most likely be sent home.
But, what if I told you he created, here in America, the leading Greek yogurt brand, Chobani, would you want him deported?
Ulukaya, who is nicely profiled in Rob Brunner’s article I’m a Shepherd and I’m a Warrior in Fast Company, grew-up in eastern Turkey in a family of shepherds and cheese makers. He immigrated to the United States through New York City in 1994. He worked hard in odd jobs, learned English, and took college courses.
Ulukaya the Warrior. Ulukaya has the natural competitive instincts of many successful entrepreneurs. In the late 1990’s he found his way north to Albany, New York where he was surprised to find farm land. He eventually opened a feta cheese business called Euphrates. In 2005 he discovered that Kraft Foods was trying to sell-off its yogurt factory in South Edmeston, NY at a discounted price. With help from the Small Business Administration, Ulukaya bought it.
For the next two years Ulukaya worked day and night to perfect a healthy, natural Greek-style yogurt unavailable on a large scale in America. He used shorter and wider European sized tubs with brighter and colorful sleeves. And he gave the product a unique name, Chobani, which means shepherd.
The first batch of Chobani was shipped in October 2007 to a small kosher store on Long Island. Ulukaya then went to work on large supermarket chains, where he insisted Chobani be placed alongside main stream yogurts and not hidden away in the organic foods section. In four short and fast years Chobani exploded and hit $1 billion in sales by 2012. The New York plant then employed 600 people and produced 2,000,000 cases of yogurt a week.
Two more plants have been added including a modern facility in Twin Falls, Idaho, which is the world’s largest yogurt factory. Today with sales of $1.5 billion Chobani holds 19% of the overall yogurt market. More impressive is how market leader Chobani holds 36% of the Greek yogurt segment, which now makes-up 46% of all yogurt sales.
Ulukaya the Shepherd. What I found impressive is how Ulukaya is also a humanitarian. Beginning in 2010 in New York and then in Idaho he stayed in touch with Resource Centers for Refugees. Like many business people today, Ulukaya found it difficult to locate hard-working employees. However, because he himself was an immigrant, he found it easy to hire refugees from these Centers. And be believes these workers have made all the difference in Chobani’s success.
As you can imagine, Ulukaya has been offered many lucrative buy-out deals from many of the large food companies, but he has passed. One significant reason is that he believes in his role as a refugee shepherd. In speaking with Brunner about two refugee sisters who work for him in Idaho, Ulukaya says,
“These girls could be lost, damaged, wasted for the remainder of their lives, but they are the light of the plant. Yes, I built a $450 million plant and all that stuff, but the part I love the most is becoming this hub for building lives. Refugees have gone through so much, like these two girls. And seeing them smile and full of energy, it’s like a new world is created—while you’re making a cup of yogurt! Nothing is more beautiful than that.”
“Be a warrior and a shepherd,” – Ulukaya gives all leaders a great credo to live by.
