Every executive’s leadership has been tested during 2020. For at least one food company leader, that test revealed true strength. Granted, the leadership bonafides of Chobani CEO and founder Hamdi Ulukaya have never been in question, with the company already known for carving out a new category in yogurt and building a brand that excelled across channels while maintaining a firm grounding in its social responsibilities, but the past year has further solidified that even in the face of adversity, for Ulukaya, people will still outweigh profit time and again.
Over the past year the Chobani has worked tirelessly under Ulukaya’s leadership to support Americans. In addition to donating millions of products to food banks, the company also turned its New York City cafe into a free grocery itself, giving away bags of free food to those in need, and developing a limited edition flavor of yogurt to benefit nonprofit Feeding America. A Turkish immigrant himself, Ulukaya has also invested in supporting those new to America. His Tent Partnership for Refugees this year established a new mentorship program for LGBTQ refugees, pairing roughly 1,250 individuals with mentors from major corporations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with the ultimate goal of helping them find jobs and acclimate to their new home.
And of course, there’s the Chobani team itself. In October, Ulukaya announced that Chobani would increase its starting hourly wage to at least $15 per hour, and $18 an hour in New York City, more than double the federal minimum wage. Starting in the first quarter of 2021, the average hourly wage at the company’s two manufacturing plants will be roughly $19.
This philosophy of thinking about the greater good has filtered through to product innovation as well, with the company launching new plant-based and probiotic items at affordable price points designed to help any consumer have access to healthy, better-for-you foods.
