Why Hamdi Ulukaya is called the Turkish king of yogurt
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For those who are not familiar with his name, you might be familiar with the name of his company, Chobani. Hamdi Ulukaya was born in Turkey on October 26, 1972, to a Kurdish family. His family were the ones who operated and owned goat, sheep and a dairy farm that was near the Euphrates River in İliç, which is also where they made yogurt and cheese. His family led a normal life as they spent their time tending and herding their flocks.
At first, Hamdi Ulukaya studied political science, and after that he decided to move to the US and study English in 1994. Even after he moved upstate in 1997 and enrolled into the University at Albany where he took few business courses, he still ended up getting a job in an upstate farm.
Believe it or not, his father was actually the one who persuaded Hamdi Ulukaya to do what he is famous for today. After a visit, his father told him all about the history of their dairy farm as he helped him choose his future career choice by allowing him to import his family's feta cheese from Turkey, especially after his father tried the local cheese there.
Just as predicted, their family's feta-cheese became quite popular, which opened up many small opportunities for Hamdi Ulukaya to open a small feta-cheese plant where he will be his own boss. His first 'company' was called Euphrates, and it was opened in 2002 in Johnstown, New York. Even though the business seemed promising, the next two years were described as the most difficult two years of his life, by Hamdi Ulukaya, as the plant barely broke even.
By chance, in 2005 Hamdi Ulukaya noticed a mail that advertised a great yogurt factory that was fully equipped and ready for sale in New York, just 65 miles west of his own company. That company has been previously known as Kraft Foods, and it has been closed after 84-years of work. "At first, I threw that flier away, but I could not help but shake the feeling that this could be something good", said Hamdi Ulukaya, as the next day he decided to tour around in that area, looking for that place.
After trying the American-style yogurt, he described it as too sugary, artificial and watery. This is why Hamdi Ulukaya decided to bring in his own style of yogurt, which was aimed to be created naturally, with high-quality, great taste and, of course, affordable price for the US market. As he was satisfied with the taste of the yogurt he made, Hamdi Ulukaya decided to create his own company named Chobani.
Who knew that such a huge business would blossom from an old farmer's idea to simply import the cheese that has been made naturally with care. Starting from a small farm boy, today we all know Chobani as the man who owns Chobani, a company that produces the tastiest dairy all over.