Chobani has had amazing success at building a strong brand through clever marketing. What are the secrets of this success?
Lindsay Kos: First and foremost, a quality product naturally markets itself, but Chobani runs on the idea that consumers’ voices will shape the market.
With the internet, word of mouth is a more valuable marketing tool than ads. Our success can be attributed to our creative handing of social media and making a point of responding to every consumer inquiry. It’s about delivering the best experience possible every time, and we have built our brand around being transparent and very connected to the marketplace.
We have a robust internal digital communications team, activated across multiple channels in the US and globally. With over 600,000 fans on Facebook and nearly 48,000 on Twitter (plus Pinterest, Instagram, Foursquare and more), our team engages with each and every Chobani fan to become a ‘friend’.
Through our social media channels, we respond instantaneously to dissatisfied customers, to make it right and build brand loyalty. And we’re constantly producing quality content to share with our fans, so it’s always a two-way dialogue.
All new products are supported by a robust communications plan, including traditional PR and social media to both the consumer and retailer audience. We’re getting our fans, our biggest influencers, onboard with sneak peaks, so we’re building excitement before the products hit shelves, supplemented by experiential marketing activations.
How important are flavour and packaging innovations for the brand?
Kos: Chobani is committed to innovation. It’s at the centre of everything that we do, from researching and developing new, tasty flavours and products to the way we build our plants and grow our internal family.
Of course, we’re committed to growing our company through new flavours and product innovations, but in a strategic and meaningful way. We’d never make anything just for the sake of introducing something new if it doesn’t have a strategic purpose.
Which new markets do you plan to target in 2013?
Kos: We’re looking to grow the yogurt aisle, not to just simply put products on shelves, but to purposefully meet expanding usage occasions. From fan-requested flavours to reinventing ‘snack time’, Chobani continues to expand its retail offerings and many of these new products were created after countless requests from our very vocal fans.
In terms of markets, we’re seeking to grow our US, UK and Australian businesses. Who knows where the future will bring us, as we’d certainly love to bring Chobani to fans across the globe.
How do you account for the huge growth in Greek yogurt sales in developed and emerging markets?
Kos: Chobani’s success has brought renewed attention to the inherent nutrition in milk, especially protein and calcium. Greek yogurt answers the call from consumers looking for protein substitutes or bone-building foods. We want to change how people think about yogurt and when and where they eat it. No artificial additives such as milk protein concentrate or artificial ingredients – just milk and cultures as yogurt should be.
We believe the yogurt story in this country is just getting started. We’ll start to see increased awareness for Greek yogurt and further education on Greek yogurt’s health benefits as manufacturers bring more products to market. We also believe that with education on Greek yogurt, consumers will begin to discern between authentic, strained Greek yogurt products like Chobani, and ‘Greek-style’ yogurts that contain additives.
There’s currently no standard of identity for Greek yogurt in this country, and as a manufacturer, it’s our responsibility to educate consumers while protecting and growing the category.
As consumers demand more healthy, natural and functional dairy products, how will Chobani meet this demand?
Kos: To accommodate demand and growth, the New Berlin, New York facility is being expanded, and our new plant in Twin Falls, Idaho, opened in December 2012.
The nearly $450m high-capacity facility is expected to create nearly 400 new jobs. Twin Falls allows us to produce products with texture, such as the crunchy nuts and coconut pieces found in our new innovations.
Additionally, the size and scale of the plant will allow us to continue to grow as well as immediately begin producing new innovations, sizes and packages.
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