NEW BERLIN, N.Y., Dec. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Chobani, Inc., maker of America's No. 1-selling Greek Yogurt brand, announced today that its Twin Falls, Idaho, facility has reached optimal production capability, a significant milestone achieved in less than a year.

This will serve to support the continued growth and demand for its Greek Yogurt as its sales have increased 32% year-to-date and are projected to grow even higher in 2014. 

"Our Twin Falls facility is ready to take on the increased production capacity and innovation it was designed for in order to help us meet the remarkable growth we're experiencing," said Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder and CEO of Chobani. "This accomplishment allows us to sustainably and efficiently meet rising national demand and is a testament to the hard work of our new leadership, as well as those who have been with us from the beginning."

In addition to its original plant in upstate New York, Chobani Greek Yogurt is made in Twin Falls, which opened in late December 2012 and is the largest yogurt facility in the world.

To support the supply and distribution of its products throughout the country, Chobani will rebalance and optimize the production of its yogurt between its facilities in upstate New York and Twin Falls, increasing production in Twin Falls given its design, size and innovation capability while Chobani's New York facility will remain the key manufacturing and distribution hub of Chobani's important and strategic East Coast region.  

Chobani's Twin Falls plant is a state-of-the-art facility that was built from the ground up through a $450 million investment and 1.7 million work hours. The facility supports close to 1,200 local jobs and has been a key economic driver for the state.

In its first year of production, Chobani focused on making its Twin Falls plant not just a leader in size, but in cleanliness, safety and innovation. Chobani recently brought in significant resources and continues to work with internal as well as outside experts to assemble one of the most advanced food safety and quality systems in the industry.

In October, Chobani named Dr. Alejandro Mazzotta, one of the industry's leading experts in food safety with more than two decades of experience, as Vice President of Global Quality, Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs. In November, it named Andreas Sokollek, who brings more than 24 years of operations excellence and project management experience, as Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Operations, overseeing all new product launches, production planning and materials management initiatives. Chobani has also recently hired Sherri Chatham as Twin Falls Quality Assurance Manager. Chatham is a passionate Quality Assurance professional with over 20 years in dairy quality management.  She brings a proven track record of implementing successful quality assurance and sanitation programs, HACCP and food training.

"Our commitment to the craft and quality of our products has never been deeper, our Twin Falls factory has never run better and our confidence in delivering more cups of yogurt to more people has never been stronger" said Andreas Sokollek, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain and Operations.

Since choosing Twin Falls as its second home, Chobani worked closely with the community in support of various local initiatives. Chobani has initiated a job training program in conjunction with the College of Southern Idaho and the Shepherd's Gift Foundation, Chobani's charitable arm, has supported the Southern Idaho Children's Learning Center, given weekly donations to Idaho food banks, sponsored the Twin Falls county fair and Twin Falls Rapids Soccer Club, among others.

For more information, visit www.chobani.com. Like Chobani on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chobani and follow on Twitter @chobani. 

About Chobani, Inc.

Maker of America's No. 1-selling Greek Yogurt brand, Chobani was founded on the belief that people have great taste, they just need great options. That is why Chobani produces only the highest quality authentic strained Greek Yogurt products made with only natural ingredients out of its New Berlin, New York, plant and its new one-million-square-foot production facility in Twin Falls, Idaho. As part of Chobani's nothing but good philosophy, it is committed to supporting local farmers and strengthening its surrounding area economies. Chobani uses milk from local-area farms and also gives 10 percent of its annual profits to charities worldwide through the Shepherd's Gift Foundation, the company's charitable arm. All Chobani products are higher in protein than regular, unstrained yogurt^*, are Kosher certified, contain five live and active cultures and are made with milk from cows not treated with rBST*. Chobani products are available nationwide and in Australia. Chobani is pleased to offer consumers a variety of nothing but good products: Chobani Greek Yogurt, Chobani Bite, Chobani Flip and Chobani Champions. For more information, please visit chobani.com or connect with Chobani on Facebook at facebook.com/chobani. *Protein content of regular non-fat yogurt is 10g-13g protein per 8 oz serving; Chobani Greek Yogurt nonfat contains 11g-14g protein per 5.3 oz. serving.

Media Contacts:

Peter Duda
Weber Shandwick
pduda@webershandwick.com
212-445-8213

Michael Gonda
Weber Shandwick
mgonda@webershandwick.com
212-546-7861

SOURCE Chobani, Inc.