Chobani target audience

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

LO 1-1Define marketing and identify the diverse factors that influence marketing actions.

LO 1-2Explain how marketing discovers and satisfies consumer needs.

LO 1-3Distinguish between marketing mix factors and environmental forces.

LO 1-4Explain how organizations build strong customer relationships and customer value through marketing.

LO 1-5Describe how today’s customer relationship era differs from prior eras.

LAUNCHING A NEW BILLION-DOLLAR FOOD CATEGORY—IN JUST SEVEN YEARS!

Thousands of newly launched consumer products quietly fail every year. How could an entirely new food category skyrocket to success? The answer: Look at Chobani® Greek Yogurt!

In 2005, Turkish immigrant Hamdi Ulukaya opened his mail in New Berlin, New York, and saw an ad that said, “Fully equipped yogurt factory for sale.” He bought it, painted the walls, hired a yogurt master from Turkey, and turned his attention to the task of developing high-quality Greek yogurt. He named it Chobani, which means “shepherd” in Turkish.1

Developing Chobani’s Unique Greek Yogurt

Hamdi Ulukaya is not fond of American-style yogurt. “It was full of sugar and preservatives, nothing like I had enjoyed growing up,” he says. “In Turkey we eat strained yogurt, which is rich and creamy, at every meal.” The straining process removes much of the liquid whey while leaving behind more protein than the unstrained American yogurts marketed by Yoplait and Dannon.

“I was very picky. It took us 18 months to get the recipe right. But in 2007, we had it. I knew I had only one shot, and it had to be perfect,” says Ulukaya.2

Reaching Customers

From the very beginning, Ulukaya and team pushed for distribution in major grocery chains and in their main dairy cases, not confined to the specialty or health food sections of these chains or in smaller, niche stores. He was convinced that Americans would really like Greek yogurt if they tried it. Ulukaya’s conviction paid off. By 2009, Chobani could be found in the main dairy cases of chains like Stop & Shop, BJ’s, and Costco. And by 2013, Chobani Greek Yogurt was sold nationwide in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.3

Chobani had little money for traditional advertising at the start, so it relied on positive word of mouth, with one happy customer telling another about this new Chobani Greek Yogurt. In 2010, Chobani’s “CHOmobile” started to tour the country, handing out free samples from the van at events to encourage consumers to try Chobani’s Greek Yogurt for the first time. Perhaps the biggest breakthrough in gaining public awareness was its sponsorship of the 2012 and 2014 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams. During the 2012 opening ceremonies, Chobani premiered its “Proudly with You” TV advertisement.

Page 3

Just over five years from launch, Chobani boasts nearly 800,000 Facebook fans. The company has created a YouTube channel that features “Just Add Good” recipes to show customers how to use its tasty products in meals and desserts. It also interacts with consumers through a half-dozen other social media sites such as Twitter and Instagram, acknowledging everyone who mentions the brand.4