Chobani’s Next Chapter: Oats

Chobani has always been about more than the products we make. It’s about building a modern food company that makes better options for more people.

If you look at the yogurt aisle 10 years ago, it was divided between two big food companies. The options were loaded with preservatives, artificial ingredients you couldn’t spell, and lots of sugar.

I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, and I’m feeling much better about the yogurt aisle. Today we’re the #1 in Greek yogurt maker in America and 2nd overall yogurt manufacturer. We’ve expanded beyond just a single cup of yogurt for breakfast to offering drinkable yogurts on the go, yogurt with a crunchy sidecar for an afternoon snack, and better options for kids, too. 

Yogurt is and always will be an important part of Chobani’s story. But it's just the first chapter — we must provide better options in other categories, too.

Over the last few years, we’ve been moving quickly from a startup to a modern food company. Building infrastructure, building teams, building passion. And at the same time, we’ve had our heads down, focused on innovative new products for our fans.

I recently told my team, this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. This is our year.  

The year of oats.

Like yogurt, oats are an ancient food. Also like yogurt, it has deep roots in human history. In human culture. It’s fed us in good times & bad times. The grain, and its story should be celebrated & innovated. 

We lift up yogurt as a superfood, not only for the nutrition that comes with it, but because it’s a perfect vehicle for probiotics. But for the probiotics to really work well, you need fiber. That makes oats a perfect pairing. 

Oats are also a more sustainable grain. They take less water to grow than other plant-based alternatives and can help regenerate the land & soil it’s grown on — making it a perfect fit for the Chobani family.

We see it in our pantries, we grew up with it, but it just hasn’t been exciting. In the back of my mind, I always knew my next platform would be oats, because I knew Chobani could bring something exciting & special to the table. And our fans were asking for it. 

When we first set out on this journey, I said I wanted the old style of oats back. As close to the ancient food as possible.

And I’ve personally been part of this process from start to finish, making sure no bad stuff is added any way along the oat’s journey. What we ended up with is a vegan-friendly experience using organic, gluten-free oats that’s as close to dairy milk as any plant-based offering out there. It’s delicious.  

Our plant was originally designed for milk and yogurt, so at first we didn’t have the equipment to make this food in-house. But I made the decision this past May that we had to make the investment to make this very special product ourselves, in our plants, with our people. That was the only way we could ensure we were making this the old way. The right way. 

We'll never abandon our dairy roots, but we’re always planting new seeds. If you can’t drink milk, there are certain things you still want. I can deliver that to you in a cup. It’s not the same, it’s not yogurt, but it can still be good for you and taste delicious.

When we say better food for more people, that includes those looking for non-dairy products, and that’s what our new oat products are all about.

But this moment isn’t just a historic first for Chobani thanks to our new family of oat products.

At our core, we’re still a dairy company that deeply believes people have great taste, they just need better options. That’s why we’re also launching Greek yogurt with oats and a new line of delicious, natural dairy-based coffee creamers using fresh cream from our yogurt making process. 

Many people really don’t understand what’s inside their favorite coffee creamer. Most are full of bad stuff — artificial ingredients, jammed with sugar, oil, and preservatives.

Not ours. Chobani’s coffee creamers have five or less simple ingredients, including locally-sourced, farm-fresh cream. They are made with natural, non-GMO ingredients and most importantly, they taste amazing.

Our mission of providing better food for more people has always been about something bigger than the yogurt aisle. Today we’re ready to take our first steps, beyond the category where our story began. I know both the plant-based and coffee creamer categories are ripe for disruption. 

People want better options. They deserve craftsmanship, quality, and taste. As a modern food company, Chobani is ready to bring them those options — just like we did with our yogurt 10 years ago.