This archive report was first published on 22 July 2019.
Chobani's rise to becoming America's most popular Greek yogurt brand is a testament to the power of prioritizing customer satisfaction. Founded by Hamdi Ulukaya in 2007, the company's commitment to serving its customers has been a key factor in its success.
Ulukaya, who immigrated to the United States from Turkey in 1994, received a $3,000 loan from the Small Business Administration in 2007 to buy an old yogurt plant in Norwich, New York. Today, Chobani sells over $1 billion of yogurt annually.
Ulukaya's approach to business is unconventional, to say the least. In a TED talk filmed in April and published on YouTube on June 20, 2019, Ulukaya said, "Today's playbook says the CEO reports to the board. In my opinion, the CEO reports to the consumer."
Ulukaya refers to himself as an "anti-CEO" because he rejects traditional business practices like aiming to maximize value for shareholders. Instead, he believes that business leaders should ask how they can help struggling communities instead of trying to get perks for their companies.
Ulukaya's philosophy is not unique. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has also emphasized the importance of prioritizing customer satisfaction. In a June 2019 interview with Business Insider, Bezos said, "You can work on those things with the confidence to know that all the energy you put into them today is still going to be paying you dividends 10 years from now."
