A Small Business Lesson to Learn From Chobani Yogurt Company
The popular Greek yogurt company, Chobani, has taken home this year's "Entrepreneurial Success of the Year" award given out by the Small Business Administration.
Chobani represents a small business triumph: although the company started as only 5 employees, it has since grown to over 1,200 - and it's still expanding! Since its inception in 2005, Chobani has since become the top selling yogurt company in the U.
S.
What lessons can we learn from their tremendous success story? 1.
Consumers' Preferences are Changing The most important lesson to be learned by Chobani's success is that consumers are beginning to show a strong preference for healthy, all natural, organic products.
Due to a raised awareness about the skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other health issues caused by poor eating habits, many consumers are beginning to make healthier decisions that reflect in the purchases they make.
Chobani perfectly timed the release of their product to tap into this lucrative market as it gained traction.
2.
Learn how to Anticipate Future Trends One wise move Chobani executed upon releasing their product was to anticipate a growth in demand for healthy products, and to release their Greek yogurt product accordingly.
Upon entering into the market, very few American customers even knew what Greek yogurt was.
But as more and more began to focus on purchasing healthy products, Greek yogurt grew in popularity.
Chobani was one of a few companies even offering the product at the time, leading to its inevitable success.
3.
Smart Marketing Can Turn Customers Onto Products They Never Knew About Chobani's decision to create a product that is entirely all-natural gave them leverage to market their product in a way that truly set them apart from competitors.
Because Greek yogurt is inherently high in protein, calcium, potassium, and many healthy probiotics, they could use this information to appeal to a customer base that might have never even known about Greek yogurt's health benefits.
They were able to capitalize on the unique aspects of their product to appeal to customers who, in many cases, were new to identifying healthy, nutritious food products.
4.
Time Your Loans Correctly Chobani would not have seen its rate of success and growth were it not for its perfectly timed use of an SBA-backed small business loan and the way in which they chose to spend their funds.
According to the Washington Post, the founder of Chobani "purchased an old Kraft Foods plant in New Berlin, N.
Y.
, using an SBA 504 loan secured through KeyBank and the Empire State Certified Development Corporation" in 2005.
He then spent 2 years crafting and perfecting his product.
This strategy of using the financing in a strategically calculated fashion shows that owner Hamdi Ulukaya had a well-crafted plan for the trajectory of his business.
It is always important to write a good business plan that focuses on how to spend your business financing over time.
Chobani represents a small business triumph: although the company started as only 5 employees, it has since grown to over 1,200 - and it's still expanding! Since its inception in 2005, Chobani has since become the top selling yogurt company in the U.
S.
What lessons can we learn from their tremendous success story? 1.
Consumers' Preferences are Changing The most important lesson to be learned by Chobani's success is that consumers are beginning to show a strong preference for healthy, all natural, organic products.
Due to a raised awareness about the skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other health issues caused by poor eating habits, many consumers are beginning to make healthier decisions that reflect in the purchases they make.
Chobani perfectly timed the release of their product to tap into this lucrative market as it gained traction.
2.
Learn how to Anticipate Future Trends One wise move Chobani executed upon releasing their product was to anticipate a growth in demand for healthy products, and to release their Greek yogurt product accordingly.
Upon entering into the market, very few American customers even knew what Greek yogurt was.
But as more and more began to focus on purchasing healthy products, Greek yogurt grew in popularity.
Chobani was one of a few companies even offering the product at the time, leading to its inevitable success.
3.
Smart Marketing Can Turn Customers Onto Products They Never Knew About Chobani's decision to create a product that is entirely all-natural gave them leverage to market their product in a way that truly set them apart from competitors.
Because Greek yogurt is inherently high in protein, calcium, potassium, and many healthy probiotics, they could use this information to appeal to a customer base that might have never even known about Greek yogurt's health benefits.
They were able to capitalize on the unique aspects of their product to appeal to customers who, in many cases, were new to identifying healthy, nutritious food products.
4.
Time Your Loans Correctly Chobani would not have seen its rate of success and growth were it not for its perfectly timed use of an SBA-backed small business loan and the way in which they chose to spend their funds.
According to the Washington Post, the founder of Chobani "purchased an old Kraft Foods plant in New Berlin, N.
Y.
, using an SBA 504 loan secured through KeyBank and the Empire State Certified Development Corporation" in 2005.
He then spent 2 years crafting and perfecting his product.
This strategy of using the financing in a strategically calculated fashion shows that owner Hamdi Ulukaya had a well-crafted plan for the trajectory of his business.
It is always important to write a good business plan that focuses on how to spend your business financing over time.
