Yogurt milked for all it’s worth

A DANDENONG South yogurt factory owner has been named World Entrepreneur of the Year.
Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya claimed the Ernst and Young honour at a ceremony in Monte Carlo on Saturday ahead of more than 50 finalists.
The business received praise as a local manufacturing success story during the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame opening address.
This award recognised Mr Ulukaya’s innovation to bring real food to the masses, regeneration of a long-stagnant category, financial success, and personal commitment to building a world-class brand.
“What began as just my personal commitment to make delicious and nutritious Greek yogurt accessible to everyone has turned into a 3000 person-strong company serving three markets around the world,” Mr Ulukaya said.
He left his family’s dairy business in Turkey to learn English in the United States and recognised a gap in America’s dairy offering.
He founded Chobani in 2005, took two years to perfect the recipe and shipped the first order in 2007.
In November 2011 Mr Ulukaya chose Dandenong South as the first international market to launch Chobani because of the high quality of Australian dairy.
He bought Victorian dairy company Bead Foods in the same year and added more than 3000 square metres of wet processing cool room facilities to the existing operation, which produces Gippsland Dairy.
Last December he officially opened the $30 million yogurt factory, creating more than 50 new jobs.
The same month Chobani opened its second US plant in Twin Falls, Idaho – the largest yogurt plant in the world.
Mr Ulukaya remains the company’s sole owner.
Ernst and Young named him the US Entrepreneur of the Year in November.