Yogurt maker to build $21M research center
The world’s largest yogurt factory is about to get bigger in the picturesque southern Idaho town of Twin Falls.
Chobani, the maker of Greek yogurt, announced it is building a
$21 million research center to accompany its facility that employs about 1,000 people. Chobani is the latest in a series of food manufacturers to locate or expand in Twin Falls, which is about 200 miles northwest of Salt Lake City in the high desert.
“People thought I was crazy. But I was very sure, and looking back, it was the best decision I ever made,” said Hamdi Ulukaya, the company’s founder and CEO. “It was a no-brainer for me.”
Chobani opened in Twin Falls in
2012, making a $750 million investment in the community that has long been known for its agricultural heritage and hardworking residents. In a city of fewer than
50,000 people, that’s a big deal. (For context, there are about
400,000 dairy cows in the area.) “We often refer to Chobani as the gift that keeps on giving here in Twin Falls,” Mayor Shawn Barigar said. “To see them continue grow is very exciting.”
Ulukaya said building and opening the first plant required ex- tensive community training so the company could hire qualified local workers. He said that workforce helps support other food companies in the area, including the maker of Clif Bars.
Chobani’s direct and indirect employment in the area supports about 7,000 jobs, and the area’s reputation for quality workers who know how to work with food is spreading, Barigar said.
Idaho’s unemployment rate has dropped from 6.3% to 2.4% since Chobani arrived in Twin Falls, and the company has worked with government-run refugee centers to hire about 300 displaced people who have been resettled in the area.
The company’s public support for refugees drew heavy scrutiny from alt-right and right-wing organizations that suggested last summer that Chobani and the Turkish-born Ulukaya were at the heart of a conspiracy involving child sex assaults and tuberculosis infections.
Chobani brought and settled a defamation lawsuit against a vocal proponent of that theory, and Ulukaya wants to keep the focus on the success of Twin Falls: “It’s becoming a Silicon Valley of food,” he said.