By Kevin McCauley
Chobani Yogurt, leader in the fast-growing Greek yogurt sector, has hired Cornerstone Government Affairs to handle federal regulations.
Turkey-born Hamdi Ulukaya launched Chobani in 2007 in an upstate New York yogurt plant that was owned by Kraft. The company registered sales in the $700M range in 2011, and plans a $100M facility in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Chobani is pushing the Dept. of Agriculture to update its MyPlate nutritional guideline to distinguish Greek from other types of yogurt, and deem it a high-protein product.
That push won the support from Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY). They penned a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this month, urging him to update the guidelines and “education material to reflect the positive health benefits of Greek yogurt.”
The politicos also want Greek yogurt added to the federally-funded national school lunch program, a move that would “allow schools to stretch their scarce meal dollars” and provide “students a tasty way to get the protein needed by school-aged children to grow and thrive.”
Chobani is America’s No. 3 in the overall yogurt maker behind Yoplait and Dannon. It dominates the Greek category, accounting for nearly half the market share.
Cornerstone’s Hunt Shipman, former executive VP at the National Food Processors Assn.; Jim Richards, who was director of intergovernmental affairs at the Ag Dept.; Fred Clark, ex-deputy chief counsel at the House Ag Committee; Vernie Laverne, ex-minority chief counsel at the Senate Ag Committee, and Mark Rokala, who was aide to Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Forestry chairman Herb Kohl, represent Chobani. |