After moving into plant-based products over recent years, US yogurt producer Chobani LLC, is considering an IPO later this year, with plans to be at the forefront of the rapidly growing dairy alternative market. The move mirrors others from major dairy product players with an eye on the expanding plant-based market.
Having previously launched oat-based drinks and blends, Chobani, the company said to have made Greek yogurt mainstream, last year released dairy-free yogurts and vegan probiotic drinks. Speaking at the time, Peter McGuinness, President of Chobani stated: “Natural nutrition is a driving focus of our future.”
The New York-based producer is said to be seeking an offering that could set its value between $7 billion to $10 billion, and is currently working with experts to organise the public listing of its shares, according to the Wall Street Journal. The 16-year-old company, with its plans to move into growing markets such as plant-based milk, yogurt and other dairy alternatives, could use the influx of funds from an IPO to shoot itself to the forefront of the burgeoning sector.
Chobani, however, will not be alone in the search for market share, as growing numbers of consumers turn to plant-based alternatives for numerous health and ethical reasons. Multinational dairy product producers such as Danone and Müller have recently launched almond and oat products respectively, and plant-based brands like Oatly have already moved into the dairy-free yogurt sector.
“As we create the food company of the future, we’ll look at all options carefully to fuel our ambitious plans, especially with oat milk and plant-based products,” Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya said in a statement. “An IPO is definitely one exciting direction but whether or not we’re public, we’ll keep disrupting and making things better.”