Greek yogurt, the thick, creamy, protein-packed dairy product, has stormed supermarket shelves in the United States. The breakfast favorite's astonishingly fast growth is epitomized by the success of Chobani—perhaps the best known brand: the company, which began selling Greek yogurt in 2007, saw its sales skyrocket from just over $3 million to more than $1.1 billion in its first five years. Today, Greek Yogurt accounts for roughly half of all yogurt sales in the United States, which is remarkable considering that it was essentially irrelevant less than a decade ago.
But popularity in the American food world can be a fickle thing, and the Greek yogurt business is learning that first hand.
After years of double digit growth, Americans' enthusiasm for the trendy yogurt seems to be cooling. PepsiCo recently announced that it was ending its U.S. production of Müller, a German yogurt brand known in part for its Greek yogurt offering, after sales continued to disappoint. Chobani, meanwhile, is facing something that seemed unfathomable only a few years ago: a slowing business. After a disappointing 2014, in which sales were flat compared to the year prior, 2015 began tepidly. As of earlier this year, the company was expected to see its annual sales fall for the first time ever, according to market research firm Euromonitor. (Chobani says that business has been much stronger since, and that the company expects sales to grow year-over-year).
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