Twin Falls, Idaho • The founder and CEO of Chobani has no regrets about moving his Greek yogurt company to south-central Idaho, a region he has dubbed the “Silicon Valley of food” but has been embroiled in the national debate over refugee resettlement that spread to boycotts and outcry against the yogurt giant from far-right bloggers and conspiracy theorists.
“I hear the conversations here and there, but it’s a peaceful community that we all love,” said Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish immigrant. “It’s the home of Chobani.”
Ulukaya spoke to The Associated Press before a Thursday announcement of a $20 million expansion of the company’s facility in the city of Twin Falls — the world’s largest yogurt plant — to serve as its global research and development center tackling how yogurt is made and consumed.