Greek yogurt has become ubiquitous in grocery stores across the United States, produced by both small producers and large yogurt brands like Dannon and Yoplait. It didn't used to be this way. Before 2007, Greek yogurt represented less than 1 percent of U.S. yogurt sales.Then came Chobani. Chobani introduced Greek yogurt to the mainstream, and by 2016, the style accounted for around half of all yogurt sales in the United States. Chobani also had emerged as the top yogurt brand in the United States. Despite Chobani's success and industry leadershipwith the brand valued at $2 billionit also recognized that the yogurt style it had helped popularize had transformed the market. Now the competition for consumers had grown intense. Rather than just convincing people to try Greek yogurt, Chobani needed to find new ways to get its own branded products to stand out on grocery store shelves. Reflecting its altered marketing strategy, Chobani undertook a vast rebranding campaign, complete with new packaging designs. The rebranding sought to position the firm as a "food-focused wellness company," and its advertising focused more specifically on promoting the nutritional benefits of yogurt.⁴⁸Whereas previously all of Chobani's 11 product lines had sported similar packaging and branding, now it aimed to differentiate its products to highlight their suitability for different consumption experiences.

Specifically, Chobani divided its product lines into several categories. Each product category got its own packaging revamp, and the new packaging designs closely reflected the essence of each category. To maintain some continuity across the brand, though, all the new packaging features hand-drawn artwork, natural colors, consistent typography, and a sense of nostalgia. In particular, Chobani introduced a new watermark typeface that signifies a sense of warmth and the naturalness of the brandwith the added bonus that it stands out from other yogurt brands' typefaces when viewed from about 10 feet away. Subsequently, Chobani decided to expand more purposefully into the yogurt market for children. It thus announced a new product line, Gimmies, targeted specifically to children between the ages of 5 and 12 years. The marketing and packaging for Gimmies feature cartoon characters that reflect the fun new flavors (e.g., Ooey Gooey S'more, Bizzy Buzzy Strawberry), and the product line spans milkshakes, yogurt tubes, and mix-in containers with crunchy add-in options. To involve children in the product development process and gather their preferences, Chobani hosted workshops that helped it define what appealed to young consumers.

Even the new product line brand name Gimmies came from the children, mimicking how they requested samples of the yogurt. Although the products continue to promote and promise health benefitssure to please parentsthe marketing and packaging specifically are designed with children and their consumption preferences in mind. In addition to competitors in the Greek yogurt market, Chobani confronts the threat of the growing popularity of nondairy yogurts, which have Exhibited 47.9 percent compounded annual sales growth in recent years.⁵¹In response, Chobani has developed and released a line of nondairy, coconut-based yogurts. As a bonus, this plant-based yogurt is not only dairy-free but also all natural without genetically modified organisms, and it contains 25 percent less sugar than other nondairy options.

Questions

Generally speaking, what type of product is yogurt? Does your answer change for the different product categories that Chobani has defined for its offerings?

Is Chobani's introduction of yogurt for children a brand extension or a line extension?

How is Chobani positioning its various product categories currently? How is it communicating its current positioning strategy?