<body><div>As chief innovation officer, Niel Sandfort is challenged with not just product development but coordination of R&amp;D across Chobani’s three food categories.Fortunately, “Innovation is very much a team sport at Chobani,” he says. “Many ideas start with our founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, and people dedicated to product development, but they can also come from anyone in the business ranging from folks on the plant floor to our commercial team in the field.”Across the Chobani organization, there are at least 30 people dedicated to R&amp;D. Broadening out the definition of “innovation,” Sandfort says there are more than 75 team members participating in some aspect of product innovation.He calls it “a truly multidisciplinary team.” “Our teams include food scientists, microbiologists, dietitians, fermentation specialists, fruit experts and product developers, alongside process engineers, who play a critical role in turning ideas into products people can enjoy every day.”Representatives of quality assurance, procurement, supply chain, finance, sales and beyond participate as needed.“While these experts may sit in different parts of the organization, we spend far less time thinking about reporting lines than we do about solving problems together,” he continues. “Every new product touches every part of the business, and the best ideas come from collaboration across functions.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=00809d_1GqxBfyL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=00809d_1GqxBfyL00" width="250" height="313" ><figcaption>Niel Sandfort, Chabani's Chief Innovation Officer</figcaption></figure>While there is coordination, much of the product development is distributed to the three businesses: Chobani yogurts and dairy-based products, La Colombe coffee and Daily Harvest convenient ready-to-make meals.“While each brand has specialized teams and expertise, there is some shared leadership, shared learnings and shared best practices across all three,” says Sandfort, who has been with the company since 2010. “While each brand serves different consumer needs and occasions, they are united by the same values, quality standards and passion for good food.”Chobani’s innovation hub for yogurt and creamers is in Twin Falls, Idaho, home to the company’s current largest manufacturing facility. La Colombe is headquartered in Philadelphia, where the brand was founded, and operates both an R&amp;D innovation lab and roasting facility in the city. The company also has an additional R&amp;D innovation lab and manufacturing facility in Norton Shores, Mich. New York City is home to Daily Harvest and serves as the headquarters for Chobani’s corporate operations.“Eventually, we’ll have scientists in Allentown (Pa.) and Rome (N.Y.) once those locations are up and running,” Sandfort says, referring to the two $1.2 billion plant locations announced this summer.“It's a bit of a decentralized system. As food makers, we believe our food scientists and product developers should be close to the products they create, with expertise embedded across all of our locations.“Staying open, listening and truly observing is what sets us apart,” he continues. “We are food makers first, so fundamentally we want to understand people and what they enjoy, how they feed their families or a problem they may have in their life that we can solve with food.”There is a common thread among those three business units: “In the end, we want to feed people good, nutritious, natural food that they truly enjoy. If we can do that with the food, everything else can be figured out.”And there’s coordination, too. “There is constant collaboration across brands,” Sandfort continues. “Our teams regularly share technical expertise, consumer learnings, engineering and processing, and product lessons.“For example, we leverage Chobani’s dairy expertise when we refresh La Colombe ready-to-drink draft latte products. Another example: At Chobani we have been dedicated for 15 years to perfecting the idea of limited batch flavors and products. A lot of that knowledge has been applied to La Colombe and now Daily Harvest. These flavors can be great ways to spark trial from a new person. These in-and-out-type products can be very complex, but we’ve really honed this at Chobani and can apply it to the other businesses.”<h2>A simple philosophy</h2>The company-wide philosophy is simple: “Food is at the center of everything we do – the taste, nutrition, ingredients, and quality.“We believe that if a product isn't delicious, nothing else matters,” Sandfort continues. “We are incredibly selective about ingredients, sourcing, and quality standards. We often say we would never put something into the world that we wouldn't proudly serve our own families and children.“We’re equally serious about nutrition. We believe good food has the power to nourish communities, and we want to play our part in giving people better options, wherever we can.“We’re also relentlessly focused on efficiency. Not for efficiency’s sake, but because it allows us to invest in better ingredients while keeping our products accessible. We believe nutritious, high-quality food shouldn’t be a luxury, and few foods deliver more nutritional value for the price than a tub of our yogurt.”Sandfort also gives credit to the plant operations workers in executing the company’s philosophy. “Bringing that philosophy to life takes an incredible amount of work from the people in our plants every day. It comes down to mastering the fundamentals: getting quality right, delivering products on time and in full, and executing consistently at scale. The things that may seem routine are often the most important.“It’s one thing to create a great product. It’s another to make it exceptionally well, deliver it day after day, and keep it affordable. The best food companies do both. They innovate relentlessly while never losing sight of the fundamentals.”There isn't a single path to innovation at Chobani because every product starts with a different opportunity.“Sometimes innovation begins with a consumer trend or flavor insight,” Sandfort continues. “For example, when we see excitement around ingredients like pistachio chocolate, we explore how those flavors might come to life across multiple platforms.“More often, though, innovation starts with an idea. It could be a spark from our founder, a suggestion from a team member or simply just an observation. We're constantly watching, listening, and learning from how people eat, what they're excited about and what brings them joy.“And sometimes, innovation starts with a larger purpose. Chobani Super Milk, a shelf-stable, nutrient-dense low-fat dairy milk created exclusively for disaster relief and food insecurity distribution, began as an effort to address a real need. Our goal was to create a shelf-stable product that could deliver meaningful nutrition and still taste great and it’s something we’re really proud of.”Sandfort resisted labeling the overall process stage-gate, preferring to call it “fast to bench.” “When a new idea emerges, our first question isn't whether the economics work or whether it fits neatly into an existing category. We start by asking: Can we create something truly special? Is it delicious? Is it nutritious? Does it bring something meaningful to the consumer experience?“If the answer is yes, then we do the work to build the business around it. We evaluate the economics, determine how to position it in the marketplace and identify the capabilities and equipment needed to bring it to life at scale.”That doesn't mean the process lacks rigor. “Quite the opposite,” he continues. “Every idea is challenged, tested and refined. But we've always believed that when you're passionate about the food and confident it delivers real value, you can make a compelling case for bringing it into the world.”Timelines vary dramatically. Some products move from concept to shelf in as little as six months, while more complex innovations may take several years. “The determining factor isn't speed. It's whether we've created something that meets our standards to put it out in the world.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1L5Oyd_1GqxBfyL00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1L5Oyd_1GqxBfyL00" width="250" height="250" ><figcaption>As a higher-protein version of yogurt from the start, Chobani already was well positioned for the recent explosion of interest in the nutrient. Even so, Chobani created an even higher-protein line of products.</figcaption></figure>Sandfort highlighted some recent products he’s proud of.“From a growth standpoint, platforms like creamers, high-protein [products] and ready‑to‑drink coffee have been meaningful unlocks for Chobani. We’re in a moment when people are paying closer attention to how they fuel their bodies, and the expectations are higher than ever.“The evolution of our high-protein platform is certainly memorable. Through clearer messaging, thoughtful packaging updates and a better articulation of consumer benefits, we were able to simplify the shopping experience and help people understand exactly what the product delivers and the different usage occasions to reach all different members of the household.”Like all R&amp;D executives, Sandfort resisted naming products coming down the innovation pipeline. But he hinted that “Flavor Drops” are providing some intriguing test-runs for future products.“Super-limited creamer drops, or as we call them, Flavor Drops, have been interesting. They give us permission to experiment in real time. They’re a way to test ideas, flavor profiles, and capture cultural moments quickly — without overengineering or overcommitting.“The learnings from those programs help us understand how consumers respond to novelty, timing and storytelling, and they inform how we approach speed-to-market across the portfolio. Right now, we have Ube Sweet Cream on shelves, and the response has been so positive. It further validates our decision to take those more unique flavors to different platforms or brands.“Most recently, La Colombe launched ready-to-drink Matcha Lattes after we noticed a growing demand in matcha at our cafes. Matcha is one of the fastest growing beverage categories, and we wanted to bring our coffee expertise and quality to the category and do what we did for the RTD coffee category with the Draft Latte cans.”</div></body>

Block Source: Food Processing

Misinformation

Clickbait

Old or repetitive news

Explicit content

Location not relevant

As chief innovation officer, Niel Sandfort is challenged with not just product development but coordination of R&D across Chobani’s three food categories. Fortunately, “Innovation is very much a team sport at Chobani,” he says. “Many ideas start with our founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, and people dedicated to product development, but they can also come from anyone in the business ranging from folks on the plant floor to our commercial team in the field.”

R&D on Three Very Different Fronts

NewsBreak

As chief innovation officer, Niel Sandfort is challenged with not just product development but coordination of R&D across Chobani’s three food categories. 

R&D on Three Very Different Fronts

Comments