
Turkish immigrant Hamdi Ulukaya always wondered why U.S. yogurt was so bad. Now, his New Berlin, New York-based Chobani is the leader in Greek-style yogurt. A self-described “dairy boy,” Hamdi Ulukaya grew up in Erzincan, Turkey, working on his family’s dairy farm and in its feta cheese operation. After studying politics in Turkey, he initially came to the U.S. to study English at New York's Adelphi University, and then to do graduate work at SUNY. In 2005, Ulukaya says he used an SBA loan to buy an old yogurt-making plant in upstate New York. Now Ulukaya’s company, Chobani, has more than 1,200 employees, annual revenues of more than $600 million, and is building a plant in Australia. Ulukaya spoke with Inc.’s Kimberly Weisul about start-ups, ghosts, and, of course, yogurt.