By CAROL RYAN DUMAS\Capital Press - Rabobank, a leading global food and agribusiness bank, has named Chobani as the winner of its 2012 North America Innovation in Leadership award for the company's "groundbreaking contribution" to the U.S. yogurt sector. The 2012 award honors Chobani, a Rabobank client, for the transformational impact of its practices on the U.S. yogurt industry and its success in redefining an established market to advance its business and the overall yogurt category.

Chobani, America’s No. 1 selling yogurt brand, celebrated the grand opening of its second domestic manufacturing facility. Located in Twin Falls, Idaho, Chobani has invested $450 million to build this one million square foot, world-class operation in less than 11 months. “Chobani Idaho is our $450 million commitment, not only to the town of Twin Falls, Idaho, but also to our Foodservice customers,” says Stephen Dean, vice president of sales, foodservice, for Chobani.

“The facility’s increased production capabilities allow us to meet the demand for our authentic Greek yogurt in both the commercial and non-commercial segments. We're currently ramping up production and our capacity will continue to grow from here. Since Chobani Idaho was designed from scratch, we have the machinery to produce foodservice-specific pack sizes -like the 5lb and 25lb packs that will be available mid-2013 - which will expand Chobani’s presence back of house across the nation.”