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Chobani debuts plant-based coffee creamer

After two years of producing dairy- and oat-based coffee creamers, Chobani is branching into plant-based coffee pairing options with the debut of Chobani Plant-Based Coffee Creamers. These creamers come in four flavors: Caramel Macchiato, Chocolate Hazelnut, Sweet & Creamy and French Vanilla.

Made with a blend of plant-based ingredients the company underlines the fact that these new additions to its creamer line are vegan-friendly, dairy- and lactose-free, and contain no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives. According to Food Dive, this plant-based addition to Chobani’s roster took 18 months to formulate and includes coconut, sunflower and pea protein on its ingredient list.

Chobani made its name disrupting legacy categories and bringing products out of dormancy. When the company was founded in 2005 it focused exclusively on the Greek yogurt category. Since then, the company has expanded to make yogurt, oat milk, dairy- and plant-based creamers, ready-to-drink coffee and plant-based probiotic drinks.

The New York company’s entrance into the coffee creamer space is indicative of the growth potential in the category. U.S. coffee creamer category generated $3.5 billion sales for the last 52 weeks ended December 25, 2021, and has grown 6.6% from a year prior, according to Nielsen data cited by the company. Part of the reason for this growth is due to the ongoing tendency for more people to consume coffee at home rather than in coffee shops and retail, as compared to prior to the pandemic. As a result of this trend, the rise of at-home coffee consumption, sales of coffee accompaniments, such as creamer, have risen meteorically. Chobani, which also sells a cold brew RTD coffee product, has capitalized on this trend.

Data from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cited by Food Dive indicated that a sizeable portion of the company’s revenue now comes from outside its flagship yogurt product. The company’s roster of other products, which include coffee creamers and ready-to-drink Chobani Coffee posted net sales of $157.7 million in November 2021. Yogurt generated $1.2 billion in sales during the same time period.

While Chobani is focusing its energy on plant-based creamers, the company has not forgotten about dairy additions to coffee. As part of its announcement, Chobani noted that it is also launching Sizzlin’ Brown Sugar Coffee Creamer as a limited-time, dairy-based coffee creamer. This crowd-sourced flavor was the winning flavor — the other two contestants being Strawberry Shortcake, and Lemon Blueberry Pie — of a contest that Chobani kicked off in February 2021 to garner consumer participation in creating the next flavored coffee creamer that the brand would sell.