Chobani is preparing to invest in La Colombe’s manufacturing base through a multi-phase, $567m expansion of its coffee facility in Norton Shores, Michigan.
In a statement, the food and beverage company, best known for its namesake Greek-style yoghurt, said the move comes at a “pivotal moment as demand surges for La Colombe’s signature ready-to-drink latte”.
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Chief impact officer Nishant Roy told Just Drinks: “Demand for ready-to-drink coffee and premium, better-for-you beverages continues to accelerate. The total coffee market is a $100 billion category, and La Colombe is seeing steady growth in demand for its products, requiring increased production capacity to meet demand.”
The investment is expected to create more than 200,000 square feet of additional production space, growing the site to 240,000 square feet once work is completed, Roy said.
With the cash injection, Chobani will also hire 337 new employees, bringing the total number of staff at the site to 649.
“The La Colombe plant recently moved to 24/7 operations, doubling production output,” Roy added. “This phased expansion will include additional production lines, enabling Chobani to keep up with growing product demand and create runway for new innovations.”
With the expansion and increased production, Chobani also expects to increase its purchases of milk from Michigan farmers, lifting annual supply from about 30 million pounds to a projected 615 million pounds over the next few years.
Construction on the site is expected to start later this year with the work estimated to be completed in 2027, Roy said.
La Colombe was founded in Philadelphia in 1994 and introduced its ready-to-drink latte to the US market in 2016.
All of the brand’s RTD products are produced at the Norton Shores facility.
Alongside ready-to-drink and pod coffee lines, La Colombe operates on-premise locations in New York, Texas, Chicago, California, Maryland and Philadelphia.
Chobani acquired the US coffee business in December 2023 in a transaction valued at $900m, bringing together two assets controlled by Hamdi Ulukaya.
Ulukaya, CEO and founder Chobani, invested in La Colombe in 2015.
As part of the deal, Keurig Dr Pepper exchanged its holding in La Colombe for an undisclosed stake in Chobani.
Keurig Dr Pepper had become La Colombe’s distributor after taking a stake in the business in July 2023, when it paid $300m for 33% of the company, making it the second-largest investor behind majority shareholder Ulukaya.
