Whole Foods Market, the country's biggest high-end grocery chain will stop selling Chobani Yogurt to make way for smaller and exclusive brands that don't contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Whole Foods has other yogurts in its aisles that aren't GMO free, but by 2018 it plans to carry more products that are either organic, GMO-free or with GMOs provided that companies disclose the ingredients it used on labels, WSJ reported.
Whole Foods said that Greek yogurt offerings have multiplied after a consumer demand rose. The company wants yogurt suppliers to include non-GMO yogurts in its selection.
"At this time, Chobani has chosen a different business model," Whole Foods told WSJ.
Whole Foods told WSJ that it will phase out the sale of Chobani's yogurts in order "to make room for product choices that aren't readily available" at other stores.
Grek-style yogurt makes up 45 percent of the U.S. yogurt market with an annual expected sales of $8 billion, according to Sanford C. Bernstein a brokerage firm. Chobani helped in the U.S. yogurt boom and markets its products to contain only natural ingredients. However, anti-GMOs advocacy groups have criticized Chobani for using dairy products in their yogurts from cows fed with GMO animal feed.
Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO and Chobani founder, reacted to Whole Foods decision to phase out Chobani's yogurt and said that the supermarket is just a small part of its sales.
"Of course I would love to be available everywhere, but it won't hurt our business," Ulukaya said in an interview.
According to Ulukaya, his company already restricts the use of yogurt ingredients with preservatives and hormones, but pointed out that milk without GMOs are not yet available in large quantities and at suitable prices
"We will be part of making it better," Ulukaya added, and said that Chobani is now working with farmers on sourcing GMO-free animal feeds.
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