Ernst & Young honors Turkish businessman

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Hamdi Ulukaya (L), founder of Chobani, has been selected from a group of 10 separate category finalists to receive the presitigious award. AA photo

A Turkish businessman has been named the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 in retail and consumer products.

Chobani founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, was selected from a group of 10 separate category finalists to receive the award. He was honored for creating a nutritional trend while harnessing his entrepreneurial vision to build a start-up into the number one yogurt brand in America.

Ulukaya purchased an old Kraft yogurt plant in 2005 with the goal of bringing superior products to the U.S. market. He spent his days endlessly perfecting a yogurt recipe that would eventually, in 2007, come to be known as Chobani, or “shepherd” in Turkish. In less than four years, Ulukaya took Chobani’s sales from $50 million to almost $700 million per year.