Pennsylvania is getting a major investment from popular Greek yogurt brand Chobani.
Governor Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that the company is investing $1.2 billion to establish its first dairy manufacturing operation in Pennsylvania.
Chobani will take over Keurig Dr Pepper’s manufacturing facility in the Lehigh Valley, where it plans to make food products beyond yogurt.
The project is expected to create 900 full-time jobs over the next five years.
Once operating at full scale, Chobani is expected to source more than 3 billion pounds of Pennsylvania milk every year. That’s equal to about 30% of all the milk currently produced in Pennsylvania.
Shapiro says the investment will strengthen the state’s dairy industry and create new opportunities for Pennsylvania’s more than 4,000 dairy farmers.
“I’ve spent a lot of time on our farms and in our rural communities, hearing directly from Pennsylvanians about the kind of investments they want to see in our Commonwealth. This $1.2 billion investment from Chobani is the largest private sector investment in the history of Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry and will strengthen our dairy industry, support our farmers, and reinforce our position as a national leader in agriculture and food manufacturing,” Shapiro said in a news release.
Production under Chobani is expected to begin in 2027.
“Pennsylvania is home to one of the highest number of family-owned farms in the country. When we walked into this factory, we knew it was a great fit for what we want to build for the future,” said Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder & CEO of Chobani.
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