As per market reports, Chobani is planning to raise $100 million with its valuations at around $7-$10 billion.
It’s been raining IPOs all over the Wall Street and the latest to join the bandwagon is yogurt maker Chobani. On Wednesday, November 17, Chobani filed to go for an IPO on the Nasdaq exchange with the ticker of CHO.
Chobani operates in the food and beverage space and the company reported a 5.2% growth in its revenue last year. Last year in 2020, the company clocked a revenue of $1.4 billion, however, its losses tripled to $58.7 million as the company invested money back into new product offerings.
In the first three quarters of 2021, the company generated net sales of $1.2 billion. However, the net losses stood at $24 million. As per the filing with the US SEC, Chobani sells its products across 95,000 retail locations across America. The US market alone accounts for 91% of the sales for the company. Besides, Chobani also sells its products in Australia.
Chobani currently dominates as the top brand in the Yogurt category with a market share of just over 20%. The company specializes in Greek Yogurt which contributes a large part of its revenue. However, it also saw a rising demand for its oat milk and other products during the pandemic period. Chobani said that it has been heavily re-investing its profits to expand its product offerings. In a letter included in the filing, Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani’s founder and CEO, said:
“We are still a young, energetic, entrepreneurial company. Our goal is lofty – but achievable: we will recreate the way food is made and consumed all over the world and be a new model for how a next-generation company should operate responsibly.”
A $100 Million Chobani IPO
In its filing Chobani has mentioned the size of the IPO as $100 million. However, this typically serves as a placeholder. The company hasn’t yet disclosed the number of outstanding shares and the price band for the listing.
Chobani proudly calls itself the “anti-traditional consumer packaged goods company”. It says that it challenges “the old, staid and conventional status quo represented by our legacy competitors”.
The thing is that if Chobani proceeds ahead with its IPO, its valuations could stand anywhere between $7-$10 billion. This could also make it one of the largest and the most high-profile IPOs in the food and beverage space.
Over the last two years, more than a dozen companies operating in food and beverage have gone public either through traditional or a merger with a SPAC. Chobani’s expected valuations will get more clear once it discloses details of the stake held by other investors or employees.
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