CHENANGO COUNTY – On Tuesday, Chobani announced a program to give every single full-time employee the opportunity to share in the growth of the company over time.

“We’ve always been a different kind of company,” read a letter from Chobani’s founder, chairman and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya to the employees. “Deep values, a strict food philosophy, incredible makers—driven by our mission and our spirit. For us, it’s always been about giving back—making our communities stronger, giving people opportunity and access. Never forgetting about what we’re doing and who we’re doing it for.”

Ulukaya said, “My dream, from day one, was to share our success with this entire family—for us all to have a stake in our future, working together to grow Chobani and furthering our mission as a modern food company.”

The program – dubbed ‘Chobani Shares’ – is an unprecedented program giving each employee the opportunity to share in the growth of Chobani over time—the total amount across its entire employee population is nearly 10% of the future growth of the company.

Founder, chairman and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya visited the South Edmeston and Norwich locations on Tuesday to deliver the news to the employees at those locations. Ulukaya is set to visit the Twin Falls, Idaho location and SoHo location in New York City later in the week.

Through Chobani Shares, every full-time employee (worldwide) will receive an award that provides them with the opportunity to share in the future growth of the company over time.