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Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of the renowned U.S.-based yogurt company Chobani, said on Wednesday that the company’s landmark sponsorship deal with Fenerbahce also marks its entry into the Turkish market, implying a launch of a new company or a joint venture to begin operations in the country.
Known as the “Yogurt King” in the U.S., Ulukaya attended the signing ceremony of the sponsorship deal at Fenerbahce’s stadium in Istanbul’s Kadikoy district, alongside Fenerbahce President Ali Koc and other executives.
“Türkiye is an incredible opportunity for a businessman and a brand. Economically, it is a tremendous opportunity,” Ulukaya stated during the ceremony.
“My message to American and other international companies is: This is the best time to invest in Türkiye,” he added, calling on the business world to expand investments in the country.
Speaking to the Turkish media after the ceremony, Ulukaya said that the partnership with Fenerbahce is also a starting point for exploring opportunities in the Turkish market.
“As Chobani, we might launch something, or we might enter into a partnership,” Ulukaya said in an interview with business-focused Bloomberg HT. “In the long term, being in Türkiye and investing in Türkiye—both for the economy, for the fact that it’s my homeland, and because I support Fenerbahce—will definitely be a successful venture.”
According to a disclosure by Fenerbahce to Türkiye’s Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), the sponsorship deal includes the club’s naming rights, spanning five seasons with the possibility of a five-season extension.
The fee for the first season is €10 million ($11.53 million), while the European jersey sponsorship is valued at €4 million for the 2025–2026 season.
Sponsorship fees in future years will depend on Fenerbahce’s participation in UEFA competitions such as the Champions League and Europa League.
Ulukaya stated that through this sponsorship, which he described as representing Türkiye’s full potential and strength, he also aims to contribute to the local agricultural ecosystem.
Ulukaya also noted that he will continue to lead the U.S.–Türkiye Business Council for another term, underscoring efforts to expand bilateral trade ties between the two countries.
“This year will be very intense for us,” Ulukaya said. “In September, meetings will also be held with our president, and we will bring those companies here.”
Ulukaya expressed confidence that the two countries will reach the $100 billion trade target set in 2019 by then-presidents Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “I’m calling on all Turkish businessmen abroad from here—everyone should come and invest in this country,” Ulukaya urged the Turkish business community to support these efforts.
The trade volume between the two countries reached $32.6 billion in 2024.
Founded in 2005, Chobani is one of the leading food companies in the U.S., specializing in yogurt and related products. It holds a 20% share of the total U.S. yogurt market and generates annual revenue exceeding $2 billion.
Chobani has operated exclusively in the U.S. market, despite previous attempts to enter Europe in the 2010s. Those efforts ultimately did not materialize, and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya recently explained the reasons in an interview with haberturkcom.
According to Ulukaya, the European market proved difficult due to local shelf standards, pricing dynamics, and producer conditions that didn’t align with Chobani’s business model. In the U.K., a legal dispute also prevented the company from using the term “Greek yogurt” on its packaging.
“They said you can’t call it ‘Greek yogurt,’ and we said, ‘Fine, we’ll call it something else,’” he recalled.
Ultimately, he emphasized, Europe was never a strategic priority. “We didn’t want that market anyway,” Ulukaya noted, adding that even today, the brand could drop the word “Greek” altogether. “What matters is that it’s Chobani.”
If Chobani moves forward with its plans to expand into Türkiye, it would mark the company’s first international operation.
Ulukaya has close ties with Fenerbahce President Ali Koc, who is also vice chairman of Türkiye’s largest conglomerate, Koc Holding, and with the country’s largest food company, Ulker’s honorary president, Murat Ulker.
Ulker was previously the stadium sponsor of Fenerbahce and is known for its significant support to the club through sponsorships totaling approximately $90 million. The brand was also the main partner of Fenerbahce’s men’s basketball team, which won Europe’s most prestigious competition, the EuroLeague, in the 2024–2025 season, before being replaced by home appliances company Beko.
Ulker’s wide-ranging food portfolio also includes the well-known milk and dairy brand Icim, while Koc Holding exited the dairy market after selling its Sek brand in 2021.
While the path forward for Chobani is still unclear, Fenerbahce appears to be a central element in Ulukaya’s broader investment plans.
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