Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO of Chobani, surrounded by family and business partners, breaks ground to build a new Greek yogurt manufacturing facility at the Griffiss Triangle Site in Rome, NY on Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

Support behind a boycott of Chobani products is building after the New York-headquartered company that specializes in yogurt production recently announced a controversial new partnership.

Chobani, which is both headquartered and operates a manufacturing facility in Chenango County, New York in the state's Southern Tier — announced a collaboration with Planet Harvest, a company founded by Ivanka Trump and Melissa Ackerman in 2023, in a CNBC interview with Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya on Sept. 12.

Chobani announced in April a plan to build 'thriving center of food production' in Rome, New York, creating more than 1,000 jobs.

The announcement drew an immediate response on social media, with one commenter saying "Very glad this came across my explore page, I will never buy @chobani again," and another simply commenting "Bye Chobani."

Here's what to know.

Why are people boycotting Chobani?

According to comments made on social media, people are upset by the fact that Planet Harvest is a for-profit company.

One commenter on Planet Harvest's Instagram post about the collaboration said, "This is a for-profit company meaning they make money off of you. They’re not giving it back to the American people without a hefty price ... @chobani is also a for profit company. They are making money off the guise of helping American farmers and Americans. All the comments thanking and congratulating are wild. Read, research and don’t fail yourself and families by not being educated on the facts."

In response to a question about why Planet Harvest is a for-profit company during the Sept. 12 CNBC interview, Ivanka Trump said the following:

"Initially, I said, you know what, why don't we just buy this excess and get it to food banks? And I thought that to really do the volume, to make it a functional private sector business ... you can actually impact a lot more change."

For others, it's about politics. One Instagram commenter said, "So disappointed ... There are literally a million better ways to stop food waste than partnering with a family that has been convicted of felonies for misspending nonprofit money."

What is Planet Harvest?

Planet Harvest helps farmers sell crops that don't meet the aesthetic qualifications to be sold in grocery stores because they're too small or misshapen. The Chicago-based company connects this produce to food companies, like Chobani, reducing the amount of food wasted in the fields.

"Planet Harvest is a profit-for-purpose company with a vision to maximize the amount of fresh produce that moves from farms to families," the company's website states. "It connects farmers with food companies, foodservice and retailers to unlock the value of the whole harvest, optimize the supply chain, and reduce environmental waste."

How did the partnership come to be?

In the CNBC interview, Ivanka Trump said her and Ulukaya first connected during her President Donald Trump's first term through a farmers to family food box initiative she started during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ulukaya then reached out to her after the term to share how beneficial the program was to Chobani's dairy farmers and said he was looking to explore private sector options to continue the benefits to his company's farmers.

In just over a year, Planet Harvest has "rescued" over one million pounds of strawberries from being discarded by purchasing the whole harvest from farmers, according to the interview, and the companies are working together to expand to other types of fruits.

"When Planet Harvest brought it, I had no idea," Ulukaya said in regards to food waste. "(It's a) win for the farmers, win for the land ... win for the economy and win for the consumers."

Has Chobani received backlash before?

Yes, the company, which broke ground on a new production facility in Rome, New York in April, faced a boycott in 2016.

Far-right and anti-immigrant groups targeted Chobani for employing refugees. Ulukaya has been a vocal supporter of hiring refugees and pledged to give away the majority of his fortune to help refugees, according to The New York Times.

Contributing: Arizona Republic reporter Reia Li

Emily Barnes reports on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Network’s New York Connect Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on X and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Chobani yogurt faces boycott over Ivanka Trump partnership with Planet Harvest

Reporting by Emily Barnes, New York Connect Team / Observer-Dispatch

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