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How Icelandic Yogurt Invaded America


Stashed in: Awesome, Dairy, America!, Nutrition!, Nordic!, Freakonomics, Whole Foods, Probiotics!, Yogurt

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Is it better than Greek yogurt?

Wow! Then yes, it is better!

Who knew Whole Foods is so big?

With 88,000 employees, $14.2 billion in annual revenue, and 421 locations, Whole Foods represents more than 40% of all self-identified “natural food” stores in the United States. Whereas the majority of other natural food stores are relatively small (averaging around 2,000 square feet per location), the typical Whole Foods market is anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 square feet, and houses a much wider selection of items for sale.

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Since launching Howler Products, the organic food industry, as a whole, had grown from a $1 billion to a $26.7 billion industry — but since he’d been through the ropes before, he was able to swiftly assemble a plan of action.

While Ásmundsson thought he needed about $250,000 to get off the ground, Stewart estimated they’d need more on the order of $2.5 to $5 million (“Getting yourself in everyone’s mouth is a very expensive game,” he says). Initially, they chose to bootstrap the upfront costs.