Business

Not the butter sculpture: milk draws fairgoers

The 800 pound butter sculpture of a scene off the farm (seen here on the World Dairy Business Blog) is usually the headliner at the Dairy Building of the New York State Fair.But people wait in a long line for another hot item being used to promote New York’s dairy industry: a cup of milk that costs a quarter at the dairy bar.That includes a young James Moore, who says "It’s the best chocolate milk and white milk I’ve ever tasted in my life." "The Chocolate is more chocolaty and it’s nice and cold."The milk is all whole milk, which probably helps. Chocolate milk rules overall. The milk bar serves five cups of chocolate for every cup of plain milk.Mary Ellen Chesbro, agricultural manager for the fair says the total cups served goes up every year. This year, she's hoping the milk bar will top 400,000 cups of milk out this year.The whole operation is run by a task force of volunteers from the dairy industry, from farmers to distributors. The goal is to promote New York dairy – the state’s biggest agricultural product.Seventeen-year old Dale Durant, who serves milk to fairgoers says it can get pretty busy at the counter."Really nice days there’s a lot of people here. Weekends we get really busy."So to get a taste, go when it’s raining.And keep an eye out for the other smart entrepreneurial move in the Dairy building - the Syracuse bakery selling cookies next to the milk bar.

Chobani can't call its yogurt 'Greek' in the United Kingdom

WXXI News | By Ryan Delaney, WRVO

Published January 30, 2014 at 2:48 PM EST

The U.S. Small Business Association has named upstate Greek yogurt-maker Chobani the "entrepreneurial success of the year." — Chobani lost a lawsuit in the U.K. over whether it can call its yogurt "Greek" if it's made in the United States.

Central New York yogurt powerhouse Chobani won’t be able to call its yogurt “Greek” in the United Kingdom after a court ruling.

A British court ruled yesterday that because Chobani’s Greek-style yogurt is made in New York state, not in Greece, they can’t call it Greek. The legal challenge came from a Chobani rival, Fage, whose yogurt production is based in Athens.

The court said the labeling misleads consumers. Chobani hit U.K. store shelves in 2012, but withdrew its products last year, according to the Associated Press.

A spokesperson for the Norwich-based company says they’re disappointed in the decision, but they plan to appeal the ruling. The company says people should know Greek refers to the style, not its origin.

Here's their full statement:

Chobani is of course disappointed with this result but the fight is not over. Chobani is appealing to the Supreme Court, because we remain of the view that the population of the UK know and understand Greek Yoghurt to be a product description regardless of where it is made. We remain committed to the UK market and to breaking the monopoly on the use of the term Greek Yoghurt enjoyed by Fage.

In another recent blow, grocery store chain Whole Foods said in December it will stop carrying Chobani.

Still, Chobani has grown rapidly since its launch in 2007. The new popularity of Greek yogurt has been a boon for New York’s dairy industry.

The yogurt maker will air an ad during this Sunday’s Super Bowl.