TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Chobani on March 19 broke ground on a big expansion of its Twin Falls, Idaho, food production plant.

The approximately $500 million project will add over 500,000 square feet to the existing facility and increase production by 50%, according to the Norwich, N.Y.-based company — which manufactures yogurt, oat milk and creamers, and in 2023 acquired coffee roaster La Colombe.

The expansion is expected to create at least 160 new jobs, “strengthen Idaho’s dairy industry and ensure that the food made here reaches even more families across the country,” according to a news release.

“Employing more than 1,200 people earning wages almost 12% higher than the regional average, this investment will continue to fuel the local economy and shape the future of food.”

A protein-related innovation — representing an expansion into a new product segment and technology — is the focus of the project, president and chief operating officer Kevin Burns said in a company-supplied video from the groundbreaking.

The expanded Twin Falls plant will span 1.6 million square feet and feature 24 production lines.

Chobani’s announcement “symbolizes shared goals and a mutual commitment to excellence,” Twin Falls Mayor Ruth Pierce said. Impacts from the present operation and future expansion “will continue to ripple through our regional economy in support of our farmers, and other partners in the dairy and food manufacturing industries.”

Idaho ranks third in the U.S. for milk production. Chobani expects to purchase nearly 2 billion pounds of milk from Idaho dairy farmers this year, “and even more to come,” according to the release.

Community and state leadership brought Chobani to Idaho and remain critical to the company’s success, founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya said. “The leadership in the state, and the city … This is a place where you say, ‘It’s easy to do business.’”

“I tell my fellow ag producers: ‘Change is inevitable. Adaptation and survival are optional,” Gov. Brad Little said. Ulukaya “not only changes … He knows what the American consumers, what the world consumers, want. And that’s what he’s producing right here.”

Since coming to south-central Idaho in 2012, Chobani has invested over $1.3 billion in the region, according to the company.

Investments in addition to buildings and machines include millions of meals donated to fight food insecurity, nearly $500,000 in scholarships for Idaho students, and $1 million for the University of Idaho’s dairy research facility — the multi-component Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment — “ensuring Idaho remains a leader in dairy innovation,” according to the release.

Ulukaya never sacrificed his principles or goals as the business established itself in the region and grew, Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, told the founder. Employees reflect the same principles, and “you have instilled it in them. And what you’ve done for this community, you can’t say enough about.”

The groundbreaking celebrates not only the expansion, but also the business and its people team “that help so many other parts of this community,” said Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho.