Vice Documentary spotlights Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani’s CEO and Tent Founder

A new documentary released by Vice focuses on the inspiring story of Hamdi Ulukaya, Tent’s founder and CEO of Chobani, whose business philosophy of “people over profits” has built one of America’s fastest growing food businesses.

The film, “Moving Humanity Forward”, is a personal insight into Ulukaya, who shares how he, a Kurdish-Turkish migrant in the U.S., built the number one Greek yogurt company in the country while placing humanity at the heart of his business. In 2016, Ulukaya founded the Tent Partnership to mobilize other business leaders to hire and integrate refugees, inspired by the impact refugee employees had on his yogurt factory in upstate New York, and on the surrounding community. 

In an appearance on CBS This Morning focusing on the documentary’s debut, Ulukaya explained that the Biden administration’s policy to admit refugees, when coupled with business leaders’ actions to integrate them into the workforce, can reinvigorate America’s economy and communities. 

The film shows vignettes of the lives of refugee employees at the Chobani factory, in the town of Utica, New York. Refugees from all over the world are rebuilding their lives, while contributing to the company’s growth and revitalizing the town’s economy and social fabric. 

The documentary follows Ulukaya from the factory floor in Utica, New York to a conference hall in Oslo, Norway, where he is the recipient of the Oslo Business for Peace Award, and where he uses this platform to encourage other corporate leaders to integrate social issues into the DNA of their businesses.

“The most sustainable solution can come from the community of business,” Ulukaya said.