Karim Khalil grew up eating labneh, a creamy, tangy staple served at every Lebanese meal.
Every time he moved cities, he looked for labneh. When he couldn’t find it, he made it. First for himself. Then for friends. Now for retailers across the U.S.
“Consumers want to explore new foods, and international snacking is one of the biggest trends,“ he says. That hunch became Yaza Foods, a fast-growing brand now on shelves at Whole Foods, Costco, and retailers nationwide.
What we cover:
- The taste test that exposed consumer confusion
- How shelf placement can make or break your sales
- Calling 1,000 co-packers before one said yes
Don’t assume U.S. consumers will “get it.” Before launching, Karim ran dozens of taste tests. He gave people labneh, pita, veggies, utensils — with no instructions. “How are people going to use it? A dip? A spread?” he says. “Everyone liked it. But no one knew what to do with it.” That insight led to introducing flavored labneh (including their best-seller za’atar with olive oil), making it easier for consumers to understand.
Traditional recipes might not pass FDA regulations. In Lebanon, labneh is strained in cheesecloth and hung from a tree. Not an option in the U.S. Instead of compromising with powders or thickeners, Karim partnered with a food scientist to rebuild the recipe using the authentic recipe of pasteurized cultured milk and salt.
If co-packers say no, keep calling. Karim reached out to more than 1,000 co-packers. Most of them had high minimums, no interest in startups, and had never heard of labneh. “We were ready to give up,” he says. “Then one called back. A client had just left, and they were open to trying it out for us.”
Trade shows are won before they begin. Karim doesn’t rely on foot traffic at trade shows. “The work starts the day you register,” he says. Book 3-5 meetings in advance, study each store’s product selection, and go in with a plan. Don’t just ask, ‘Do you like my product?’ Show them how your product can improve their selection and give consumers more options.
Placement matters as much as the product. Labneh could sit next to yogurt, cheese, or even deli — all technically accurate, but wrong for the shopper. “If you put it by yogurt, it confuses people,” he says. “Our consumer is the hummus consumer. Wherever hummus lives, we want Yaza to live.”
Labneh, everywhere, all at once
Yaza by the numbers
1,000+ co-packers: Contacted before one said yes
25% final yield: 100 lbs. of milk = 25 lbs. of labneh
2 years: From first idea to finished product
2 ingredients: In their plain labneh (pasteurized cultured milk + salt)
Try this if you’re launching a new food product
Run zero-instruction taste tests. Watch what people do, not what they say. That’s your real use case.
Protect your non-negotiables. For Yaza, that’s no seed oils and no shortcuts. Have a list of standards and stick to them.
Plan trade shows like a campaign. Know the buyers you want, and go in with a POV on where your product belongs.
Build your team early, even if they’re part-time. Yaza started with a food scientist, and soon hired a marketer, finance and logistics, and a VP of sales with Whole Foods experience.
The full Yaza playbook: How to sell a product no one’s heard of (yet).
