Whole Foods to stop selling Chobani yogurt

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The nation's biggest high-end grocery chain and the hottest Greek yogurt brand are parting ways.

Whole Foods Market Inc. WFM -1.38% will stop selling Chobani yogurt by early 2014 to make room for more organic and GMO-free brands, according to people familiar with the matter.

Whole Foods has said it wants to remove by 2018 all food containing genetically-modified organisms, or GMOs, among their ingredients without disclosing the fact on labels.

Chobani markets its Greek yogurt as containing only natural ingredients, but it has received complaints from consumer advocacy groups for its use of milk that comes from dairy cows fed with GMO animal feed.

Whole Foods plans to fill the shelf space vacated by Chobani with more niche, organic and GMO-free yogurts, said a person familiar with Whole Foods' strategy. The person said the yogurt section has grown increasingly crowded, so Whole Foods wants to trade out brands that are widely sold in other stores for more exclusive ones.

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