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Difficult at times, but rooted in an unwavering determination to succeed, the Lifeway story begins in Russia with Michael Smolyansky at the helm.
After leaving his native land of Russia in 1976 with just a dollar in his pocket and a wife and small daughter, Michael knew that he had his work cut out for him. He arrived in Chicago, and for almost 10 years, he steadily built a career as a successful engineer. It was only after a 1985 trip to Germany in which he had kefir for the first time since leaving Eastern Europe, that he and his wife hatched the idea of making kefir in the United States.
Upon returning to America, he began making the first bottles of kefir. He started out small, creating kefir in his basement, and going on sales calls to Chicago area grocery stores. It was a year later in 1986 that he eventually broke out onto the store shelves, having sold his first order to a Treasure Island outlet.
By 1988, the company was expanding so rapidly, Lifeway needed to secure financing in order to continue their record growth. Michael did not know much about the stock market, but after hours of studying and conversations with friends whose advise went unheeded, Michael took the company public. As a monument to this day, Lifeway is still traded on the NASDAQ small caps under the symbol LWAY.
Almost 10 years after this initial public offering, Michael's daughter, Julie Smolyansky, joined the Lifeway team as Director of Sales and Marketing, to start spreading the word about kefir. After three production renovations, making Lifeway the largest kefir manufacturer in the country, Lifeway captured a 20% interest from Danone Group (in the U.S. Danon).
Lifeway is currently focused on promoting health and nutrition through educating the public about the benefits of kefir. They have just begun working with a registered dietician to assist in the development of a broader understanding amongst health professionals regarding the link between probiotic health benefits and kefir. | 