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Lifeway Kefir history
Lifeway Kefir company history timeline
Smolyansky incorporated Lifeway Foods in February 1986.
Lifeway Foods, Inc. was founded in 1986 by Michael Smolyansky.
Lifeway Foods debuted on the NASDAQ exchange in early 1988.
The new plant opened in 1989.
In 1990, Lifeway made an acquisition, buying up the drinkable yogurt business of Johanna Farms, Inc., a New Jersey company.
Sales for 1991 hit $2.4 million, an increase of more than 60 percent over the year previous.
Julie Smolyansky had grown up with the company, and after completing a degree in psychology at the University of Illinois in 1996, she became Lifeway's director of sales and marketing.
The company invested in a new facility in 1997, increasing its production capacity.
1999: Groupe Danone buys 20 percent of the company.
In 2001 the company signed an exclusive agreement with a specialty grocery distributor in Canada, Jelian Foods.
But when Michael Smolyansky died suddenly of a heart attack in 2002, Julie – then just 27 years old – was thrust into running the business.
The company made a major purchase in 2003, buying a new packaging system.
Up until 2003, Lifeway had held the kefir market alone in North America.
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Lifeway Kefir competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Just Born | 1923 | $222.7M | 550 | 9 |
| TreeHouse Foods | 2005 | $3.4B | 13,489 | 183 |
| Seneca Foods | 1949 | $1.5B | 6,450 | 66 |
| Organic Valley | 1988 | $1.2B | 950 | - |
| Bob's Red Mill | 1978 | $53.8M | 501 | 8 |
| Shearer's Foods | 1974 | $420.0M | 500 | 105 |
| Joseph Farms California Natural Cheese | 1946 | $80.0M | 384 | - |
| Prairie Farms Dairy | 1938 | $3.0B | 1,965 | 25 |
| Castle Brands | 2009 | $95.8M | 59 | - |
| SweetWater Brewing | 1997 | $9.4M | 168 | - |
Lifeway Kefir history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Lifeway Kefir, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Lifeway Kefir. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Lifeway Kefir. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Lifeway Kefir. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Lifeway Kefir and its employees or that of Zippia.
Lifeway Kefir may also be known as or be related to Lifeway Foods, Lifeway Foods Inc, Lifeway Foods Inc., Lifeway Foods, Inc. and Lifeway Kefir.