Lifeway Foods - The Immigrant Dream That Built a $200M Wellness Brand

The Story of a Brand

Ramon Vela

Business, Entrepreneurship

5 • 145 Ratings

🗓️ 1 April 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, I had the honor of sitting down with Julie Smolyansky, President, CEO, and Chairwoman of Lifeway Foods, a pioneering brand behind the kefir movement in the U.S.

We dive deep into Julie’s incredible family story, from escaping the Soviet Union with just $116 to building a nearly $200M company that now owns 95% of the global kefir category. Julie shares how her father’s dream, her mother's entrepreneurial spirit, and her own grit helped turn a probiotic-rich dairy drink into a wellness staple for millions.

We also discuss the science behind kefir, staying innovative while running a public company, and how Julie is standing strong in the face of a hostile takeover attempt. This isn’t just a conversation about dairy; it’s about resilience, passion, legacy, and the powerful connection between gut health and life.

Key Moments in This Episode:

* 🇺🇸 Julie’s immigrant journey—from fleeing the Soviet Union to becoming a public company CEO at 27

* 🥛 Why kefir is a probiotic powerhouse—and how it supports digestion, immunity, and mental health

* 🔬 The science behind dairy-based probiotics and how they outperform supplements

* 💪 The legacy of resilience and why Julie says, “you have to learn how to take a punch”

* 🚫 How she’s fighting off a hostile takeover and defending the brand her father built

Join me, Ramon Vela, in listening to this powerful and inspiring founder story where food meets science, heritage fuels innovation, and fighting for what matters takes center stage.

For more on Lifeway, visit: https://lifewaykefir.com/

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Today’s Sponsors:

Compass Rose Ventures - Advisor for CPG Brands: https://compassroseventures.com/contact/

Compass Rose Ventures can help your CPG brand increase customer lifetime value, expand into the US market, create an omnipresent omnichannel footprint, optimize customer journeys, build brand communities, and more. Visit the link above to learn more.

Augmentum Media - Influencer Marketing for Consumer Brands: https://www.augmentum-media.com/story

What secret do fast-growing Health and Wellness brands like Xtendlife, Nourished, and Hunter & Gather share? They all outsource their influencer marketing to the experts at Augmentum. Augmentum is offering "The Story of a Brand Show" listeners a 30-minute consulting session AND a personalized influencer strategy plan built by their experts for you to implement either with them or in-house. Visit the link above to learn more.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This kind of product is necessary to your health, overall health and wellness. Dr. Elie Metschnikoff in 1908 was right.
0:07.7	And so were my ancestors. That's why we have persevered and survived. And yeah, we're battle tested. It's a labor of love. It's blood sweat and tears.
0:17.0	Whether it was taking over the day after my dad passed away. I said failure is not an option,
0:24.3	and I wasn't going to let all his hard work go to waste. And even though people, you know,
0:30.0	his best friend in front of me, five feet away from me, said, there's no way a 27-year-old girl
0:34.9	could run this company. Well, my dad told me, taught me how to fight.
0:38.9	My dad taught me how to persevere. He, you know, forced, he used to trigger me and say,
0:43.7	punch me, punch me, punch my, punch my hand. And it was, he said, this world is really hard.
0:50.4	You need to learn how to take a punch and you need to learn how to give a punch.
1:09.5	Yeah. hard. You need to learn how to take a punch and you need to learn how to give a punch. Hey, everyone. This is Ramon Vela, and this is another episode of the story of brand.
1:13.5	Like always, we have an amazing brand and founder we're going to feature on today's show.
1:19.9	But before we do, hi, I speak to hundreds of founders and CEOs of consumer brands each year.
1:23.3	And they are facing unprecedented challenges.
1:31.5	That's why the story of a brand has worked with the Compass Rose team, my strategic partner, to provide relief.
1:43.4	We are offering a no-cost solution exclusively for consumer brand founders and CEOs featured on the story of a brand show, as well as listeners,
1:44.5	whether it's to help you map out your brand's growth trajectory
1:48.3	or prepare your brand in financials
1:50.4	for investors or acquisition or more.
1:53.4	Simply book a one-on-one call with Rose Hamilton,
1:56.6	the founder of the Compass Rose team.
1:59.6	This is a $500 value. The calendar is limited. So book your time now.
2:05.7	Simply visit compassroseventures.com forward slash Ramon. Compassroseventures.com forward slash
	...

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