July 23, 2020

Julie Smolyansky CEO Of Lifeway Foods: The Benefits Of Kefir, Mind-Gut Connection, Scaling Companies, Social Good & Sexual Assault Advocacy

43 minutes

Julie Smolyansky is a mother, author, activist, humanitarian, and is the youngest female CEO of a publicly-traded company as she became the CEO of Lifeway Foods at the age of 27. Grounded in mindfulness, Julie is passionate about empowering the mind-gut connection through making healthy food choices, community and business innovation. Julie joins Yola to talk about her family's journey of turning an ancient superfood, Kefir, into a multimillion-dollar sensation loved by so many Americans. Once Julie took over as company CEO she was able to take the company valuation from $12 million to over $120 million in a few short years. Yola and Julie also discuss her advocacy work with sexual assault and abuse victims including her latest documentary "On The Record."

About Lifeway Foods: The Lifeway story begins in 1986, when Russian immigrants Michael and Ludmila Smolyansky began making Kefir in the basement of their Skokie, IL home. The cultured dairy drink had been popular in Eastern Europe for centuries, but the Smolyansky family was determined to share their delicious health secret with their newfound home. Two years later, they took the company public and it debuted on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol LWAY. Since its humble basement beginnings many years ago, Lifeway Foods has now grown into the largest manufacturer of Kefir in the United States and has brought the delicious taste and probiotic health benefits of Kefir to a whole new generation. Visit Lifewayfoods.com to learn more about Kefir.

Connect with Yola: @yolarobert

Connect with the pod: @isuckatlifepodcast

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