Morton Grove, Ill. — Lifeway Foods, Inc., (Nasdaq: LWAY), a leading supplier of cultured dairy products known as kefir and organic kefir, today announced that Lifeway Foods CEO, Julie Smolyansky, has been named on Fortune Magazine's prestigious "40 under 40", an annual list of the most innovative and influential business leaders under 40 years old, and as one of the "55 Most Influential Women on Twitter."
Fortune's "40 under 40" list includes executives such as Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Brian Chesky (Airbnb), Marissa Mayer (Yahoo) and many other powerful leaders from tech, finance, fashion, film, and real estate who influence the world with their pioneering ideas.
Fortune's "55 Most Influential Women on Twitter" list names the most popular women who actively champion gender diversity and leadership both professionally and on social media.
"I am honored and humbled to be named on Fortune Magazine's '40 under 40' and '55 Most Influential Women on Twitter' lists," said Smolyansky. "This recognition would not have been possible without the support and dedication of our entire team. Additionally, I share this honor with my brother and our CFO, Ed Smolyansky, as well as our late father and company founder, Michael Smolyansky. Ed and I continue to be inspired by our father and we are proud to carry on his mission to serve the increasing global demand for healthy food options with our nutritious kefir products."
Lifeway has experienced impressive growth under Smolyansky's stewardship. Annual net sales grew 119% to $97.5 million in 2013 from $44.5 million in 2008. Recently, Lifeway announced their entry into the Canadian market by launching their kefir products in more than 1,000 stores across Canada. This marked the company's second international expansion following the 2013 introduction of its frozen kefir products in the UK. Smolyansky became Lifeway's CEO in 2002 at the age of 27, making her the youngest female CEO of a publicly held firm.
About Lifeway Foods
Lifeway Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq: LWAY), recently named one of Fortune Small Business' Fastest Growing Companies for the sixth consecutive year, is America's leading supplier of the cultured dairy products known as kefir and organic kefir. Lifeway Kefir is a dairy beverage that contains 10 exclusive live and active probiotic cultures plus ProBoost™. In addition to its line of Kefir products, the company produces a variety of Frozen Kefir and probiotic cheese products. Lifeway also sells frozen kefir, kefir smoothies and kefir parfaits through its Starfruit™ retail stores.
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Source: Lifeway Foods