From Gut Instinct to Global Impact with Lifeway Food’s Julie Smolyansky

“Step after step, it’s like climbing a mountain. You don’t necessarily get to the peak really fast—it’s consistent, steady growth.”

In this episode of Entreprenista, we sat down with Julie Smolyansky, CEO of Lifeway Foods, a company specializing in kefir to support the gut microbiome. Born in Ukraine, Julie immigrated to the US and watched her parents pioneer the introduction of kefir to the American market, taking over Lifeway foods as CEO at 27 years old. After her father’s sudden death, she expanded the company’s reach globally, introducing innovative products and promoting the importance of gut health. Julie’s resilience, innovative business approach and strong intuition have made Lifeway Foods a household name in the probiotic industry. Tune in to hear Julie’s advice on scaling a company from $12 million to 8 figures,  why it pays to follow your gut, and her incredible journey to becoming CEO of Lifeway Foods.

We talked about:  

• The challenges she faced when taking over as CEO of the company her father founded when she was just 27 years old (09:35)
• The importance of community and mentorship (14:24)
• Trusting her gut instinct led to Julie’s innovative packaging solution for delivering kefir to children (18:34)
• Becoming a trendsetter and a tastemaker (24:05)
• The power of word of mouth (29:56)

Connect with Julie

• Lifeway Foods Website
• Lifeway Foods Instagram
• Julie’s Instagram

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