Lifeway Foods Expands Reach With Walmart Pact

Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Tim Steneveek on Bloomberg Radio. Shares up LifeWay Foods. It's the company bind keefer or kaffir, depending on how you pronounce it when you see it at the grocery store.

I don't know. You're captain yogurt.

I am captain Yogurt. They also do probiotic smoothies, farmers cheese and more. They swung wildly earlier this month, shares that is, searching as much as fifteen point seven percent, but following as much as seven point five percent to close lower by two point five percent. That was the day the company reported earnings that trailed and sales that topped estimates for the quarter. I want to bring in

Thank you so much for having me.

Well, thanks for joining us. I want to talk about the state of the company, how you view the consumer, but and then also talk a little bit about the most recent news that you guys have with the known because you've spent a lot of time on our program

Now, Yeah, I mean we're seeing Thank you so much. Well, LifeWay has never been stronger.

Uh.

We are going to have record growth.

This year, record our our highest historic year of success ever. And we're seeing a record demand for functional, nutritious, gut healthy foods, high protein and not just protein, but high quality bioavailable protein. Not all protein is the same, and we're seeing it everywhere. But you know, I think smart consumers are really doing deep dives and research into their protein choices and they're going to find that.

Yeah, go ahead, I'm gonna I know, I'm going to steal a question from Carol, but it's a GLP one question that should always ask. Yeah, go there. You know, Sweet Green announced this like ultra high protein salad recently, and it's all about for GLP one users. It's like one hundred grams of protein and a salad.

Need it for your muscles?

Are you Are you seeing this and then the move with people on GLP ones, are you seeing them reach for kafir.

Absolutely, it is critical that people who are on GLP ones. And roughly fifteen percent of Americans are using a GLP one right now and one out of three are curious and considering it next year. And I think that's going to be a continued rise in consumer behavior. And we are there is an absolute necessity in consuming high quality bioavailable protein to make sure that you are preventing muscle loss. And we also see us all time high in women using strength and muscle building exercises.

At an all time high.

There's a lot of kind of trends happening all at the same time, and we're right at the center of that, really meeting the moment at LifeWay.

So you know, I'm just looking at all your products, I mean, what's your money maker? What do you sell the most of?

Obviously plaining kafirra is our number one farmer cheese, which we started off the program with farmer cheese has been one of our early product number two. My father made this in Slavic communities, Russian, Ukraine, Eastern Europe. It's which is like a soft, unripened cheese kind of I would say, the sexier version of cottage cheese. It's already blended, it's spreadable. It's a great canvas to do a lot, and right now it's our time to shine with Thanksgiving upon us.

That's my favorite chef's kid.

That's fairs.

Yeah, very fancy and healthy because again, high quality feel protein, not synthetic lab created protein, super super important. So yeah, we are really seeing this kind of intersection of culture and trends and gut health and probiotics all coming together. Protein, high quality dairy is back.

You just give me an idea of some growth rates. I'm looking at a release I think it was from you guys or some research here that your Farmer cheese, you guys are available in two thousand Walmart stores nationwide. That's pretty huge. But my understanding is it's growing at double digit year over year rates.

Is that correct? That is correct.

Yeah, we just picked up two thousand and Walmart stores. We're in all of the Albertson's nationwide, and we are expanding into other mass market stores really kind of following along with Kaffir, which we have for forty years been bringing into mainstream. So our growth is remarkable. We've had twenty three quarters of four consecutive quarters year over year of growth. That's six full years of growth we have year to date from just for twenty twenty five, we're

I just wanted to We don't have a ton of time, but I wanted to make sure I got into what's been happening lately with the denown interest, because back in September, denot And said it will no longer pursue an acquisition of LifeWay, and said it's in the process of reviewing alternatives for its investment it owns, according to the Bloomberg Terminal, about twenty two point seven percent of the company. You guys said you will continue to explore value enhancing opportunities.

Registered, they've registered their shares, so you know, we will be looking for alternatives, just like like you said. And you know, we're really focused on our growth right now. We have a lot of opportunities, new products that we've launched, new collaborations and partnerships, we're expanding internationally.

We're the number one brand in Mexico.

But Jelly does the alternatives that you guys are exploring, does that maybe also include maybe selling to somebody else or are you planning to continue to go it alone.

I mean, we believe that we are a strong company independent, you know, as an independent company. But you know, we always take every offer and evaluate it, and you know, make sure that all shareholders are going to benefit from any kind of transaction.

Part of the agreement that you made with to Known was that you would separate the chair and CEO roles. So now you're continuing as CEO. You're no longer chair.

That's right?

How I mean, what are you thinking about in terms of your commitment to the company. Are you staying honest as CEO for like how many more years? Your what's your plan?

I don't have a crystal ball, but I am very much committed and dedicated to LifeWay. My father founded this company and I have been CEO for twenty three years and it is my pride and joy, and we have done a tremendous, remarkable job in our growth and I feel like we're just getting started. It really feels like that startup energy founder energy. Every single day. I am very excited about some of the things we've entered the zeitgeist of culture, and that's not by accident. That is

Be making bigger next year National Keeper Day.

So wait morning, come, okay, okay, we have to go qu We'll have you back soon.

Julius Molanskape she's CEO of Life Wait Foods.

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