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 Are you ready to make meaningful business connections that lead to real business results? Join our Entreprenista League community of women founders at entreprenista.com/join! You’ll have access to a private community of like-minded Entreprenistas who are making an impact in business every day, special discounts on business products and solutions, exclusive content, private events, the opportunity to have your story featured on our website and social channels, and access to Office Hours with top founders who have been on our show! We can’t wait to welcome you, support you, and be part of your business journey! Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of The Entreprenista Podcast - the most fun business meeting for women founders and leaders. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to the show and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts. Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Radio | GooglePlay Be sure to share your favorite episodes across social media to help us reach more amazing female founders, like you.