They are a leading U.S. supplier of kefir and fermented probiotic products to support the microbiome.

[2] Lifeway Foods was founded by Michael Smolyansky, a Ukrainian Jewish immigrant who arrived in the United States from Kyiv, Ukraine, USSR, in 1976.

The company began to grow by expanding its product lines and increasing its distribution.

After Michael's death in 2002, his daughter, Julie Smolyansky, took over and became the youngest female CEO of a publicly held firm at the age of 27.

Now, Lifeway estimates it occupies 95 percent of the U.S. market in kefir, which the company has helped turn from a niche health-food product to a formidable player in the surging global market for yogurt and other cultured-milk products.