Lifeway Meals, a US-based producer of fermented milk product kefir, has change into the topic of an obvious circle of relatives feud after administrators Ludmila and Edward Smolyansky moved to take away Julie Smolyansky as the corporate’s CEO.
The 2 administrators need the Illinois-based corporate, established by way of Ukrainian immigrants in 1986, to pursue “strategic choices” .
Ludmila, Julie’s mom and Edward, her brother, in combination personal 34.9% of the corporate’s stocks. Julie, who was Lifeway’s CEO in 2002 on the age of 27, has a 13.2% stake within the company.
Ludmila is the corporate’s chairperson and Edward was once its COO till he was once ousted in January.
French dairy large Danone owns 22.4% of Lifeway.
On 25 February. Lifeway showed Ludmila and Edward Smolyansky’s request for his or her relative’s elimination as CEO in an SEC submitting.
“The reporting individuals notified the board of administrators of Lifeway Meals, Inc. in their trust that the corporate must substitute the corporate’s leader government officer and begin an exploration of the corporate’s strategic choices,” it mentioned.
Some analysts recommend that a type of selection methods is usually a sale of the industry.
In August, Lifeway, which has annual revenues of round US$120m, got GlenOaks Farms, a neighborhood probiotic drinkable yogurt emblem based in 1984, for $5.8m and in September sought to increase its product portfolio with the release of oat milk.
Danone didn’t wish to remark at the state of affairs or on its technique for its funding in Lifeway when contacted by way of Simply Meals. Lifeway didn’t reply to a request for remark.
