Lifeway Foods to Air First National TV Spot During 2015 Golden Globes Broadcast

MORTON GROVE, Ill., Dec. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading kefir manufacturer Lifeway Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: LWAY) will air its first national TV commercial during the 2015 Golden Globes broadcast on January 11, reaching an expected audience of more than 20 million viewers. Lifeway's debut on a national broadcast of this scale reflects the evolution of its flagship cultured dairy beverage from a niche ethnic and health food product to a mass-market food carried by major grocery chains in the U.S.

Hosted by two powerful female figures, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the Golden Globes is the third most watched program among women, 25-49, of the season. As this audience is one of the only to show year-to-year growth, and is Lifeway's target demographic, the company expects the exposure to attract new customers who may be unfamiliar with kefir – a smoothie-like probiotic drink – and to strengthen its already dominant 95 percent U.S. market category share.

"Kefir has been popular in Eastern Europe for centuries, but was relatively unknown in the U.S. until a few years ago. That has changed because of growing awareness of the benefits of probiotics, rising interest in healthy eating, and increased visibility in the dairy case as our distribution channels have expanded," said Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky. "Advertising on the Golden Globes gives us an opportunity to reach a massive national audience with the demographics and lifestyle choices that fit our target customer." 

The whimsical 30-second spot focuses on Lifeway's commitment to sustainability, social good and responsible business practices. It details how Lifeway is "good for more than just you" by using a variety of different characters that are impacted positively by the company. It was created by The Distillery Project and features music written and performed by percussionist and composer Glenn Kotche.

The same spot will run on Saturday Night Live's 40^th anniversary special, airing February 15, and the encore presentation on February 21.

These promotional initiatives follow a series of strategic moves to expand Lifeway's manufacturing capacity, global presence and market awareness. The company acquired a 170,000-square-foot dairy plant in Wisconsin in 2013 to supplement existing production facilities; embarked on a global expansion program the same year that has led to distribution in both the UK and Canada; and ran its largest national print advertising campaign to date earlier this year with full-page ads in People, American Baby, Health, InStyle and Shape. To celebrate their success and reinforce their initiative, Lifeway leadership will ring Nasdaq's opening bell on January 6 and kick off Fit Week.

About Lifeway Foods, Inc.
Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY), named one of Fortune Small Business' Fastest Growing Companies for the sixth consecutive year, is America's leading supplier of the cultured dairy product known as kefir. In addition to its line of drinkable kefir, the company produces a variety of frozen kefir and probiotic cheese products. Lifeway also sells frozen kefir, kefir smoothies and kefir parfaits through its Starfruit™ retail stores.

Find Lifeway Foods, Inc. on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lifewaykefir
Follow Lifeway Foods on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lifeway_kefir
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/lifewaykefir

Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, competitive pressures and other important factors detailed in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Media Contact:
Hanni Itah
847.415.9324
[email protected]

Company Contact:
Lifeway Foods
877.281.3874
[email protected]

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SOURCE Lifeway Foods, Inc.

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