Dive Brief:
- Lifeway Foods reported a 20% rise in net sales to $21.9 million in the first quarter.
- The bottom line didn't look quite so good for the maker of fermented milk products. Net profit fell to $660,000 for three months to the end of March, down from $2.4 million a year earlier.
- The company, which makes ProBugs Organic Kefir for kids, and BioKefir brands in addition to its flagship Lifeway Kefir brands, blamed the drop in profit on a rise in the price the company pays for milk.
Dive Insight:
Kefir has been around for centuries, but has never been a major player in the American diet. A 20% rise in net sales (and a 16% rise in total sales) suggest that may be changing.
No one should be surprised by that. The probiotics craze shows no sign of abating. And if there's anything the Greek yogurt frenzy has taught us it's that Americans are willing to change how they consume dairy.