Morton Grove, Illinois-based Lifeway Foods, a manufacturer of kefir and fermented probiotic products, has kicked off phase two of a $45 million expansion project that will double the company’s production capacity at its Waukesha plant.
Phase one of the four-part project, which began earlier this fall, included the addition of new fermentation tanks.
Phase two, which kicked off on Nov. 10, involves the addition of a new cooling system that will advance the company’s sustainability goals. The cooling system will make the plant “more efficient and more responsible,” said Julie Smolyansky, CEO of Lifeway Foods.
Lifeway Foods leadership and City of Waukesha officials celebrated the start of phase two of the company’s $45 million expansion project Monday. Photo by Ashley Smart/BizTimes Staff
Stage three will introduce new high-speed packaging lines that can fill both 32-ounce and 8-ounce bottles. Stage four of the project will include “processing improvements” related to the facility’s silos and gas rising systems.
The company plans to add approximately 30 new employees once the project is complete. There are currently 60 workers in Waukesha.
“Lifeway’s expansion here in Waukesha is a celebration of growth, innovation, and community,” said Smolyansky. “As we continue our four-phase project, we’re investing not just in infrastructure, but in the people and partnerships that have fueled our success. This new cooling system will help us operate more efficiently and sustainably, ensuring Lifeway remains the nation’s leader in kefir production.”
Smolyansky and her parents, who are refugees from the former Soviet Ukraine, settled in Chicago when she was a child. The family started Lifeway Foods with the hopes of bringing an Eastern European staple to the U.S.
Annually, 100 million gallons of Wisconsin milk moves through the Waukesha plant. Sixty percent of Lifeway’s kefir products are manufactured at the facility.
“Our babushkas, our grandmothers, passed this down from generation to generation,” said Smolyansky. “Bringing it to families all around the world has been a dream come true, and decades later, this dream has really grown into a global movement for wellness and sustainability.”
Consumer awareness of gut health and overall wellness has exploded over the last several years. Customers are looking for new ways to incorporate “high-quality bioavailable protein,” Smolyansky explained. This has led to increasing demand for Lifeway’s products.
“We are riding powerful consumer trends that continue to accelerate, demand for protein rich, probiotic functional foods and heightened awareness of gut health’s role in overall wellness,” said Smolyansky during Lifeway’s most recent earnings call. “This is particularly pronounced among the more than 15% of Americans now on GLP-one medications who are seeking nutrient dense, satisfying foods that naturally support GLP-one hormone production and digestive health.”
Lifeway’s anticipated 2025 revenue is $220 million. The company’s double-digit net sales growth in the second quarter of 2025 was driven primarily by higher volumes of drinkable kefir and farmer’s cheese, two product lines the company is working on expanding.
“We see significant runway ahead as more consumers embrace gut health, functional nutrition and the benefits of probiotics,” said Smolyansky.
The Waukesha expansion represents Lifeway’s largest manufacturing investment to date.
In addition to its flagship drinkable kefir, Lifeway manufactures ProBugs kids’ kefir, farmers cheese and probiotic smoothies with collagen.
