Russian immigrant Michael Smolyansky found inspiration in a childhood drink. Today, his son Edward and daughter Julie lead a food empire with $130 million in annual revenue.
Michael Smolyansky came to Chicago in the 1970s from the Soviet Union, seeking the chance to be free and the opportunity to build a good life for his family. After two years of scrimping and saving, Smolyansky and his wife opened a Russian delicatessen, which they then parlayed into a larger distribution network for Eastern European food.
Michael and Julie Smolyansky
But their real break came 10 years later, when they founded Lifeway Foods to make a healthy, yogurt-like drink called kefir. Not long after, Smolyansky brought his company public—the first Russian immigrant in the U.S. to do so. NASDAQ: LWAY.
In 2002, Michael Smolyansky tragically died of a heart attack. His then 27-year-old daughter Julie became CEO; younger brother Edward took over as controller. Despite considerable initial skepticism, the company has thrived since then, growing into one of the largest producers of probiotic foods in the United States. With $130 million in revenues annually, the 200-employee business has grown a whopping 560% over the past fifteen years.
Read the full story on the Smolyanskys’ amazing journey on Immigrant Business. Click here!
Lessons for Immigrant Entrepreneurs
1. New immigrants = Opportunity
New immigrants create instant markets. Not only do they need the basic necessities of settling in a new country—housing, employment—but they also create a demand for products and services from their home country or culture—everything from foodstuffs to in-language media and financial services.
In Michael Smolyansky’s case he benefited twice from the immigrant market:
First, he understood that Russian immigrants like him would need foods from their home country and started a delicatessen business.
Second, he then parlayed that experience to create a company that produced a product for that market. His company, Lifeway Foods, got its start by producing and selling kefir specifically to the ethnic Russian market in the US.
2. Bring Products from Home and Adapt Them for the U.S. Market
There are many examples of immigrants bringing ethnic foods, and other products and adapting them successfully to the American market, including Indian beauty techniques, fast food such as empanadas, and Jamaican bakery goods. For more examples, visit: Immigrant Business at immigrant biz.org.
3. Understand American Consumer Trends.
This is critical. You may spot an opportunity to import a product or service to the US, but if you don’t know how to market it, you’re sunk. You need to understand how Americans buy and why they buy. In Smolyansky’s case, he came to understand early on, that there was a rapidly growing market for natural, healthy food. He emphasized Kefir’s healthful benefits and managed to break into the mainstream health-food market.