WEBVTT - ICYMI: Drama in the Dairy Industry 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:09.440 Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news. You're listening to Bloomberg 0:00:09.520 --> 0:00:14.080 Business Week with Carol Masser and tim Stenoveek on Bloomberg Radio. 0:00:14.680 --> 0:00:17.400 I want to bring back Julie Smolanski. She's CEO of 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:20.360 Lifewave Foods. She's been on with us in the past. Well, 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:23.800 I've spoke to her back in December. The company LifeWay Foods. 0:00:23.840 --> 0:00:25.920 You might know it if you're a listener, if you're 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:28.280 a viewer, or if you've been to a grocery store 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:30.920 because to three hundred fifty million dollar market cap. They 0:00:30.960 --> 0:00:33.400 make keifer and farm cheese, so you might have seen 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:37.600 their products on the shelves. They reported earnings earlier this week, Tuesday, 0:00:37.640 --> 0:00:40.320 they came out with the numbers. The market reaction was 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:44.559 on Wednesday, share surged to hire by more than fourteen 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:48.319 and a half percent. The company reported a forty four 0:00:48.360 --> 0:00:51.280 percent year every year increase in earnings per share, Net 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:54.760 sales up three point three percent year over year, and 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:57.800 it was the twenty second quarter of consecutive growth under 0:00:57.880 --> 0:01:02.880 Julie's leadership. Julie joins us once again from Los Angeles. Julie, 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:05.280 there's a lot to talk about. I mentioned that you 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:07.320 were on with us back in December to discuss the 0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:12.120 company rejecting an unsolicited offer, a takeover offer by Denown 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:15.760 North America. What is the status of the back and 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:17.319 forth now between the two companies. 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:19.160 Well, we are in. 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:24.959 Court and we are working to defend this hostile takeover. 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:30.080 It's a classic David and Goliath story. But you know this, 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:36.120 their offer farly undervalues the company, and we're fighting for 0:01:36.160 --> 0:01:38.920 all shareholders and we know that we're at the tipping 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:42.840 point right now. We have, you know, a strong balance 0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:47.440 sheet and we're not a distressed company. So you know, 0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:53.120 we feel that the offer is really undervalues us, and 0:01:54.240 --> 0:01:57.120 we feel that the reason why they think that they 0:01:57.200 --> 0:02:00.720 can take us over in a hostile manner are the 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:05.480 very contract that we're disputing is invalid. It's against Illinois 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:09.840 state law. All shareholders did not agree to it, and 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:14.960 uh it gives a minority shareholder control over management and 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:19.120 board decisions. So we believe that the Cook County courts 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:22.840 will side with us. And this situation is really unprecedented, 0:02:23.440 --> 0:02:26.600 and you know, we're fighting against the largest B corp 0:02:26.720 --> 0:02:31.480 in the world who's behaving like an activist. It's it's 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:34.880 unprecedented Uh, and it's not something we typically see in 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:37.920 the natural food industry at a time when you know, 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:41.320 other companies are being valued at exceptional rates. We just 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:44.880 saw Poppy being acquired by Pepsi for a billion two 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:48.920 billion dollars. You know, we're in the probiotic space. We 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:52.000 have a lot of science behind our product. Uh, in 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:54.520 two thousand years of history. This is not a fad, 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:56.840 This is not a trend. This is a two thousand 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:00.000 year old staple product that my ancestor is, my great 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:07.680 great grandparents, grandmothers, you know, developed and protected and you know, 0:03:07.720 --> 0:03:12.760 my father brought Keefer to America and he pioneered this 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:17.359 and we pioneered this. LifeWay is the premier keyfer company 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:20.400 in the world, and so it's no surprise to me 0:03:20.520 --> 0:03:23.799 that they want to steal us. But you know, I'm 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:26.480 going to make sure that all shareholders benefit from a 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:29.040 good value of our company, one that we know and 0:03:29.160 --> 0:03:33.800 you know we're on targets to strong, continued, strong performance. 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:36.120 Well, I do want to say you sent a message 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:39.040 out on social media earlier saying that you would be 0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:42.080 on our program. A little later, you cause said you 0:03:42.080 --> 0:03:46.320 were going to defend LifeWay. Kafir against corporate raiders and bullies, 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:48.840 and you called it shameful when the largest B corporation 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:51.680 in the world behaves like greedy hedge funds. Denone did 0:03:51.720 --> 0:03:55.240 send us a response to that, a lengthy response. I'm 0:03:55.240 --> 0:03:57.960 going to read from it and get your reply. It says, 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:01.600 in part, Julie Smolansky's out delegations against denown are false 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:04.960 and detached from reality. There's no raid or hostile bid 0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:08.840 since LifeWay's board decided in November twenty twenty four to 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:14.080 reject Denown's highly attractive twenty seven dollars per share acquisition proposals, 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:18.760 depriving LifeWay shareholders of a very significant premium. Denote has 0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:20.920 been a major shareholder in LifeWay for more than twenty 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:24.440 five years and is defending a legally binding shareholder agreement. 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:28.440 The statement continues to say, the only greed demonstrated here 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:32.760 is by miss Molansky at the expense of LifeWay's public shareholders. 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:34.479 How do you respond to that? 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:38.880 I think the language speaks for that's for themselves, for itself. 0:04:40.200 --> 0:04:43.400 You know this shareholder agreement is illegal. 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:48.920 Many lawyers have looked at it, as well as Illinois 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:55.400 legislators have looked at it and have all agreed it's illegal, improper, 0:04:55.560 --> 0:04:58.400 and it harms LifeWay, it harms the public at large, 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:03.080 It benefits nobody but Danin and it we believe it's void, 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:06.040 and the courts will you know, will work through that 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:11.599 in the courts. But you know, they themselves are on 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:13.720 the record is saying that they're going to make a move, 0:05:13.800 --> 0:05:16.640 that they're making a move on Keifer in the United States. 0:05:17.040 --> 0:05:21.599 They have already christened their hostile takeover by example of 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:25.080 their photograph on the front page of their annual report 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:29.120 with Activia Keifer. They already have shared their plans and 0:05:29.160 --> 0:05:32.360 that those plans are to wipe us off the face. 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:34.599 Of the earth and get rid. 0:05:34.520 --> 0:05:38.560 Of our brand and take over the space. You know, 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:42.440 they're in enable to grow organically on their own, so 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:46.000 they do this with This is a standard operating procedure 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:48.719 for them, and you can see that by the debacle 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:53.320 of their Horizon takeover, their their White Wave takeover, their 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:57.880 Wallaby takeover. They have a history of corporate rating and 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:00.799 I don't think farmers in America or our community here 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:04.480 in America or around the world, you know, is going 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:06.200 to benefit from such actions. 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:09.039 And we will continue to defend them and I'm not 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:09.880 going to be bullied. 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:13.600 We're speaking with Julie Smolanski, CEO of a Lifewave Food. 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:16.719 She's also chairperson the board and president of the company. 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:21.200 Julia, I'm wondering if there is a price that is 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:26.200 fair for potentially a merger, would you be open to 0:06:26.279 --> 0:06:29.000 that if the price was right, and what would it be. 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:32.359 We are open to any offer that makes sense for 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:36.279 all shareholders, that values the company in a proper way, 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:39.680 in a way that also looks at the potential and 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:42.240 the growth. When there is a tipping point right now 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:44.320 in food and they know it, which is why they're 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:46.640 trying to take this over and steal. 0:06:46.400 --> 0:06:49.600 This because they know it. We own ninety five percent. 0:06:49.400 --> 0:06:53.960 Of the most hottest global categories in the world. Kiefer 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:58.760 is the subject of intense science and research studies all 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:01.760 around the world. Just recently a couple of months ago 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:06.000 out of Boston, they did a long, long study of 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:08.960 over thirty years that followed one hundred and thirty thousand 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:14.080 people and found that people who consumed probiotic fermented dairy 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:18.080 foods like found in LifeWay Keefer were able to reduce 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:22.080 coalon cancer by twenty to thirty percent. This is groundbreaking research. 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:25.240 We also know that Keifer can help prevent ADHD. We've 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:30.680 seen research showing that we have seen the mind gout 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:33.640 access and the way that Keifer can help reduce stress, 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:36.920 depression and anxiety through the vegas nerve. There is a 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:40.320 skin gut access. We know that Keifer's beneficial to the skin. 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:43.240 This is just science and research back so you know 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:46.400 in the GLP one conversation, just to throw that one, 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:50.840 and we have a high quality, bioavailable protein product loaded 0:07:50.880 --> 0:07:53.160 with calcium nutrients that people want. 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:54.680 We only have a couple of minutes left, so a 0:07:54.680 --> 0:07:56.400 lot of potential. We only have a couple of minutes left. 0:07:56.400 --> 0:07:58.720 So I want to jump in here. Emily did ask 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:03.400 you what the price would be. Remember Danone offered twenty 0:08:03.400 --> 0:08:07.120 seven dollars per share in their acquisition proposal. They called 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:10.120 it highly attractive. What number is fair to you? 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:12.480 I'm not going to name a number. 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:17.600 The board and the you know consultants, the investment bankers 0:08:17.640 --> 0:08:19.920 and the board will have that determination. But I can 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.080 tell you you could look at some of the recent 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:27.240 transactions and the valuations there and I'll name Poppy Simple Mills, 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:30.000 of which LifeWay was an early investor in and we 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:32.520 benefited greatly from But take a look at the Simple 0:08:32.520 --> 0:08:35.920 Mills valuations, take a look at Lesser Evil, take a 0:08:35.960 --> 0:08:39.400 look at rx bar and these organics. I mean, I 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:43.040 can continue to name other companies in MySpace and the 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:47.160 valuations that are there. That is, I am absolutely disagree 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:50.439 that they are offering an attractive offer. They're offering an 0:08:50.480 --> 0:08:53.520 offer that only benefits to non and the again, the 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:54.600 contract is illegal. 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:57.400 Let's run a fair process, you know. 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:00.880 I do want to touch a little bit and some 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:05.120 of the other points that Denon made in their argument. 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:09.199 This idea that compensation they note, accounts for more than 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:12.680 potential compensation, rather would account for more than all of 0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:15.439 life waste net income. How would you respond to that? 0:09:15.880 --> 0:09:18.280 They say, together with the severance and retention figures. 0:09:18.679 --> 0:09:21.160 I mean, I feel that that's the pot calling the 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:24.200 cattle black. I would say, take a look at their compensation. 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:30.680 I mean I think that you know, there's I mean, 0:09:30.920 --> 0:09:34.640 I think everyone deserves to be compensated fairly, and my 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:36.880 team is no different than their team. 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:39.720 Let's switch gears a little bit. I think we covered 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:42.400 this latest and I know this will be ongoing very 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:45.840 briefly before we switch gears. When do you anticipate this 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:47.559 to be out of the courts and they're there to 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:48.160 be a decision? 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:51.600 Oh, I can't predict what the court's timeline is. You 0:09:51.640 --> 0:09:54.319 know that that's up to the courts. 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:56.120 You think it'll be years though. 0:09:56.800 --> 0:09:59.040 I can't. I don't have a crystal. 0:09:58.679 --> 0:09:59.960 Bonding o idea. Okay. 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.360 I know that we're going to continue to control what 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:04.760 we can control, which is continue to build the business. 0:10:04.760 --> 0:10:07.840 That's what I'm focused on. Well, let's talking the category. 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:10.400 Let's talk a little bit about that because last time 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:12.199 you were on you spoke a lot about farmer cheese 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:14.800 and the growing category there. What's the product pipeline look 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:16.480 like when you want to branch out from Kiefer. 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:20.000 Yeah, this is really exciting because Farmer's cheese is one 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:21.640 of the hottest things happening right now. 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:23.880 It is a kind of a product of the moment. 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:28.280 As you know, cottage shees really became viral recently. We 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:31.080 saw this trend and demand for soft on ripened cheese 0:10:31.160 --> 0:10:33.600 is like cottage cheese. This is sort of like a 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:37.959 blended cottage sheeese already, So it's a recipe hack and because. 0:10:37.600 --> 0:10:38.920 Of like the high demand. 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:40.400 I mean, you have to be under a rock to 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:45.000 see the demand for high quality bioavailable protein is off 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:48.240 the charts, and this offers a tremendous amount of protein people. 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:51.440 You know, even Bethany Frankel is raving about it and 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:53.920 sharing it on her Instagram. She paired it with caviar 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:56.600 on a crisp. Looks great. But you know, there is 0:10:56.720 --> 0:11:00.120 a sort of a buzz around Farmer's Cheese, so much 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:03.920 so that we've already started shipping into fourteen hundred Albertson 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:07.640 stores around the country, and we have commitments for another 0:11:07.640 --> 0:11:10.840 two thousand distribution points for farmers cheese and mass market. 0:11:10.880 --> 0:11:13.640 This is the first time we're scaling a legacy product. 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:15.679 This was product number one and two along with the 0:11:15.720 --> 0:11:18.600 original Keefer that we launched, So this is a product 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:21.920 we're the number one manufacturers and farmers cheese. So not 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:24.600 only are we the category leader of Keifer, but we're 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:27.320 also the category leader of farmers Cheese. We're going to 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:29.600 see a lot more about this in the coming weeks 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:32.680 and months out of LifeWay and on your grocery soource shelf. 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:37.559 Are Americans coming back to dairy because milk, almond milk, 0:11:37.920 --> 0:11:41.600 all of those trends were very popular. But obviously, you 0:11:41.640 --> 0:11:43.480 know this is a dairy product. 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:44.720 Absolutely yeah. 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:47.240 Well it's a fermenta dairy, which is not the same 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:51.400 as just regular milk. Fermenta dairy offers a tremendous amount 0:11:51.480 --> 0:11:55.000 of extra benefits. There are peptides that are released when 0:11:55.920 --> 0:12:02.559 through the fermentation process. Those peptides create a healthy microbiome 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:07.600 in your gut. They restore all Keifer helps restore all of. 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:08.520 The good bacteria. 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:12.440 And consumers are starting to learn about the microbiome and 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:17.160 the importance of fermented dairy and you know, they are 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:20.480 getting going to the shelf and they're recognizing that there 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.640 are a lot of options on the shelf. But you know, 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:27.920 this is not just a fad or a trend. Keifer Again, 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:30.280 it's been around for two thousand years, it's been this 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:33.800 the product of intense study for over one hundred years, 0:12:34.000 --> 0:12:37.160 but it's really just now hitting mass market and people 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:40.040 are starting to make the connection and the tipping point 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:43.360 that you know, food is medicine or or it's poison. 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:46.320 You can use food to heal your body, and that's 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:49.320 what LifeWay keifer does. It heals the body, and that's 0:12:49.360 --> 0:12:51.880 something that's really special and it's authentic. This is a 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:55.160 recipe that was brought by my family to this country, 0:12:55.160 --> 0:12:57.600 and so it's the it's the original. It's the og 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:01.000 of Keifer of probiotics. We were the first to talk 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:05.240 about probiotics. And you know, most of the disease in 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:09.319 our body, most of our budget in our healthcare is 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:13.760 from diseases of lifestyle. Keifer can actually help prevent some 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:16.960 of those diseases of lifestyle. This is an important piece 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:20.320 of health that all of us should be integrating from 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:21.720 from cradle to senior. 0:13:22.600 --> 0:13:24.680 Keefer Life Weykeeper is for everyone. 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:29.080 And you know, it reduces inflammation in the body, which 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.840 is the cause of almost all disease is because of 0:13:31.920 --> 0:13:35.200 inflammation and dysbiosis in the gut. And we're learning that 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:38.160 and people are starting to understand. And it's available everywhere 0:13:38.160 --> 0:13:42.000 from Walmart to Target, to Amazon to Whole Foods. You know, 0:13:42.040 --> 0:13:45.120 we're in club stores, we're in mass market grocery to 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:48.000 ultra premium, and so there is something for everyone, and 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:50.800 our goal is to democratize it to make it accessible 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:53.679 and available to everyone, not just in America, but we're 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:57.280 you know, we ship all over and make sure that 0:13:57.440 --> 0:13:59.280 as many people have access to life. 0:13:59.280 --> 0:13:59.800 Weykeeper. 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:03.080 I'm curious the shares are down about eight point seven 0:14:03.360 --> 0:14:06.360 percent so far this year. They're still shi if by 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:11.000 five dollars of the acquisition price that Danone offered back 0:14:11.000 --> 0:14:14.000 in November of twenty twenty four, of twenty seven dollars 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:17.080 per share. What do you think investors are missing with 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:17.760 this story? 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:19.480 Well, I would yeah, I mean, I would take a 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:21.960 look at the five year five year history and the 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:25.960 trajectory we have brought the company from a dollar fifty 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:29.280 to you know, whatever it is today, twenty five dollars. 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:33.720 That's twelve hundred percent growth. Our ebitdah has gone from 0:14:33.920 --> 0:14:36.880 three million dollars to twenty seven dollars, and we are 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:40.760 on target to continue to forty five dollars plus in. 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:42.040 Twenty twenty seven. 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:48.040 We've doubled our We've grown our gross profit one hundred percent. 0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:54.520 We've grown our growth margin by three hundred basis points, 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:56.840 more than three hundred basis points. I mean, you know, 0:14:56.880 --> 0:15:00.600 we are just starting to hit our stride and we 0:15:00.760 --> 0:15:05.400 have invested in our equipment and capacity. We have great capacity, 0:15:06.440 --> 0:15:12.520 we have you know, the ability to we have a 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:15.240 strong a strong balance sheet. We have no debt, we 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:17.080 have cash in the bank, we have a great team, 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:20.000 we have a you know, incredible demand for our product 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:22.080 that we manufacture ourselves. 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:24.200 We have access to capital. 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:26.320 We the list goes on. 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:27.960 Ready, the list goes on. 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:30.040 We only have we only have a minute left. And 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:31.880 I know, I know Emily has another question. I just 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:33.200 do want to point out. I'm looking at the five 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:35.840 year chart. It's up eight hundred and seventy two in 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:38.880 the last five years. Shares five years ago, we're trading 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:41.960 at two dollars and twenty seven cents. That was on 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:45.920 June eleventh, twenty twenty. That was the five year low. 0:15:46.560 --> 0:15:48.520 Up now to twenty two dollars and sixty four cents 0:15:48.560 --> 0:15:49.400 where shares are now. 0:15:49.600 --> 0:15:50.280 Quick questions. 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:52.760 We're a brand that sets the moment, and I was 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:54.720 gonna say, we're a brand that meets the moment and 0:15:54.760 --> 0:15:55.720 a brand on the move. 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:56.800 As you could see. 0:15:57.280 --> 0:16:00.600 Speaking of on the move, everyone's talking about inflation. Do 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:03.680 you feel like LifeWay Foods is feeling the pressure that 0:16:03.720 --> 0:16:06.040 you'll have to raise prices just to keep up with 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:08.000 competition and keep up with inflation. 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:11.800 I mean, that's something that we've navigated and managed for Over. 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:14.040 You know, thirty nine years, we're about to hit our 0:16:14.080 --> 0:16:16.920 fortieth anniversary. So we've seen these kinds of things in 0:16:16.960 --> 0:16:18.920 the market and it's something that we're used to. We 0:16:18.960 --> 0:16:21.720 still have a lot of price elasticity. Again, we are 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:25.200 ninety five percent of the key for category, and you know, 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:27.560 if we need to raise prices, we certainly will. We 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:31.360 know that when consumers are feeling the pinch in the 0:16:31.360 --> 0:16:34.560 rest of you know, other categories and things household good 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:38.800 items and other things that are essential, they do tend 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:41.320 to go back to the grocery store and go. 0:16:41.280 --> 0:16:43.880 Back to the essentials like LifeWay brands. 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:47.480 They know, brands they trust, and especially brands that have 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:50.280 a functional element that are offering them some benefits like 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:53.960 Lifewaykeeper does. So you know, we are battle tested. We've 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:56.560 been through so many various elements. 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:57.800 But you know, we've. 0:16:57.560 --> 0:17:01.360 Managed a global pandemic, a global supply chain shortage, and 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:05.360 a global labor shortage and it really worked our advantage 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:07.159 and I have no doubt that the same will be 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:09.560 true as we look to the future. 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:12.639 Julie, appreciate you taking the time in joining us once again. 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:15.119 Please do come back, don't be a stranger. Keep us 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:17.720 up to date on everything happening at the company. Julie 0:17:17.760 --> 0:17:24.199 Smolanski CEO of Lifewave Foods. She is also chairman of 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:29.040 the board as well as president at the company. She 0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:31.440 joins us from Los Angeles. A reminder, three hundred and 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:35.080 fifty million dollar market cap maker of Kiefer Farmer cheese 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:36.000 and more.