Nutritional science for mind health products
DSM Nutritional Products
Lifeway ranked 38th in the list, which will be published this week by Fortune Small Business Magazine, featuring the company's CEO Julie Smolyansky on the cover.
Lifeway's earnings have grown 53 percent annually, revenues have risen 17 percent per year, and the stock has returned 37 percent annually since 2001. In May, the firm reported first-quarter revenue growth of 19 percent and operating-income growth of 50 percent over the same quarter in 2003.
Much of Lifeway's growth has been generated by new products, including a kefir beverage tailored to Hispanic tastes that is marketed under the brand name La Fruta. Earlier this month the firm announced plans to introduce a new low-carbohydrate kefir beverage from the third quarter of the year under the name "Slim6".
Lifeway is a manufacturer of cultured, probiotic and functional food products and a leading supplier of kefirs. The company markets 12 flavors of kefir and exports to Canada.
The FSB 100 ranking of the 100 fastest-growing small companies in America is compiled by the financial research firm Zacks, which looks at public companies with annual revenue of less than $200 million and a stock price of more than $1. Companies were ranked based on earnings growth, revenue growth and stock performance over the past three years.