Expo West 2025: Smolyansky Introduces New Kefir Competitor Pure Culture

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Edward Smolyansky spent decades working at Lifeway Foods, the company founded by his father Michael in the mid-80s and which today is the clear leader of the U.S. kefir category. But after a much-publicized falling out with his sister, Lifeway CEO Julie Smolyansky, he exited Lifeway and has now set out on his own to found Pure Culture Naturals, a new brand currently in the “proof of concept” phase but rearing to get out to the market and mount a challenge to build a serious kefir competitor.

At Natural Products Expo West 2025 – where the brand marketed its gut health bonafides with bathroom stall advertisements – we caught up with Smolyansky to learn more about the brand. In this video, filmed at the brand’s booth in Hall A, Smolyansky discusses his ambitions to create a better and more functional product than the competing brands, why packaging size is important in the kefir set, and why he wants to be known as the “Kefir King of America.”

“We feel that this product right now is ready for market,” he said. “After two years of tweaking and perfecting the formula and the size and the branding, right now is when we’re going to go into that next phase.”