Lifeway Foods is to snap up assets owned by fellow US dairy business GlenOaks Farms.

The publicly-listed Lifeway, best known for its kefir dairy products, announced the deal in a stock-exchange filing yesterday (3 August).

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Lifeway said it would buy “certain assets” of the privately-owned GlenOaks, which was set up in 1984 and based in California, for US$5.8m.

Julie Smolyansky, Lifeway’s president and CEO,  said the move “will further solidify our strong position in California and the western US”. She added: “Their drinkable yogurt is an incredible strategic complement to our kefir and will help expand our presence in key retail partners in the West, which is a crucial area of growth. This acquisition unlocks an adjacent health-oriented consumer and stays true to our core mission of supporting the gut health, immunity and mental wellbeing of our customers.”

Just Food has asked Lifeway for further comment.

Last month, Lifeway, in which Danone owns a 22% stake, announced its entry into France through listings at local Costco stores.

In 2020, the company saw its net sales grow 8.9% to $102m on the back of improved volumes of its branded drinkable kefir products.

Lifeway reported income from operations of $4.9m – compared to a loss on that metric of $1.9m in 2019 – and net income of $3.2m, against $453,000 a year earlier.

In the first quarter of 2021, Lifeway’s net sales rose 15.7% year-on-year to $29.4m. Its income from operations and net income were also higher, reaching $1.9m and $1.3m, compared to $238,000 and $146,000 in the opening three months of 2020.