Lifeway Foods has announced plans to expand its cheese production, investing in technology to improve efficiency.

The US kefir maker is set to implement new automation processes to handle future demand for its Lifeway Farmer Cheese, a probiotic spreadable cheese.

The product is available nationwide in the US and Lifeway said that it is capitalising on the trend of “blended cottage cheese” through its brand.

Just Food has contacted the kefir company for further details about the investment.

Lifeway announced its capital expenditure plans shortly after revealing its second-quarter results for its fiscal 2023.

Despite recent controversy behind the scenes of the family-owned company, including a call for sale from a shareholder of Lifeway, CEO Julie Smolyansky reported “strong year-over-year net sales growth as well as substantial gross margin improvements” for the period.

“We see potential growth avenues for our core kefir products, as well as Lifeway Farmer Cheese, a strong performing item that has the benefit of recent press attention related to popular social media recipes for blended cottage cheese,” she added.

Net sales were $39.2m for the second quarter ended 30 June, a 17.1% rise on the same period of 2022. The increase was primarily driven by higher volumes of Lifeway's branded drinkable kefir and the impact of price increases implemented during the fourth quarter of last year.

The business reported net income of $3.2m for the period compared to $120,000 in in the second quarter of 2022.

In June, Lifeway hired advisers at Kroll to help the US business weigh up “strategic alternatives” after the shareholder criticism.

After its AGM, the company insisted that it is looking to “maximise value” for its investors.