For Immediate Release
Lifeway Foods to Service Cosi Restaurants
Morton Grove, Illinois, August 11, 2005 -- Lifeway Foods, Inc.
(Nasdaq: LWAY), makers of a nutritious, milk-based cultured beverage
called kefir, announced today that its LowFat Vanilla Kefir will
be sold to Cosi Restaurants starting next week.
Lifeway’s Vanilla Kefir will not be sold as a resale item; instead
Cosi Restaurants known for their convenient and fresh food will
mix the vanilla kefir with organic blueberries. The healthy combination
named “Cosi Kefir” will be sold as a featured item in participating
Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Midwest regions where Cosi Restaurants
are located.
“Cosi Kefir” will be a great snack, dessert or breakfast for people
who crave a delicious, healthy option that is both filling and
easy to eat on the run. Both Lifeway Foods and Cosi Restaurants
have similar visions in mind - to help health conscious individuals
who are looking for fresh, premium and flavorful foods that are
also convenient for hectic lifestyles. Lifeway satisfies this
vision with their all-natural kefir and Cosi with their fresh
sandwiches, salads and snacks.
This all-natural combo known as “Cosi Kefir” is a great way to
satisfy a sweet tooth and at the same time provide very important
nutrients to the body. Both kefir and blueberries are now being
discovered for their incredible health benefits. Kefir contains
many probiotic cultures that may aid the digestive and immune
systems while organic blueberries are considered the number one
antioxidant fruit helping to fight against heart disease, aging
and cancer.
“We are thrilled to have Lifeway’s Vanilla Kefir available at
Cosi Restaurants especially since it will be used in such a healthy
recipe,” exclaimed Julie Smolyansky, Lifeway Foods’ president
and CEO. Smolyansky also added, “We will also continue to expand
into different avenues of foodservice, working with Cosi is our
first attempt at food service and we foresee great results.”
Lifeway, named as Forbes’ 38th best small business and Fortune
Small Business' 47th Fastest Growing Small Business, is America's
leading supplier of the cultured dairy product known as kefir.
Kefir is a milk-based beverage that contains ten types of “friendly,”
active probiotic cultures. While most yogurts only contain two
or three of these cultures, Lifeway kefir products offer more
nutritional benefits. Lifeway now offers 13 different flavors
of its Kefir beverage, Organic Kefir and SoyTreat (a soy based
kefir). Lifeway also produces a line of products marketed in US
Hispanic communities, called La Fruta Drinkable Yogurt (yogurt
drinks distinct from kefir). In addition to its line of Kefir
products, the company also produces a variety of cheese products
and recently introduced an organic like of pudding called “It’s
Pudding!”
About Cosi, Inc.
Cosi (http://www.getcosi.com)
is the premium, convenience restaurant that offers breakfast,
lunch, afternoon coffee, dinner and dessert menus full of creative,
fresh, flavorful foods and beverages. Cosi has developed featured
foods that are built around a secret, generations-old recipe for
crackly crust flatbread. This artisan bread is freshly baked in
front of customers throughout the day in open flame stone hearth
ovens prominently located in each of the restaurants. The Cosi
menu features, Cosi sandwiches, freshly tossed salads, Cosi Melts,
soups, Cosi bagels, pizzas, S'mores and other desserts, and a
wide range of coffee beverages. Cosi restaurants are designed
to be welcoming and comfortable with an eclectic environment.
Cosi's sights, sounds, and spaces create a tasteful, relaxed place
that always provides a fresh and new dining experience. The Cosi
vision is to become America's favorite quality, convenience restaurant
by providing customers authentic, innovative, savory food while
remaining an affordable luxury. Cosi currently has 92 Company-owned
and two franchise restaurants in seventeen states, including Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland,
Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee,
Washington, California, Kentucky, and the District of Columbia.
For more information, contact Julie Smolyansky, President, Lifeway
Foods Inc. at (847) 967-1010 or e-mail at info@lifeway.net
and visit www.lifeway.net.
