In the hyper-competitive food industry, survival often means brand expansion, and Lifeway Foods is adept at continuous innovation. The company has been evolving ever since immigrant Michael Smolyansky began brewing kefir—a probiotic, fermented milk drink well-known for its health benefits in his native Russia—in his basement in Skokie, Illinois in 1986. Today, the fast-growing company offers more than 100 products, including its latest: Elixir, a fresh line of non-dairy sparkling probiotic drinks. Lifeway CEO Julie Smolyansky (Michael’s daughter) discusses how to identify new opportunities and leverage your established ethos to build new product lines—and how to educate consumers to embrace them.