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Non-Tech : Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: richardred who wrote (286)	1/29/2014 6:57:18 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Respond to of 338

I keep forgetting that Lifeway is Midwest-centric. I have been in grocery stores that carry Lifeway’s full line of products. My favorite is the Blueberry kefir. Chobani has made yogurt sexy again. I can remember a time in the late 50s/early 60s when my mother experimented – with mixed results – with making her own yogurt.

To: richardred who wrote (286)

2/8/2014 12:15:33 PM

From: Glenn Petersen

Respond to of 338

Chobani yogurt cold war continues in Sochi By: Eric Bradner Politico February 8, 2014 10:42 AM EST
U.S. Olympic athletes began their quest for gold in Sochi on Saturday morning without the Chobani yogurt they expected to fuel their performances. Are the Russians really to blame? They say “nyet.” As the great yogurt standoff drags on, 5,000 cups of Chobani blueberry-, strawberry- and peach-flavored Greek yogurt, plus larger containers of plain yogurt for smoothies, remain stranded in a Newark, N.J., freezer. They’ve been blocked from leaving by Russian officials who claim the United States failed to provide the very specific health- and safety-related paperwork necessary to allow the food to reach their athletes. But the American dairy industry says this is just one small demonstration of an embargo on their products that has been a long-standing frustration. “This company’s situation has helped to shine a spotlight on the challenges that the broader industry has faced for the last several years,” said Shawna Morris, a vice president at the U.S. Dairy Export Council. The dispute has entered the new annals of the Sochi Winter Games, somewhere between the serious debate over Russia’s negative stance on gay rights and the frustration with the failings of the city’s brand new hotels to provide electricity or clean sheets to reporters staying there. Even Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has gotten involved in fighting for his home-state yogurt company, which sponsors the U.S. Olympic team, sending letters to Olympic officials and the Russian embassy in Washington, urging the country to allow the yogurt shipment. The treatment Chobani is seeking wouldn’t be that special: European countries for years have waived some health and safety requirements for products shipped directly to U.S. military bases, as long as those products aren’t sold on the open market. The Russians have said the dispute could be settled if the U.S. Department of Agriculture would provide the necessary paperwork, but U.S. officials have declined to do so. It remains unclear why the Agriculture Department won’t oblige. A department spokeswoman didn’t respond to an inquiry. Russia suggested the U.S. must be afraid that completing the certification form would undercut broader negotiations over dairy trade. Schumer, though, said the information Russia is asking for is “unreasonable.” His office called the paperwork Russia is demanding “very specific and unattainable.” The dairy dispute in Sochi is far from the first time an Olympic host nation has found itself backed into an awkward corner when its own politics were forced into the international spotlight. In 2008, China waited until after the Beijing games ended to announce that hundreds of thousands of babies were made ill by tainted infant formula. In 2012, London caught flack for failing to make buying steroids for personal use illegal. The yogurt-related dispute is more than a one-off Olympic absurdity, too. The Russians have been blocking shipments of milk, cheese, yogurt and other products since 2010 for what U.S. officials say are bogus and unscientific reasons. U.S. dairy industry officials said they’re just glad their problems with Russia are finally getting some attention. Russia is among the world’s leading dairy importers. But in September 2010, the country banned the import of all milk, cheese, yogurt and more from the United States by mandating that all dairy products be on a pre-approved list before they’re brought into the country. Two years later, Russia agreed to scratch that requirement as part of a deal to join the World Trade Organization. Since then, the United States and a regional customs union that features Russia as its most prominent member have been negotiating a new certification to open that country’s supermarket shelves back up to foreign products. U.S. officials said they believe they’re close to a deal. “USDA has had extensive technical discussions with the members of the customs union and we believe we are close to finalizing a certificate so that all of our dairy companies can have access to the Russian market,” Agriculture Department spokeswoman Courtney Rowe said in an email. She called resolving the issue a top priority. U.S. dairy producers are increasingly depend on foreign markets. The United States sold $6.7 billion in milk products overseas last year, accounting for nearly 16 percent of the industry’s total sales, according to the U.S. Dairy Export Council. “The U.S. government has closely engaged with Russian officials on the dairy certificate issue for the past four years,” Rowe said. “The White House has also communicated the importance of ensuring U.S. companies have full market access for their agricultural products in Russia.” U.S. halfpipe skier Aaron Blunck told the Associated Press on Friday that to traveling athletes, getting food from home is part of feeling fit and healthy. “And having the yogurt there, that helps you, gives you protein, gives you nutrition,” he said. But teammate Lyman Currier said part of being an elite athlete is dealing with the unexpected. “We all have different routines before competing but I think that part of the sport is adapting,” he said. “So whether we have our yogurt or not, we’ll be able to adapt.”
© 2014 POLITICO LLC dyn.politico.com

To: richardred who wrote (286)	3/10/2014 7:37:24 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 338

Exclusive: Chobani seeks to sell stake at $2.5 billion valuation - sources By Olivia Oran NEW YORK Mon Mar 10, 2014 7:05pm EDT Chobani Inc. founder Hamdi Ulukaya poses for a portrait in the company headquarters in New York, December 13, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson ______________ NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chobani, the Greek yogurt maker that has grown into a U.S. sensation, is looking to sell a minority stake in a deal that could value the company at around $2.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The company is working with Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) as it considers selling roughly 20 percent of itself, and is speaking to consumer companies and private equity firms to gauge their interest, the people said on Monday. Chobani, based in New Berlin, New York, previously held discussions with banks about pursuing an initial public offering, but switched gears in the face of mounting competition from other Greek yogurt companies, the people said. The people declined to be named because the matter is not public. Representatives for Chobani did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Bank of America declined to comment. Founded in 2005 by Turkish immigrant Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani started operating from a former Kraft Food yogurt plant in South Edmeston, New York, and grew into one of the top-selling Greek yogurt brands in the United States. The company suffered a blow in September after it was forced to recall moldy cups of Greek yogurt after customers complained that the product tasted runny and fizzy, and some reported illnesses. And in December, Whole Foods Market Inc (WFM.O) said that it would no longer sell Chobani yogurts starting early this year. Greek-style yogurt, which is thicker, creamier and often higher in protein than other types of yogurt, now makes up more than 40 percent of the U.S. yogurt market, which is worth $7.4 billion according to research firm Mintel. Although Greek yogurt reignited the entire yogurt category, competition remains fierce between Chobani and brands such as Danone SA's (DANO.PA) Oikos and General Mills' (GIS.N) Yoplait. (Reporting by Olivia Oran in New York, additional reporting by Martinne Geller in London, Editing by Soyoung Kim and Lisa Shumaker) reuters.com

To: richardred who wrote (286)	3/11/2014 6:41:17 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Respond to of 338

Chobani's valuation may actually be $5 billion: Chobani Said to Seek Investment That Would Value It at $5 Billion By WILLIAM ALDEN DealBook New York Times March 11, 2014, 6:13 pm Mike Groll/Associated Press Chobani is said to be looking to sell a stake of 15 percent or less to outside investors in an effort to raise capital for expansion. _______________ Big investors are vying for a piece of Chobani, the fast-growing yogurt maker in upstate New York. Chobani, less than a decade old, is in talks with six potential investors for a deal that could value it at $5 billion, a person with direct knowledge of the discussions said Tuesday. The company is looking to finalize an investment in the first half of the year, with an eye toward expanding internationally. The bidders include two companies that would provide a strategic alliance, two equity investors and two lenders, said this person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The identities of the bidders could not be determined. Chobani is looking to sell a stake of 15 percent or less, giving it a shot of capital to ramp up distribution and manufacturing, the person said. The company may seek to go public down the road, but no offering is expected this year. Bank of America is working with Chobani as the company explores its options, said another person briefed on the matter. Founded in 2005 by Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish immigrant, Chobani has capitalized on the explosive popularity of Greek yogurt in the United States, with its sales growing more than 30 percent last year to above $1 billion. But it remains closely held by its founder. This month, Chobani invested about $4 million to expand its big manufacturing plant in Twin Falls, Idaho, but it is seeking more capital to propel an expansion overseas. Currently, the company sells yogurt only in the United States and Australia. Politicians in New York have embraced yogurt production as a booming business in an otherwise sleepy region, and they rushed to Chobani’s defense when the Russian government blocked a shipment of the company’s yogurt bound for American athletes competing in the Winter Olympics in Sochi. That standoff ended in disappointment for Chobani, with the company opting to donate its Sochi-bound yogurt to New York and New Jersey food banks. But with fresh capital, the company may yet have another shot at flexing its muscles in foreign markets. News of the recent talks was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal online. dealbook.nytimes.com