MORTON GROVE, Ill., April 20, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lifeway Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq:LWAY) today announced the appointment of 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion Carli Lloyd to serve as brand ambassador for the company’s kefir and other probiotic dairy products. Lifeway tapped Lloyd, who holds two Olympic gold medals and is one of the most decorated players in U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team history, because she is an inspiration to both men and women for her athletic achievements, her overall healthy lifestyle, and most recently her outspoken advocacy of wage equality in her sport.
Lloyd will star in a Lifeway commercial that will air during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, appear at a series of events on behalf of the company, and be featured in on-pack messaging over the next year. She will also share her experiences with Lifeway on social media, where she has more than 630,000 Facebook and 670,000 Instagram followers.
Lloyd embraced the brand partnership because she is already a Lifeway Kefir enthusiast, drinking it regularly to reap the benefits of its high probiotic and protein content for her immune system and recovery from her demanding training regimen. Kefir also fits the organic whole-foods diet she adopted several years ago as part of her commitment to excelling on the soccer field.
“Carli is a natural choice to represent Lifeway. She's a great advocate for making healthy food choices and has shared how switching to a more nutritious diet helped improve her performance and quality of life. She shares our passion in empowering others with information so they too can improve their quality of life, because eating right isn't reserved just for Olympians. Carli, like us, knows everyone can take steps toward better health by the everyday choices we make in how we treat our bodies. She’s an activist for women’s rights, and as an athlete at the top of her game, she’s a role model for men and women everywhere,” said Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky. “She personifies everything this company stands for.”
“One of the fringe benefits of being in the public eye is that it gives me a platform to talk about things I believe in, whether it’s equal pay for equal work or the importance of good nutrition,” Lloyd said. “Working with Lifeway provides an ideal opportunity to share some of what I’ve learned about kefir and probiotics, connect with fans on a personal level, and hopefully inspire some of them to adopt the kind of eating habits that have had such a big impact on my own life.”
Currently playing for the Houston Dash in the National Women’s Soccer League, Lloyd is a member of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team and is now training for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. She scored the game-winning goal in the finals of both the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and both American goals in the team’s 2-1 victory over Japan in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, playing an instrumental role in capturing gold medals for the U.S. in both competitions.
She also represented the United States at the 2007, 2011 and 2015 FIFA Women‘s World Cup tournaments, helping the U.S. become the first country to win three FIFA Women’s World Cup titles and scoring the first hat trick in the tournament final’s history in 2015. Her 2015 performance earned her a string of accolades, including FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion, FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, and IFFHS World’s Women Best Playmaker.
About Lifeway Foods, Inc.
Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY), recently named one of Forbes’ Best Small Companies, is America’s leading supplier of the probiotic fermented beverage known as kefir. In addition to its line of drinkable kefir, the company also produces frozen kefir, specialty cheeses and a ProBugs line for kids. Lifeway’s tart and tangy cultured dairy products are now sold across the United States, Canada, Latin America and the United Kingdom. Learn how Lifeway is good for more than just you at Lifewaykefir.com.
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