Last week, the beverage industry lost Greg Steltenpohl, the trailblazing founder of both Odwalla and Califia Farms, who died at the age of 67.
Steltenpohl’s legacy is alive in Califia Farms, today one of the top companies in the dairy alternative category and a leader in socially conscious, environmentally sustainable brand building. But the impact of his death is being felt most dearly in those who knew and worked with him. Beyond being a high profile CEO, Steltenpohl was a friend and mentor to thousands. This weekend, many of them took to social media to express their condolences and share their memories.
Commenting on LinkedIn, Califia Farms VP of corporate affairs and communications Kiff Gallagher wrote that Steltenpohl had an ability to inspire those around him, including the belief that business could be a force for positive change in the world.
“Greg was a dear friend of 25 [years] and a creative, visionary entrepreneur who inspired countless young professionals to believe in the power of business to change the world for the better,” Gallagher wrote. “Greg was a musician and artist who brought his love of co-creation to work every day. He was a loving father and grandfather, and he felt the interconnectedness of all living things.”
Stephen Williamson, who served as chairman and CEO of Odwalla from 1991 to 2002 (and later would compete with Califia as the founder and CEO of Forager Project), commended Steltenpohl’s constant curiosity and intrepidness.
“Greg made the world a better place,” Williamson said in a statement to BevNET. “He loved his work. He was curious. He was always wondering. He lived his life outside of the normal path. He had great adventures building two companies within the natural foods space — no easy task. A life well lived although it was too short.”
While many praised Steltenpohl’s sense of vision and his business mind, the biggest void left by his death is the loss of a friend and mentor. As Blue Pacific Flavors CEO Donald Wilkes put it, when you talked to him, “Greg made it feel like you were the only person in the room.” From long term business partners to his competing entrepreneurs, Steltenpohl could create swift bonds and had a knack for boiling down even the most complex industry jargon.
Mike Burbank, of Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, began working with Steltenpohl when he was still at Odwalla and remained his business associate and friend for the rest of his life.
“He was a jazz musician and a rock climber and, you know, when you hang out with him he’s just cool, right?” Burbank said. “You want to be like Greg. I wish I was smart like Greg and cool like Greg. He’s just one of those magnetic figures.”
Wilkes recalled visiting jazz clubs with Steltenpohl, dubbing him a “Renaissance Man” who not only took the industry forward through his emphasis on sustainability and diversity, but who also seamlessly married the creative arts with entrepreneurship. Steltenpohl, who was a professional musician prior to founding Odwalla, frequently applied his creativity to brand building and the skills that made him a talented sax player also allowed him to recognize the white space in the marketplace for new innovations.
“People look at artistic creativeness as separate from a Harvard MBA,” Wilkes said. “But as a CEO, Greg brought that creativity into the marketplace.”
Wilkes cited a quote often attributed to Albert Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge,” adding that “Greg had that in spades.” From Califia’s disruptive bottle design to knowing how to compete with other brands, Wilkes said that Steltenpohl “had a gift” for seeing the possibilities of the future.
Burbank recalled visiting Steltenpohl in his Los Angeles office a few years ago and taking a picture on his phone of the bookshelf. He noted that Steltenpohl was a lifelong learner who readily embraced new ideas.
“He was just such a big thinker and super widely read,” Burbank said. “And it was just fascinating all this stuff he had his fingers in and all the influences.”
Burbank also highlighted Steltenpohl’s mission to bring sustainability and diversity to the business world. A believer in healthy eating, ethical decision making and an advocate for preventing climate change, Burbank credited Steltenpohl for leading the food and beverage industry’s shift towards wellness and environmental sustainability decades before it became a mainstream cause du jour.
“He just had this kind of altruistic vision,” Burbank said. “It wasn’t about creating wealth. He looked at plant-based and Califia in particular, as a platform for ethical decision making. He thought a lot about sustainability and climate change and animal welfare. Hot buttons that people talk about now, like inclusion and diversity, he was thinking about them and living them and trying to implement them in his businesses years and decades ago.”
Steltenpohl’s passion and leadership also extended far beyond his close relationships. On social media, fellow entrepreneurs shared stories of meeting him and cited his influence on their own leadership and approach to the beverage industry.
“Greg was the first entrepreneur in this space who I followed, admired, and learned so much from,” wrote Once Upon a Farm co-founder and CEO John Foraker on his LinkedIn. “I did not know him personally until years later but I am so grateful for the opportunities we had to work closely on key initiatives across the space.”
Madeline Haydon, founder and CEO of plant-based creamer brand nutpods, wrote about Steltenpohl’s sincerity and kindness, noting that even as a competitor within the same category he extended the same warmth and respect he would anyone else.
“While we both were in plant-based creamers, I think he saw me as a fellow entrepreneur, more than anything else,” Haydon said on her LinkedIn account. “At least that’s how he treated me. He was, without fail, always gracious, welcoming and warm to me, greeting me with his quiet smile at industry events. He knew that there was enough space for us both to have our own measures of success.”