Despite being a longtime presence in grocery coolers nationwide, Califia Farms continues to find new ways to develop products within the premium coffee and plant-based milk categories. Many of those innovations – including its most recent release, its first organic-certified oat milk and almond milk – have been driven by the brand’s active social media community, according to CEO Dave Ritterbush, many of whom are paying closer attention to ingredient labels and formulations as the non-dairy segment matures.
Those voices, he said, are demanding “basic,” stripped-down formulations; for milks, that means none of the gums, fillers or oils commonly found within the category. Sporting just three ingredients – water, sea salt and either organic oats or almonds – Califia’s new milks aim to deliver that experience and compete with existing clean-label brands like MALK and New Barn Organics.
In this interview recorded at Expo West 2023, Ritterbush spoke with BevNET about the development of the new organic products, why the company is all-in on the barista-at-home movement, and his outlook on trends within plant-based CPG.