Califia Farms Agua Fresca

In this gallery, we showcase a handful of notable new launches and looks for brands as seen at this year’s Winter Fancy Food Show, held Jan. 13-15 in San Francisco.

All three major beverage manufacturers enjoyed individual sales increases during the four-week period ending on Dec. 29, with all-channel dollar sales up 5.8 percent, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by Wells Fargo Securities.

As dairy alternatives continue to rise new brands are rapidly entering the space, bringing with them disruptive innovations and unique platform propositions. But an influx also means brands have to work harder to differentiate and protect their corner of the grocery shelf. So the question becomes: how do you build the platform?

Distribution Roundup: Sprig CBD Soda Expands; HFactor Expands Into Sprouts; Califia Farms Expands Drinkable Yogurt Line; Hoplark HopTea Adds Whole Foods

Califia Farms, best known for its innovative plant-based beverages in distinctive curvy bottles, accomplished an unprecedented product launch with the introduction of their new line of Probiotic Dairy Free Yogurt Drinks which are already scanning in nearly 7,000 stores across 47 states from coast to coast.

In this week’s episode we’re joined by two groundbreaking entrepreneurs and beverage innovators: Rhonda Kallman, the co-founder of Samuel Adams and Boston Harbor Distillery and Califia Farms co-founder and CEO Greg Steltenpohl.

Plant-based beverage brand Califia Farms announced this morning it has closed a $50 million round of financing led by Luxembourg-based investment bank Ambrosia Investments and including a slate of celebrities including Academy Award-winning actors Jared Leto and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Expanding its already vast range of plant-based beverage offerings, Califia Farms announced today the launch of a new four-SKU line of non-dairy drinkable yogurts formulated with the company’s proprietary Califia Culture Blend.

The specialty channel still aims to serve consumers looking for distinctive and innovative beverage products, but that category has had outsized growth — which means its role within the channel’s commercial ecosystem is evolving.

BevNET Live 2017 featured discussions with two high-profile companies driving the coffee category’s prodigious growth over the past year: Dave Burwick, president and CEO of Peet’s Coffee & Tea, and Greg Steltenpohl, co-founder and CEO of Califia Farms.

The first day of BevNET Live Winter 2017 in Santa Monica probed the coffee category for answers on how entrepreneurs can handle competitions and asked retailers and consultants about how they think ecommerce is changing the marketplace for beverage.

Episode 82 features an interview with Soylent co-founder John Coogan. We also speak with Olivia Ku, an influential food and lifestyle blogger and the creator of LoveHealthOK. And in this week’s edition of Elevator Talk, we chat it up with Shayne Malone, the founder and CEO of Zavu.

In this week’s episode of Taste Radio, we spoke with Hint Water founder/CEO Kara Goldin about how her experiences in tech helped shape the business strategy for the brand, which is nearing $100M in annual sales. We also speak with Billy Bosch, the co-founder/CEO of Iconic, who offered insight into lessons learned and key takeaways from his journey as an entrepreneur. And in the latest edition of Elevator Talk, we chat it up with Mikaela Ray, the Owner/CEO, of Mikaela’s. This episode is presented by Sovereign Flavors.

Califia Farms announced that nearly half of its product SKUs today are unsweetened or have no added sugar, and that it has reduced the sugar content across its product portfolio by 40% since 2015.