California’s Califia Farms, a leading brand in the premium plant-based beverage market, has acquired the New York-based company Uproot Inc., which specializes in plant-based milk and dispensing solutions for foodservice operations.
The acquisition will help Califa Farms expand its product and service offerings in the “Away From Home” market. The team from Uproot, including the founders, will join the Californian company.
“Together with Califia Farms, we will be able to offer more delightful, dispensed plant-based products”
Kevin Eve and Jacob Conway founded Uproot to provide healthy plant-based beverages alongside sustainable packaging solutions. They created the “plantmilk” dispensing program to offer a complete service from product formulation and distribution to high-volume liters for cafeterias. Uproot’s machines, packed with oat, soy, and pea milk in chocolate flavor, are operational on over 150 college and university campuses and other dining locations.
Kevin Eve shares, “We are excited to continue this mission with Califia Farms because they share our commitment to nutrition and sustainability. Together with Califia Farms, we will be able to offer more delightful, dispensed plant-based products and better serve our customers!”
A turnkey solution for plant-based milk
Headquartered in Los Angeles and founded in 2010, Califia Farms produces various plant-based dairy and creamers and has a significant presence in the US and international markets. Recently, it expanded its product lineup by introducing Complete Kids, a plant-based milk explicitly designed for children.
According to a report by Brainy Insights, the global plant-based milk market is projected to be worth $51.87 billion by 2032, up from $20 billion in 2022. Despite the many players in this flourishing category, there are only a few sustainable packaging offers for plant-based milk.
UK brands MIGHTY and Overherd have introduced oat milk powders to ditch the cartons, and Blue Farm has launched a unique product: Beetroot Oat Latte in powdered form.
In another completely different solution, the German company Veganz has developed 2D-printed oat milk, where each A4 sheet produces 1 liter of milk. The original product has already secured a listing with the popular supermarket Rewe.
Dave Ritterbush, CEO of Califia Farms, shares, “The founders of Uproot have developed a turnkey solution for dispensing plant-based milk and have achieved impressive distribution in just five years. We look forward to building on this foundation, connecting with consumers in new ways, and providing our plant milks to more people.”
