CPK accelerates growth strategy at retail by bringing California creativity to the salad dressing aisle

Costa Mesa, CA – California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), known for its innovative California-inspired menu, announced a new strategic retail partnership with Litehouse Inc., the leading refrigerated salad dressing brand in the U.S.*  The new partnership, designed to leverage growing consumer demand for creating restaurant-quality experiences in the home, will introduce a collection of new CPK-branded salad dressings inspired by the popular salads found on the brand’s in-restaurant menu.  Scheduled for early 2023, the salad dressing launch will include a range of new flavor varieties and lean heavily into CPK’s reputation for creativity, fresh ingredients, and unexpected combinations.

CPK and Litehouse recognize that restaurant brands bring immediate consumer familiarity, trust, and innovation credentials to retail categories that may need fresh thinking.  The CPK brand consistently ranks at or near the top for “Brand Image” and “Trend Setting” in the Technomic restaurant brand quarterly report, giving the new dressings partnership built-in momentum.

“Our guests tell us they want more of their favorite CPK items available to bring to their at-home meal experiences,” said Jim Hyatt, CEO and President of CPK.  “Our chefs make everything in-house from scratch daily, including our delicious salad dressings. Because we hold ourselves to the highest standards in quality and taste, it was important that our partner share the same exacting standards, and Litehouse is that perfect partner. We are proud to collaborate with a like-minded company to bring CPK dressings to the grocery store shelves for all the fans across the country who crave more than just our pizza.”

Recognized as a leader in refrigerated salad dressings, dips, sauces, cheese, and other innovative consumer packaged goods, Litehouse has made aggressive moves to expand its footprint into different sections of the grocery store, including center store.  The CPK partnership allows Litehouse to build on its deep 50+ year history as a leader in freshness and quality, continue expanding into center store, and give consumers and retailers more of what they want – fresh and creative new products that can shake up and reinvigorate traditional categories.

“The Litehouse name is synonymous with best-in-class flavors and product innovations in the dressings and dips categories, just as CPK is in the restaurant category, making this partnership a perfect match,” said Kelly Prior, CEO of Litehouse. “Our category expertise, culinary excellence, and manufacturing capabilities allow us to bring innovative new products to market on an efficient timeline, and we are thrilled to partner with CPK to bring its beloved restaurant dressing recipes to life at retail.”

CPK-branded salad dressings will be available in the salad dressing aisle at grocery retailers nationwide in early 2023.

Seltzer Licensing Group is CPK’s exclusive global licensing agency and facilitated this licensing partnership.

* IRI Total US MULO 8-7-2022

About California Pizza Kitchen

In 1985, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) opened its first restaurant in Beverly Hills and introduced diners to gourmet California inspired pizza. With a passion for combining fresh, seasonal ingredients with flavor inspirations from around the world, today CPK is a global brand serving creative California cuisine in more than 180 restaurants across 10 countries and U.S. territories.  From its innovative, hearth-baked pizzas such as The Original BBQ Chicken, Thai Chicken, and California Club, to inventive salads, and unique pasta dishes that combine the old world with the new, CPK does everything with an imaginative California-inspired twist that guests love.