00:00I am curious, though, as how you've managed to stand out, given that we've seen a lot of other players
00:04already come and go in this space, if you will.
00:08Yeah, Romain, thanks for having me, first of all.
00:11You know, I think Calafia has really always been the one defining what I'm going to call the premium.
00:17And premium in our space really means both a combination of nutrition and 10.
00:22I think we keep redefining that.
00:23So what's driving our growth today is our simple and organic lines.
00:26It's about meeting the consumer where they're heading, right?
00:29Transparency and ingredients give me the fewest possible things, but, boy, make it taste better than it even did before.
00:35And that's what we've cracked the code on.
00:36And that's really been the catalyst for our growth this year and really for the last few years.
00:41I am curious, though, I mean, given your background in the food industry, how important has it been to sort
00:46of leverage relationships with the grocery stores, with the distributors to make sure that your name is front and center?
00:54Yeah, I've always operated in a principle that's a three-legged stool, right?
00:57We have to be there for the consumer.
01:00We have to be a partner to the retailer.
01:02And we have to do what's right for our company.
01:04And so relationships are critical, right?
01:06The retailers are our access point to the consumer.
01:09It's how we show up.
01:10It's how people find us.
01:12And so we're constantly working with them to bring them innovation, to bring them things that make it exciting to
01:17go to the store.
01:18I mean, not sound it, maybe just for a guy like me who loves going to the grocery store, but
01:22we want to make that experience joyful.
01:24We want to make solutions available, and we want to create new opportunities for usage.
01:28You love going to the grocery store?
01:30I know.
01:31It's like you and my wife are like the only two people.
01:33Don't take a family cup of coffee.
01:35I actually love going to the grocery store, too.
01:37But my husband does all the heavy-duty shopping.
01:39I'm just there for the ride.
01:41But, Dave, we've learned in the past, you know, decade or so that you can make milk out of a
01:46lot of different things.
01:47I mean, Romaine mentioned a few of them when it comes to oat milk.
01:50You have almond milk, all sorts of milks out there.
01:53Have you noticed a trend in sort of which of your products in terms of alternative milks are the most
01:59popular?
02:00Yeah, so if you look at it, for literally the last 15, 20 years, almond milk is the king.
02:05So about half of all alternative beverages are consumed or almond milk.
02:09The next largest is oat.
02:11Then you get the coconut and soy.
02:13So it's really less dynamic than you might read about.
02:16I mean, all the press was very much behind oat milk just a few years ago.
02:20But really, we still see that.
02:22And what we generally see is different plant milks give you different experiences, which is why we carry a portfolio,
02:28because some are maybe more rich and creamy.
02:31Something like almond milk, very low in calorie, no sugar, very healthful product to add to maybe smoothies and cereals.
02:37So we carry a range because there's a range of needs and usage occasions out there.
02:42It's interesting to hear that almond milk is still king, because I remember a couple of years ago, almonds are
02:48having a little bit of a PR nightmare when it comes to their environmental impact.
02:52You know, the allegations that they're very tough on the environment in terms of how much water they need.
02:58And, I mean, it sounds, again, listening to what you're saying, that maybe it's moved past that a little bit.
03:05Well, it always depends on what we compare it to, right?
03:07So if you compare almond milk to, let's say, traditional cow's milk, you're still using one-third the water.
03:13Because you just think about the cycle.
03:14You've got to row things for the cow to eat things, for the cow to drink water, just to get
03:19milk.
03:19So it's vastly more efficient from a carbon emission standpoint, from a water use, and from a land use.
03:26Still, you know, it's like I said, it's one-third of what a cow's milk is.
03:29If you compare it to, let's say, our oat milk, yes, it uses a bit more water than oat milk.
03:34But all of these are vast improvements on environmental footprints compared to traditional dairy.
03:39I am curious, though.
03:40I mean, when I look at your product line, I mean, there does seem to be, you do seem to
03:43have a very specific focus using almond,
03:46and whether it's for the milk themselves or for the other products as a base.
03:49Obviously, I see coconut as well.
03:51Has there been discussion about branching out to other types of nuts?
03:55I know you say almond is king, but, I mean, I've tried a few, like, you know, cashew milk, which
04:00was tasty,
04:00macadamia nuts, which I didn't really taste the difference.
04:03But, you know, I mean, you want a variety and maybe just be able to sample different things.
04:07Yeah, I mean, we're kind of plant agnostic, we say here.
04:11We try to explore all kinds of the different benefits.
04:14We have a cashew milk, right, from that standpoint.
04:16We have worked with pistachio milk.
04:19So I think what's always the intersection of what is the benefit that that particular ingredient brings to consumers
04:24from both an experience and a nutrition standpoint.
04:27But we're always looking at different things, working with proteins like a pea protein, et cetera.
04:32So all those are finding their ways in our products, all with the goal of making them delicious
04:37and candidly a nutritious beverage for people.
04:40So what's next?
04:41I mean, what is the next new milk?
04:43It sounds like, again, we've made milk out of just about everything, but maybe I'm being unimaginative.
04:49Well, I don't know about that, but I think what we're really trying to do is always make our products
04:53more nutritious.
04:54So if you start to think about where things might go, you might start to see plant-based
04:58really expressing more opportunities across protein.
05:02Plants are a great source of fiber.
05:03If we think about one of the things that doesn't work well in the American diet is enough fiber.
05:07These are natural ways for us to be able to incorporate into our products.
05:10So our goal is always to make them more nutritious without compromising the irresistible taste.
05:15Well, now we're in the next video.
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