California Pizza Kitchen and FiveStar Gourmet Foods Announce Strategic Partnership, Debuting Premium Salad Lines for Retail and Foodservice Channels

COSTA MESA & LOS ANGELES, CA - California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), the iconic restaurant brand that revolutionized pizza, in partnership with FiveStar Gourmet Foods, North America’s largest producer of fresh single-serve foods, today announced the launch of a premium collection of CPK-inspired salad kits and single-serve salads. The first CPK fresh retail products are expected to launch nationwide in 2027, with broader distribution and additional innovation planned as the partnership grows.

The collaboration taps CPK’s long-standing legacy of culinary innovation in pizzas, pastas, and salads along with FiveStar’s expertise in premium fresh food to upgrade grocery's refrigerated salads section, giving shoppers high-quality, exciting, and affordable options in fresh foods.

“Salads have been a cornerstone of CPK since the beginning, from our BBQ Chicken Chopped to our Thai Crunch,” said Michael Beacham, President of California Pizza Kitchen Global. “Bringing that creativity, bold flavor, and California approach to the fresh aisle is a natural next step, and FiveStar Gourmet Foods is the right partner to help us deliver the quality our guests expect, wherever they find us.”

Restaurant Credibility Meets Retail Scale

FiveStar Gourmet Foods, creator of Simply Fresh, brings nearly three decades of fresh-food expertise, national manufacturing capabilities, and large-scale retail execution to the partnership.

“This category doesn’t need another ordinary salad,” said Tal Shoshan, Founder and CEO of FiveStar Gourmet Foods. “Retailers need products that give consumers a reason to come back with excitement and confidence. CPK brings something very different: a loved restaurant brand known for delicious, creative food.”

"We started with the salads our guests already love and worked with FiveStar to translate them for the fresh aisle," said Paul Pszybylski, Executive Chef and Vice President of Culinary Innovation at California Pizza Kitchen. "The goal is simple: when you open one at home, it should taste like something you'd order at our table."

The new CPK collection will feature restaurant-inspired recipes, elevated ingredients, and bold California flavors designed to differentiate at shelf and rebuild excitement in the fresh salad category. Products will be produced by FiveStar and feature the CPK brand alongside “Crafted by Simply Fresh.”

Beyond Salads: A Platform for Growth

While launching with salads, the partnership is designed for expansion. CPK and FiveStar plan to explore additional opportunities across refrigerated prepared foods, dressings, and other categories as they build a broader retail platform together.

The strategy complements CPK’s plan announced earlier this year to expand its frozen offerings beyond signature pizzas and into appetizers and entrees inspired by its restaurant menu. The brand is also expanding into non-traditional channels through the deployment of up to 1,000 automated retail kiosks nationwide over the next three years, expanding the brand into airports, universities, hospitals, and other high-traffic locations.

“When we began looking at the right strategic partner for CPK, FiveStar stood out for reasons that went well beyond manufacturing,” said Cory M. Baker, Founder and Managing Partner of Consortium Brand Partners. “Tal has built an organization with the infrastructure of a major national prepared foods company while retaining the speed, creativity, and entrepreneurial mindset that built the business. That combination is rare, and it gives us tremendous confidence in what we can build together.”