California Pizza Kitchen and FiveStar Gourmet Foods Bring Restaurant-Inspired Salads to Retail; Michael Beacham and Tal Shoshan Share

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA - If there's one thing I've learned from walking the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) Global Produce & Floral Show floor, it's that resisting the temptation to snack is no easy feat. As a general rule, I try to pace myself. But sitting down with Michael Beacham, President of California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), and Tal Shoshan, Founder and CEO of FiveStar Gourmet Foods, made that rule particularly difficult to follow.

"When people come into our restaurants, the number one thing we sell is salads," Michael told me. Now, that's not exactly what I expected to hear from the president of a company with pizza in its name!

But sitting amid the live pizza kitchens and an impressive assortment of packaged salads at the booth, I could see exactly why the combination was generating so much excitement. And with samples practically calling my name, sticking to my usual show-floor restraint was becoming increasingly difficult.

As I learned during our conversation, the partnership between CPK and FiveStar's Simply Fresh brand is about much more than bringing another salad to grocery shelves. It's about translating a beloved restaurant experience into a premium retail offering.

Bringing a Restaurant Favorite to the Grocery Aisle

"CPK, it's a 41-year-old brand," Michael explained. "And it was built on innovation and that California, better-for-you ethos."

California Pizza Kitchen has maintained a presence in the frozen pizza aisle for approximately 25 years. However, despite the popularity of its restaurant salads, the company had never introduced a comparable retail offering.

According to Michael, the reason was simple: CPK hadn't found the right partner.

"For all that time, we did not have the right partner that we knew was going to take our brand and everything that's important to us with it and execute it in a way we'd be proud of," he explained. That changed with FiveStar Gourmet Foods and Simply Fresh.

For Tal, the partnership was equally compelling. "I'm a huge fan of the restaurant, the brand, the food," he shared.

Beyond his personal appreciation for CPK, Tal saw an opportunity to bring the restaurant's quality and flavors to consumers nationwide.

"We have the capabilities, we have the know-how," he explained. "So, I have the confidence that if they show us the product exactly the way that they do it in the restaurant, we know how to make it on a large scale."

The goal is to deliver an experience that feels familiar to CPK restaurant guests while introducing the brand's salads to shoppers in the grocery aisle. And for someone sitting between pizza kitchens and packaged salads, the concept certainly made sense.

Premium Quality Takes Center Stage

Throughout our conversation, one word kept coming up: quality. Michael emphasized that California Pizza Kitchen's reputation is built on offering distinctive, globally inspired flavors rather than conventional menu options. That commitment, he explained, was central to choosing the right retail partner.

"We wanted a premium offering that made our consumers know that when they bought this, it's going to be the same as what comes to the table on a plate in a restaurant," Michael told me.

For CPK, that means maintaining the ingredients, freshness, quality, and portions consumers associate with its restaurants. The company wasn't interested in simply putting its logo on another packaged salad. Instead, the partnership was designed to create a premium retail offering that reflects the brand's identity.

As Michael explained, consumers already recognize CPK for its salads, giving the company an established connection to the category. FiveStar's production capabilities, meanwhile, provide the foundation to bring that restaurant-inspired experience to a broader audience.

And while the flavors certainly caught my attention, the bigger story is what this collaboration could mean for the retail salad category.

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