Last updated on March 25th, 2021
On the heels of other recent west coast expansions, Riff Cold Brewed now is available throughout Northern California as part of a new partnership with United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI).
“We couldn’t be more excited to enter California. It’s the home state for three of Riff’s co-founders,” said Steve Barham, Riff’s co-founder and president. “It feels like a homecoming.”
California is the second expansion state for Riff recently. In April, Riff announced availability throughout the state of Arizona.
Some of the retailers participating in Riff’s Bay Area launch include Bi-Rite Market, Berkeley Bowl, The Market and Sigonas’ Farmers Market.
Sam Mogannam, founder of the Bi-Rite, first tasted Riff at San Francisco’s Good Food Mercantile in January.
“I was very impressed, from the very first sip,” Mogannam said. “Celebrating the natural flavors already available in the coffee bean was something that appealed to me as a chef. Our customers will appreciate Riff’s artisanal approach, as well as the transparency offered regarding caffeine levels and empowering them to choose what’s right for them.”
The initial phase of Riff’s UNFI partnership provides availability via two west coast distribution centers. UNFI’s Rocklin Distribution Center will serve customers in Northern California, while their Ridgefield Distribution Center will serve customers in Southern Washington and Oregon.
As part of the partnership launch, Riff will be presenting at UNFI’s Autumn Buying Showcase May 8-9 at the Long Beach Convention Center. Riff’s ready-to-drink cold brewed coffees are available in 10.5-oz. bottles, 20-L kegs (nitro and regular) and 96-oz. bag-in-box formats.
Flavors include: Off The Cuff, an artisanal cold brewed coffee with natural notes of dark chocolate and toffee; Paint The Town, an artisanal cold brewed coffee with natural notes of bing cherry and blueberrie; Arm In Arm, an artisanal cold brewed coffee with notes of red berry and stonefruit; and Southpaw, an artisanal cold brewed coffee with natural notes of cocoa nibs and nougat, and half the caffeine.
Each of Riff’s cold brewed coffee varieties is made with only two ingredients—fine artisanal coffee and fresh Cascade Mountain water.
Riff is Paul Evers, co-founder of Crux Fermentation Project; Nate Armbrust, former head of product development and cold brew operations at Stumptown; Steve Barham, former senior director at LinkedIn; and Bobby Evers and Kevin Smyth, both with deep experience in craft beer branding and operations.
