Oliver Trevena, co-founder with Vanessa Hudgens of Caliwater, was at ExpoWest 2024 to promote the cactus water brand. He spoke with The Shelby Report’s Bob Reeves about the origins of the healthy water product.
Trevena said Caliwater has half the calories and half the sugar of coconut water and more health benefits. He added it is a fully sustainable brand.
Trevena said he is involved in the health and wellness space and always tries to eat healthy. When some blood work showed high sugar levels, he realized it was due to his coconut water intake. “Just by drinking two or three coconut waters a day, I was doing around 70 grams of sugar.”
This realization led him to seek an alternative with the same or better health benefits but less sugar. Trevena said the solution was in the prickly pear cactus.
Caliwater is sold in cans, with four flavors, but Trevena said they were introducing their new line of kids pouches at ExpoWest.
“That’s fronted by Vanessa Hudgens, Roselyn Sanchez, Nikki Reed and Brooke Burke, all incredible mums. Vanessa Hudgens is a mum to be … They’re investors. We have some amazing people involved in this brand because I think once you taste it, it tastes amazing. It’s non-carbonated, it’s good for you, incredible hydration, immunity, digestion, skin benefits. The prickly pear is like a super fruit that no one really tapped into.”
Trevena said he and Hudgens created the brand and are very hands-on with “every single component from the design to the team. It’s our brand. It’s our baby.”
When the brand launched, Trevena and Hudgens wanted to donate part of the proceeds from the business to charity. He said he attended Olive Crest’s annual gala last year and met Cher Cech, grocery sales manager at Albertsons, who introduced him to the Olive Crest Foundation.
The donated proceeds support Olive Crest’s mission of “preventing child abuse by strengthening, equipping and restoring children and families in crisis … One Life at a Time.”
Through its national cause marketing campaign, Child Abuse Stops Here Network, a portion of the proceeds from Caliwater’s kid pouches will raise awareness and funds to help stop child abuse.
“What Olive Crest does for families and children … is truly second to none,” Trevena said. “We stand by that, and we want to raise money.”
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