California Pizza Kitchen and Litehouse Inc. Release Five New Salad Dressing Flavors, Making a Bold Entry into the Shelf Stable Category

Designed to bottle up CPK’s heritage and embrace restaurant-style flavors, the new dressings elevate at-home meals

COSTA MESA, Calif., May 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) has teamed up with Litehouse Inc. to launch a new line of salad dressings. Each of the five restaurant-style flavors embodies the CPK spirit of creativity and freshness, along with the California-inspired twist that fans love. To complement the launch of these new dressings, CPK is also introducing a suite of restaurant-inspired recipes to help elevate at-home meals throughout summer.

“We are thrilled to partner with Litehouse on CPK’s expansion into at home salad dressings,” said Scott Hargrove, Executive Vice President and CMO at CPK. “We both recognized that the shelf stable dressings category had become a bit stodgy and were excited to inject some fun and CPK “California creativity” – reimagined flavors, fresh restaurant quality taste, and a confidence to do things differently. We can’t wait to see the CPK brand come to life in the dressings retail experience.”

The Five New Flavors Include:

1. Thai Dressing: Inspired by CPK’s popular Thai Crunch Salad, this dressing bursts with savory peanut flavor that provides a perfect pairing for a salad or seafood.
2. Caesar Dressing: This reimagined version of a traditional Caesar features elevated flavors like Parmesan and Romano cheeses, for a bona fide restaurant experience in a bottle. 
3. Ranch Dressing: This delectable dressing with rich, herb flavors plays on the famous CPK restaurant-worthy taste, and pairs perfectly with a cobb salad.
4. Italian Dressing: A bright, citrus flavor with the perfect amount of sweet tang, CPK’s Italian dressing drizzled on top of crisp, fresh veggies are a match made in culinary heaven.
5. BBQ Ranch Dressing: Drawing inspiration from CPK’s legendary BBQ Chicken Chopped Salad, the savory, sweet and smoky flavor combination of this dressing makes every bite an experience. This innovative take on ranch also pairs perfectly with wings or pizza.

“The Litehouse name is known for its product innovation, freshness and quality which makes it the perfect pairing for California Pizza Kitchen’s bold flavors,” said Paul Hemingway, Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Litehouse, Inc. “We have bottled up the best of the best this summer to help consumers put a new spin on their favorite seasonal dishes and recipes.”

CPK’s new salad dressings are available at grocery retailers nationwide including Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Food Lion, HEB, and other retailers across the United States with an SRP of $4.49. For more inspiration about how to elevate your meals at home with new CPK salad dressings, visit: CPKatHome.com.

About California Pizza Kitchen 
In 1985, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) opened its first restaurant in Beverly Hills and introduced diners to gourmet California inspired pizza. With a passion for combining fresh, seasonal ingredients with flavor inspirations from around the world, today CPK is a global brand serving creative California cuisine in more than 180 restaurants across 10 countries and U.S. territories. From its innovative, hearth-baked pizzas such as The Original BBQ Chicken, Thai Chicken, and California Club, to inventive salads, and unique pasta dishes that combine the old world with the new, CPK does everything with an imaginative California-inspired twist that guests love. 

About Litehouse Inc.
Litehouse Inc. started in the Hope, Idaho restaurant of the Hawkins family 60 years ago. Since then, it has become a leader in refrigerated salad dressings, dips, sauces, cheese, and other innovative consumer packaged goods, manufacturing these delicious products at its five U.S. facilities based in Idaho, Michigan, Utah, and Virginia. The diverse portfolio of Litehouse Inc. brands includes Litehouse, Sky Valley, Organicville, Veggiecraft Farms, Green Garden, and now, California Pizza Kitchen, with products available through general retail, e-commerce, foodservice, deli, member stores, and value-added goods, including meal and salad kits. Litehouse is proud to be 100% employee-owned, and each one of the employee-owners delivers on high standards of quality and innovation. For more information, visit www.litehousefoods.com. 

SOURCE Litehouse