KeVita expands national presence

KeVita® Sparkling Probiotic Drink is proud to announce its expansion of national operations with three new hires and newly developed headquarters in Southern California. Recently named one of the 25 Most Innovative Consumer and Retail Brands by Forbes, KeVita increased its sales force and manufacturing space in response to the surge in demand for its signature sparkling probiotic drinks. 
 
KeVita has appointed three distinguished executives to its sales team including Brett Lanford as  director of sales, Rich Lust as director of sales and Tim Arneson as senior vice president of sales. 
 
“We hired the country’s most knowledgeable experts in the functional beverage space,” said KeVita CEO and cofounder Bill Moses. “Combining their expertise and experience with KeVita’s handcrafted probiotic culture will give us a competitive advantage and is setting us up for future growth.  We’re also excited about our new headquarters and overall expansion.  This will keep us primed for growth in the coming years.” 
 
As the new senior director of sales, Lanford will oversee KeVita’s sales and distribution strategies in the West. Prior to joining KeVita, Lanford was the director of sales at Odwalla, where he was the primary liaison between The Coca-Cola Co. and the Whole Foods Market Global Team. 
 
With over 20 years of sales experience, Lust will spearhead KeVita’s eastern sales division. Known for his depth of experience in the food and beverage space—working PepsiCo and AQUAhydrate—Lust has built a strong reputation in the industry as a strong and effective strategist. At PepsiCo, he won several awards including four time “Fast, Focuses and First”, “Ring of Honor” and “All Star NFL Pro Bowl” awards. 
 
As sales vice president, Arneson will oversee KeVita’s sales efforts. With over 26 years of experience, Arneson will work with distributors to drive sales across the United States. Throughout his career, Arneson has traveled extensively nationwide representing top brands in the food and beverage industry such as Naked, Pepsico, Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade. His extensive background and training and sales are what power him and his team toward success. 
 
In addition to hiring new team members, KeVita has moved to a new, larger facility at 2220 Celsius Avenue, Suite A, Oxnard, Calif. 93030. At more than 20,000 square feet, KeVita’s new facility is home to the company’s executive, marketing, sales, customer service, operations and accounting offices. The headquarters features KeVita’s state-of-the-art production line, quality assurance laboratory, research and development laboratory, loading docks and on-site cold storage.
 
“Ventura County is a thriving business community and we are thrilled to move to a more centrally-located area,” said Moses. “By doubling the square footage of KeVita’s manufacturing facility, it will allow us to meet rising demand for our probiotic drinks on a local and national level.”
 
KeVita is handcrafted in its own certified organic facility and is kept cold from start to finish. Featuring a handcrafted probiotic culture with four strains of live probiotics, it offers a wide variety of certified organic flavors such as Mojita™ , Lemon Cayenne Daily Cleanse™, Coconut, Mango Coconut, Strawberry Acai Coconut, Pomegranate Coconut, Lemon Ginger, Pomegranate and Living Greens™.
 
Among the growing trend of cultured and fermented foods, KeVita’s popularity is largely due to its lightly refreshing fermented taste, which differs from the acidic taste of kombucha. KeVita is a certified organic, low calorie sparkling probiotic drink that is vegan, dairy free, gluten free and non-GMO.