California Pizza Kitchen will launch refrigerated salad kits and ready-to-eat salads nationally next year, its third retail expansion announced since new owners took over late last year.

The full-service pizza chain is partnering with FiveStar Gourmet Foods, a leading producer of single-serve salads, to move beyond the frozen aisle where it has sold pizzas since 1999. The initial lineup will include menu staples like the BBQ Chicken Chopped and Thai Crunch salads.

Prices will be "premium yet accessible" and competitive with other premium fresh salads, CPK Global president Michael Beacham said in an email interview.

What is driving the retail push?

Consortium Brand Partners acquired CPK late last year and has made grocery a strategic priority. The chain has moved quickly:

• March: CPK announced frozen appetizers and entrees for retail starting in 2027, plus expansion of frozen pizzas into new international markets.
• August: The chain committed to up to 1,000 automated pizza kiosks in nontraditional locations like airports over the next three years.
• October: The FiveStar salad partnership, with a nationwide launch scheduled for next year.

The full salad lineup and participating retailers will be announced closer to launch. That timing matters. Fresh salads carry shorter shelf life and tighter cold-chain logistics than frozen pizza, so national distribution depends on FiveStar's production network.

The economics favor CPK here. CPK's culinary team developed the recipes, then worked with FiveStar to source ingredients and validate production at national scale. FiveStar carries the manufacturing burden. CPK contributes the brand and the menu intellectual property.

Where will the salads be sold?

Not just supermarkets. Beacham said FiveStar's foodservice relationships open channels beyond grocery. "Fresh salads are the natural next step," he said. "They put CPK in the refrigerated aisle and, through FiveStar's foodservice relationships, into places like corporate dining, campuses, and healthcare facilities."

That channel mix — retail refrigerated cases plus institutional foodservice — mirrors how single-serve salad producers typically scale volume. It also positions CPK against established fresh-salad brands already in those coolers.

The company frames the salads as brand reinforcement rather than a standalone revenue line. The products will be cross-promoted in CPK restaurants and to members of its loyalty program. The stated goal is to drive grocery shoppers toward the restaurants and restaurant guests toward the grocery aisle.

What comes next?

More refrigerated products. Beacham said CPK plans to explore refrigerated prepared foods, salad dressings, and additional items with FiveStar. The salad launch, in other words, is a test case for a broader fresh platform.

CPK's retail history gives it a long runway. The Kraft Foods frozen pizza partnership dates to 1999, when retail licensing was a side business for full-service chains. Under Consortium Brand Partners, it has become a core growth strategy, with the kiosk program extending the brand into airports and other nontraditional venues.

The open question is execution. Premium fresh salads live or die on ingredient sourcing, shelf life, and slotting in crowded refrigerated cases. FiveStar handles the first two. The third depends on how much retailers believe the CPK name moves salad.

Expect the dressings and prepared foods announcements within the year if the salad rollout stays on schedule.