Alt Milk and Cold Brew Maker Califia Farms Closes $225 Million Round

Along with other existing alternative milk purveyors such as Pacific Foods and Oatly, Califia Farms is one of only a few companies pitching alternative milk products specifically for the coffee sector. Press photo by Califia Farms.

Los Angeles-based Califia Farms has completed a $225 million funding round, representing one of the largest capital investments in the history of the branded natural foods segment, and certainly the largest surrounding the categories of plant-based milks and packaged cold brew.

Approaching 10 years in business, Califia Farms has steadily expanded its coffee-related offerings — both wholesale and direct-to-consumer — over the years, from almond milk and a bottled cold brew concentrate to, most recently, a line of canned nitro oat milk lattes.

The company has also delved deeper into coffee sourcing through various partnerships in Latin America and with U.S. roasters.

The Califia Farms Nitro Latte with Oatmilk line, released last September. Press photo.

The $225 million funding round has been led by the state-owned Qatar Investment Authority, with other investors including the Singapore-based investment company Temasek, Canada-based Claridge, and what the company described only as “a Latin America-based family with significant interest in coffee and consumer products.”

The investor group is taking a minority stake in Califia Farms, while representatives from QIA, Temasek and Claridge are joining the company’s board. The $225 million funding round represents a series D, following other rounds involving existing investors such as Sun Pacific, Stripes and Ambrosia Investments, all of whom contributed to a $50 million funding round for Califia Farms in 2018.