KAHE Sparkling Nectar

Meet The Founders

PETER WALSH:

A native Californian, Peter is a self confessed foodie, loving to cook, BBQ, bake and sample all varieties of fine foods and beverages. As someone who has always been active and enjoys the outdoors and exercising he strives to strike a balance between the fine food he enjoys and a healthy balanced diet.

Peter attributes his love of cooking and fine foods to his mother Jane, who was an early taste tester, critic, advocate and cheerleader of KAHE Sparkling Nectars. “When everyone else was telling me I was crazy my mom was there to remind me to follow my instincts, her support and insight was invaluable.”

In 2006 Peter discovered that he had a severe allergy to Splenda and as he preferred to limit his sugar intake he began to search for an alternative sweetener that would not have the adverse affects of Splenda and was natural. After much research and testing he came across Stevia and Xylitol and these natural sweeteners became the sweeteners of choice in the house.

MELANIE CARROLL:

Born and raised in the North Island of New Zealand, Melanie moved to California in 2005, “I briefly visited California on vacation in 2004 with a friend and knew right away that I wanted to move there”.

Melanie likes to experiment with different foods and flavor combinations and is always on the lookout for new and unusual products to try. Of all the things Melanie loved about California one thing she could never find was a healthy soda or sparkling juice “I just found all the drinks to be overly sweet, I'm a big water drinker but sometimes you just want something fun.”

She also missed some of her favorite flavors from home, most notably Kiwifruit and Passionfruit. “I've had people tell me they don't like Kiwifruit and then try our drink and love it, they are so surprised by the flavor. I think it's partly because kiwifruit is usually mixed in with other juices and this can cause the true flavor to be lost, we really wanted the full flavor of a ripe kiwifruit to shine.”

A GREAT TEAM:

Peter and Melanie met in 2005 through mutual friends. They were both tired of the sameness of all the drinks on the grocery shelves, juices and sodas loaded with sugar, or zero-calorie versions packed with artificial ingredients or the superhero drinks packed full of every vitamin under the sun. “We wanted something simple, flavorful, refreshing and unique that you could feel good about drinking”.

Giving up on the search for a fun, tasty and healthy beverage, they decided to make their own and began experimenting with various flavors and juices in their small cottage kitchen in Atherton. They settled on three distinct flavors, Bing Cherry, Passion Fruit and Kiwifruit (made with juices from kiwifruit grown in Melanie's hometown).

The duo discovered that the fruits produced an amazing flavor without artificial ingredients or sugar — just Stevia and Xylitol, unique natural sweeteners no other juice-based beverage on the market uses. The finished product, KAHE Sparkling Nectars, is all-natural and low in calories.

Friends and family encouraged the couple to try their hand at selling the sparkling beverages, so Peter approached Sigona’s Farmers Market specialty foods buyer, John Nava. When trying KAHE Sparkling Nectars for the first time, Nava said the Bing Cherry beverage smelled just like a box of cherries. Following this successful taste test, Peter began working on production for retail sales. 

“I like to think of this as a ‘local boy hits the jackpot in his own backyard’ type of story,” said Nava. “We were able to give them a healthy start, and now KAHE has really taken off!”

KAHE Sparkling Nectars officially launched in 2009 and the founders pride themselves on using only the finest natural, GMO free and organic ingredients available. The beverages are all natural and free of any artificial ingredients. They are also produced in a Kosher facility and are tunnel pasteurized to ensure their integrity and safety.

Peter and Melanie wanted to produce great tasting, healthy and refreshing beverages, something that the whole family can enjoy and that parents can feel good about giving to their children and they look forward to sharing them with you.