The LTO Play

De La Calle, the LOAF Brands–affiliated tepache label rooted in Mexican heritage, is pushing a limited-edition Spiced Pineapple Tepache into more than 8,000 retail doors nationally — including Whole Foods Market — timed to Día de los Muertos. The seasonal can, brewed through the brand's traditional fermentation process, represents the brand's most culturally anchored product launch to date and signals how better-for-you fermented beverages are leaning into holiday LTO strategy to drive velocity at shelf.

Cultural Positioning and Distribution

For the non-alcoholic beverage segment, limited-time offerings tied to cultural holidays have emerged as a reliable traffic and trial driver, particularly in natural and specialty grocery channels where De La Calle has built its retail footprint. The Spiced Pineapple SKU delivers a tangy, effervescent profile consistent with traditional tepache preparation — fermented pineapple rind and piloncillo — and extends that base with warm spice notes calibrated for fall-season consumption. Co-Founder Alex Matthews framed the release around the holiday's communal character: "Spiced Pineapple Tepache is a tribute to where the brand comes from, brewed the traditional way and made to be shared at the ofrenda, the block party, and everywhere in between."

For foodservice and retail buyers, the distribution breadth is notable. Reaching 8,000-plus locations with a limited run requires meaningful supply chain coordination — a signal that De La Calle has matured its logistics infrastructure well beyond the specialty-set stage. The Whole Foods alignment in particular positions the SKU alongside a growing shelf set of fermented and functional beverages competing for the same health-conscious, culturally curious consumer.

Broader Campaign and Outlook

De La Calle is pairing the can release with community and cultural programming planned throughout the Día de los Muertos season. That experiential layer — connecting point-of-sale with live activation — mirrors tactics used by larger NAB players to sustain LTO momentum beyond the initial shelf placement window and convert trial into repeat purchase. For operators sourcing specialty beverages for catering, hospitality, or on-premise menus, seasonal tepache offers a differentiated, lower-ABV pour that aligns with the continued consumer shift toward functional and fermented non-alcoholic options.

The tepache category remains nascent relative to kombucha and hard seltzer, but De La Calle's retail scale and cultural specificity give it a defensible position. As better-for-you beverage brands compete for incremental facings heading into Q4, a tightly scoped LTO tied to a high-engagement cultural moment is a lower-risk way to test new flavor platforms without cannibalizing core SKUs. Availability is live now online and in-store wherever De La Calle is stocked; the Spiced Pineapple variant is offered for a limited time only.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.