News of the Opening Comes One Month After the Brand Raised $67 Million
By Zach Armstrong
Amid ambitious U.S. growth, Brazilian açaí company Oakberry will soon open a second Santa Monica location along Montana Avenue. The shop will be one of at least eight locations established in the Los Angeles area by the bowl & smoothie franchise.
Announcement of the upcoming shop was made via a vacant storefront painted over with the brand’s logo. Its location is 705 and 707 Montana Ave.; less than two-and-a-half miles from its initial Santa Monica outpost at 3032 WIlshire Blvd. and less than four miles from its Venice Beach spot at 1432 S Abbot Kinney Blvd.
Founded in 2016, Oakberry is a quick-service superfood brand offering açaí bowls and smoothies served with customizable toppings. According to the brand, ingredients are sustainably sourced from Brazil’s Amazon Rainforest, rich in antioxidants and organic with no high fructose corn syrup or artificial colors. In addition to its smoothie and bowl options (which customers can customize with as many as three toppings), the brand serves snacks and drinks such as its açaí coconut bar or its passion fruit drink “Oakombucha”.
News of the opening comes one month after the açaí brand raised $67 million through funds managed by Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual; the largest investment Latin American bank, according to a news release. Those funds are primarily being used to accelerate the franchise’s global expansion strategy, specifically in the U.S. market. Other L.A. Oakberry locations include those in Downtown, Century City, Silverlake and Playa Vista.
According to What Now Los Angeles, the new Santa Monica store is expected to open by May. Additional stores in Larchmont, Sherman Oaks, Culver City, West Lake and Hollywood should open by the end of this year.
