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On August 17th, we celebrated the opening of Boisson’s first ever brick-and-mortar store on the West Coast, located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Focusing on LA as the next city during our expansion felt like a natural progression and obvious choice—it’s often seen as the world capital of wellness today, and rightly so – its every zip code has a farmer’s market, if not two, all types of fitness studios, and a plethora of healthy dining venues catering to every dietary restriction. Yet, the demand for non-alcoholic beverage alternatives, however, was underserved and we are honored to rise to that need and become part of LA's landscape.
Boisson aims to deliver a local experience to our customers, both by embracing the vibe of the neighborhood and by selling local products. We carry a variety of California-based brands such as bonbuz, hiyo, and Ghia among others, and opening a location in LA helps strengthen our relationship with our West Coast brands. We’re adamant that working closely with local businesses will have a positive impact on both the LA community and our professional evolution as a brand.
Speaking of partnerships, another big part of our decision lies in our partnership with Connect Ventures, specifically the Beverly Hills-based Creative Artists Agency (CAA). With the support from our investors and access to their unmatched resources and insight, we are confident that this proximity would help us scale and grow further, solving as many customer needs along this journey as possible.
Made in Los Angeles, for Los Angeles
In our goal to focus on communities, we analyzed the needs of our customers and carefully picked Brentwood, Beverly Hills, and Studio City as starting points for our California expansion.
Brentwood already had a lot to offer to its residents with its elegant, relaxed atmosphere; trendy, health-conscious restaurants; and the overall focus on wellness, so opening our first location there seemed like an amazing choice and a great opportunity to further enhance the area’s offerings. "We chose Brentwood because that particular neighborhood most closely resembles the neighborhoods of Cobble Hill & Upper West Side in New York City. The opportunity to be right in the heart of Brentwood on San Vicente Blvd has been a dream for visibility and convenience,” – explained Barrie Arnold, Co-Founder and President at Boisson.
Looking ahead, our next two locations will cater to the residents of Studio City and Beverly Hills neighborhoods, with Beverly Hills being our flagship location in LA. With food & drinks space being a huge part of the Studio City’s cultural scene, we picked the city’s famous Ventura Boulevard as our next destination, so residents looking to unwind after exploring the countless locally-owned eateries of the neighborhood could as well enjoy a fabulous non-alcoholic drink after. Whereas the Beverly Hills store, located in the renowned Golden Triangle, will offer lots of foot traffic in a luxury part of the city, becoming a nod to our premium lifestyle sensibility.
Design: From Functional to Inspiring
From the design perspective, one of our biggest goals was to reflect the departure from ‘functional’ to ‘inspiring,’ while making sure that we fit organically into the vibe and landscape of the neighborhoods we chose. “We didn’t want to look like some DTC brand trying to ‘disrupt’ a neighborhood. Our store should feel fresh but not obtrusive; a high-touch shopping experience that sparks curiosity but still feels familiar,” said Karimah Gottschalck, Chief Brand Officer at Boisson.
Working with Studio Paul Chan—the LA-based architect firm behind the new Boisson locations in California—we were able to refresh our take on the NYC locations while still remaining recognizable and staying true to our brand values. We applied our new branding and color palette to the design, enriching our signature emerald-green and linen palette with chartreuse and rosé. To create a sense of welcoming warmth and timeless sophistication, we used cherry hardwood, blush-stained flooring, and environmentally-friendly limewash paint known for its nuanced texture that creates an artisanal, yet elegant and homey feel.
Even in details, we wanted to think local: instead of ordering the paint from overseas, we used premium limewash by Portola Paints, a family run company based in LA. On top of that, we built custom millwork for all the wood, metal, and glass details with local fabrication studio Will Carlson Design—made in Los Angeles, for Los Angeles.
We’re extremely proud of the interior solutions at our new locations: with more space throughout the store and tasting pedestals now located at the center of each shop, our locations got this subtle but much needed layout upgrade, which allows for more room to breathe and invites the customers to peruse the products at their own pace.
Efficient Logistics
Whether our LA customers lead a fast-paced life or enjoy the perks of slow living, we wanted to make sure that everyone is served efficiently. Having a warehouse on the West Coast will allow us to achieve that efficiency and elevate the e-commerce customer experience for dwellers of the western half of the US, as the delivery speed will increase significantly. Additionally, all of our new locations will offer same-day delivery as well as local pickup—a truly local experience that lies at the heart of our customer journey at Boisson. Ultimately, we hope that Los Angeles will act as a major hub to quickly expand our brand presence, fueling additional regional retail store openings and on-premise expansion up and down the West Coast.
Brentwood Grand Opening Event
The Brentwood Grand Opening was the culmination of Boisson’s highly anticipated arrival to LA and was nothing short of a chic celebration. Over the course of two nights, we toasted and mingled with friends of Boisson and brought our sophisticated sips to the tastemakers of LA. “The energy in the newly designed store was ecstatic”, said Owen Grogan, Director of Partnerships and Events at Boisson. Custom cocktails, bubbles, and wine were paired with farm-fresh bites. We couldn’t have dreamed of a better house-warming, as our guests lingered for hours, sharing their excitement for the non-alcoholic movement. It was a true party in every sense, and testament that you don’t need alcohol to have fun, be social, or make connections.
Photography by Tiffany Perry Photography and Avery J Klein Photography
