When January starts up, so does the Whole30. Together, thousands of people commit to "doing a Whole30," making a strict lifestyle shift in order to change their lives, reset, refocus, and rediscover their relationship with food. This was Spindrift's first January as an official Whole30-approved brand so it's been incredible to see so many new people discovering Spindrift this month. A small moment of delicious refreshment - even amid a month of restrictions.

We've long believed that simple, real ingredients are the way to go - and eating well does not mean compromising taste. Making good choices should also taste good. We were so excited to celebrate that in a new way this January.

Last week, alongside our fellow Whole30-approved brand friends, Applegate, Primal Kitchen, Chomps, Kettle & Fire, and Vital Farms, we participated in the first-ever Whole30 restaurant, The Clean Slate Cafe.

The restrictive nature of Whole30 makes visiting normal restaurants pretty challenging. Each and every order could turn into a deep Q&A of what is in each and everything on the menu. (With good reason - you want to stick to the rules so you can enjoy the benefits of the hard work!)

That's why The Clean Slate Cafe was so brilliant. Finally a place where anyone doing a Whole30 (or anyone wanting to eat great food made without grains or sugars) could order anything on the menu and eat freely!

The goal was to create a pop-up restaurant that combined the spirit of a fast casual dining experience with a Whole30 lifestyle. By working with a great group of brand-friends, led by Applegate, to design this experience, we couldn't wait for it to come to fruition. Our goal, like our product, was simple (and refreshing): provide all the diners with cold, delicious Spindrift to drink alongside their free meal.

In a word, it was a SUCCESS.

Applegate designed the event beautifully. The restaurant popped up in SoHo in NYC from January 22-25, with lots of open space, clean lines, and live greenery. You really got the feeling you were in the coolest new lunch spot in town. (And you really were!)

From Tuesday to Friday, people came by and sampled some amazing Whole30 fare. With dishes like cauliflower-rice bowls, bacon wraps, and chili - there was something for everyone. The best part, in our opinion, was that food was so flavorful and you knew you could trust each and every ingredient.

The reception from the Whole30 community was resounding excitement. Attendees loved the experience. When we shared photos and videos from the event on our social media channels, our community wished that The Clean Slate Cafe would come pop up in their hometown.

For us, it was exciting to have folks come together around such a positive experience, enjoying completely Whole30 compliant meals, snacks, and, of course, lots of Spindrift.

We're so thrilled that our friends, Applegate, invited us to join in this experience. We met so many great people, tried so many delicious variations on healthy meals, and had an amazing time.

Let's do this again!