Chico, California: Where Sunrise Blends Lives

Sunrise Blends is a family-owned wellness drink company based in Chico, California.

Every bottle is blended, bottled and frozen here.

Val's Chico Story

Valerie Erickson Wright grew up 30 minutes south of Chico, in Gridley. She danced, performed and choreographed through high school and college.

Val learned business at her family's hot dog cart at Lake Almanor. Summers at the cart helped pay her way through Chico State, where she earned a business degree with a specialty in nutrition.

After college, Val traded dance for fitness. She worked as a personal trainer, Pilates instructor and Stroller Strides franchise owner.

In 2012, Val opened Cavewoman Confections, a gluten-free bakery that ran for three years.

In 2023, an old back injury returned and put Val in a walker for nearly a year. Months of medication and therapy didn't bring the relief she needed, so she started experimenting with anti-inflammatory eating. A blended drink built on dandelion greens became her go-to. After six weeks, her inflammation was down, she had lost weight, and her liver markers had improved. She finally put the walker away. Read Val's full story.

In 2024, Val founded Sunrise Blends with one mission: help people heal with less pills and more plants. Nearly all of our subscribers are working through something, whether blood sugar, liver markers, inflammation, digestion or recovery from an injury. Sunrise Blends now ships every week to subscribers in California, Oregon and Washington.

Val also teaches part-time at Simply Pilates. More about Val.

Nate's Chico Story

Nate Wright moved to Chico in 2012, looking for community after years in Seattle.

Nate has produced hundreds of events, including the Food Biz Road Trip and Chico Vintage Nights. He spoke regularly at the Chico Entrepreneurial Association at Chico State, and he ran marketing for Chicostart and Innovate Northstate.

Nate met Val at a swing dance at the Chico Grange. They married a few years later.

When Nate's own injuries piled up, Val worked on new blends. Berry Breeze came out of her effort to build a muscle recovery drink for after Nate's boxing workouts.

Today, Nate runs B2B Bandits, The Backroom and ChicoBoard, and he helps Val blend, bottle and ship every week.

Grown in the Valley, Blended in Chico

Our greens come from Northern California farms, and every blend is made in small batches in our Chico kitchen.

Where You'll Find Us Around Chico

• Simply Pilates. Val teaches classes there each week. Take her Wednesday morning Reformer class.
• North State Barbell. Coach Michael rocks. North State Barbell is Nate's current escape.
• Roselle. Val is gluten-free and Nate is dairy-free, so finding restaurants is hard. Roselle nails it.
• Chicostart events.
• S&S Produce. S&S is one of our primary suppliers. You'll see Val there every Friday, inspecting our weekly greens shipment.
• Fundraisers, and any dance floor we can find.