01/30/2025
by Victoria Ritter
Based out of Petaluma, CA, Kala Brand Music seeks to inspire musicians across the world and help them progress through their musical careers.
Mike Upton founded Kala out of a desire to provide playable and affordable ukuleles to customers. While working as a sales person in Hawaii for Hohner Company in the 1990s, which sold and distributed musical instruments, Upton noticed a large disparity among ukulele types and prices; there were expensive, high-quality ukuleles and cheap, unplayable instruments. Upton worked to develop a ukulele that was affordable and well-toned, which led to Upton starting Kala Brand Music in 2005.
Today, Kala caters to music,toy and education industries, among others. It exhibits at Astra Marketplace & Academy and Toy Fair as wellas National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM)’s show, Surf Expo, Ace Hardware’s trade show and ukulele festivals across the globe.
“Ukuleles are pretty unique as there are lots of festivals all over the world,” stated Leanne McClellon, director of sales. “We’ve been successful in selling to lots of different markets. Having the variety, we sell so many different things that we can also say that we sell every price point to all these different markets.”
Instruments for all music levels
From the start, one of Kala’s main goals was to expand its audience and make its instruments more accessible. This decision led the company outside of the music market and into the toy industry.
“We make more ukuleles than anybody in the world,” stated Dave Cafiero, executive vice president. “We’re the largest ukulele company in the world because we’re making so many varieties of ukuleles for so many different needs.”
Of Kala’s more than 500 SKUS, about 100 are geared towards the toy market. Upton started the company with the U-BASS, a short scale bass ukulele. The selection has grown to offer 12 different categories of ukuleles along with guitars, percussion instruments and accessories.
“At this point, we have every instrument that you could play in an ensemble,” Cafiero observed.
Popular products include the U-BASS, Waterman – a plastic, durable and playable ukulele – and the Learn to Play starter kits which were developed specifically for nontraditional music retailers. The kits are great for beginners and come with everything users need, including the instrument, carrying bag, tuner and online lessons.
“We wanted to create these entry-level instruments that were not only playable but that were emphasizing the learning that came with it,” Cafiero said.
Kala releases new products every year. This year, it will introduce tambourines, maracas, kalimba and kid’s cajon, among other instruments.
A newcomer to the market is the Light Tone ukulele, which is scheduled to release this summer. The inspiration came when Ukulenny, a musician who demos Kala’s ukuleles at shows, saw someone playing with LED-lit juggling balls at a toy show. He approached Cafiero and McClellon about incorporating a visual element into their music.
“We’ve been developing this ukulele that has an LED system inside of it,” Cafiero said. “You push a button and the instrument can light up with several different colors and patterns.”
This spring, Kala will re-release its Waterman ukulele as a part of its Beach Collection, which are all made out of recycled plastic. Cafiero explained the company is not taking an environmental stance because it’s trending, but because they appreciate the outdoors and don’t want to put more plastic back into the environment.
“It doesn’t change the playability or color of the instrument,” Cafiero said. “The main thing is that the material itself is completely recycled.”
When developing a new product, the Kala team look at markets’ needs, what elements they find interesting and any input from artists. “So many people actually own more than one ukulele,” McClellon said. “That means that they’re looking for the next thing. The possibilities are endless.”
“Product development is a big part of what we do, and it’s an important part of our process,” Cafiero said. “Whenever you’re making something, it comes with challenges, but when you get it into people’s hands and they like the instrument, it’s very satisfying.”
Making musicians
Cafiero wants to inspire as many musicians as he can by offering support at every level of music development. To help foster a penchant for learning, Kala offers lessons on its website and on an app where people can play along with songs and learn new tunes.
“Music makes a big difference,” Cafiero said, adding that music is a gateway to learning other skills. “Everybody needs some music in their life. By making more musicians, I feel good about that.”
Just as there are different levels of reading and math proficiency, there are various levels of music development. Kala is dedicated to meeting musicians of all ages where they are and helping them grow.
In 2016, Kala held a contest to provide 30 instruments to schools. It reached out to teachers via Facebook, asking them why they wanted instruments. Hundreds of teachers responded, and Kala gave away $250,000 worth of Waterman ukuleles to schools. The philanthropic effort brought them into the education market and made the brand well-known in schools across the U.S.
“There are a lot of different types of musicians out there, and we’ve seen this desire to start learning an instrument,” McClellon stated. She went on to explain that learning music stimulates the brain, develops math skills, reduces stress and promotes teamwork, creativity and focus.
“It’s almost identical to learning a language,” Cafiero said. “You’re learning how to communicate music.”
Celebrating 20 years and beyond
Thanks to its innovation and high-quality, affordable products, Kala is marking its 20th anniversary this summer. “We’ve been innovators since the beginning, and it’s translated really well,” McClellon stated. “We offer products for everybody with different styles and price points.”
Cafiero credits the whole team and their persistence to the company’s longevity. “We’ve got really good people who work for the company,” he said. “When we’ve had problems, we’ve worked together to solve them. We don’t give ourselves permission to quit – we try to work until we come to a solution.”
In celebration of this milestone, Kala is releasing a 20th anniversary series this spring. Four ukulele models will be at a higher price point, made with Hawaiian koa and African mahogany woods. A more affordable option will be a solid spruce top ukulele with a design of California poppies on the headstock. Another model, Pan Pacific, will be made of Koa and will have a headstock design based on a wrist wrestling statue in Petaluma. “We wanted to reference our Hawaiian roots and our California roots,” Cafiero explained.
Looking ahead, Cafiero and McClellon will continue to innovate, adjust with the ever-shifting economic trends and support retailers across all their markets.
“The toy market is growing for us, which is exciting,” McClellon said.
