Universal Food and Beverage Enlists National Food Brokers
Universal Food & Beverage Company, (OTCBB:UFBV) announced today its completion of favorable business partnerships with three leading national food brokers - CMC & Associates, Kleiber & Associates and International Food & Beverage, Inc. The Company is now prepared to employ an aggressive, purposeful distribution and marketing strategy with the goal of national brand visibility and increased market share of its private label products.
"This is an exciting time for all of us at Universal," added Universal CEO Duane Martin. "Our alliances with three regional food brokers and their proven experience and success allow us to benefit from their distribution channels and position Universal to capture a more national audience. It is definitely a pivotal step toward gaining a significant market share in a specialty beverage industry that is growing tremendously."
Regional food broker CMC & Associates of Chicago is contracted to deliver Universal's products to its Midwest customer base. CMC is accomplished in its capabilities to ensure success through both traditional and non-traditional channels of distribution for the general merchandise, HBC and bottled water markets.
Kleiber & Associates is representing the Upper Great Lakes area of Michigan, Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, along with Upstate New York. Some of Kleiber's customers include Nash Finch, Spartan's and Vistar/VSA of Ohio, to name a few. Kleiber & Associates is located in Buffalo, NY.
International Food & Beverage, Inc. has developed a vast network of client relationships over the years, including Giant Food, Hannaford and corporate grocers Kroger, Safeway and Food Lion. International will develop Universal's client base in the Middle Atlantic and Northeast areas of the U.S.
In addition, Marc Fry, President & COO of Universal, stated, "Not only will these alliances allow us to benefit from the increased market share, but it will also give us an opportunity to gauge our competitors directly and react accordingly to positively shift our strategies. We feel that with our recently increased production capabilities, and a multi-channel distribution system in place, Universal can significantly fill a void in the current market."
Universal Food and Beverage Hot Fill Line Operational
Adds Over Eight Million Case Capacity Annually
ST. CHARLES, Ill., June 27, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Universal Food & Beverage Company, (OTCBB:UFBV) is pleased to announce today that its newly-commissioned hot fill line is operational. The line, located in Independence, Virginia, is expected to add a potential annual production capacity of over eight million cases. This translates to $22 million in potential additional revenues. The planned production increase is aimed to meet the demand for Universal's products.
The hot fill line effectively eliminates the use of preservatives which affect the taste of products. The process requires the beverage to be filled into the container at 180-195 degrees to sterilize the inside of the bottle and cap.
Completion of the hot fill line also allows for the introduction of additional product lines, namely isotonic beverages such as the company's own sport drink label Sport2O(tm), along with teas, juices and vitamin-enhanced flavored beverages.
"Eliminating the unnecessary use of preservatives is instrumental to improve the product's taste and quality without affecting its shelf life," stated Duane Martin, Universal's Chairman & CEO. "Our approach is to take advantage of a bottled water and enhanced beverage market that's growing at a rapid pace. With a hot fill line, not only can we begin to provide a variety of beverages to a broader group of consumers, but we can also deliver on our co-packing capabilities to other brand owners and private label clients."
Universal Food and Beverage Launching Healthful Drink Line
ST. CHARLES, Ill., June 23, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Universal Food & Beverage Company (OTCBB:UFBV), located in St. Charles, Illinois, is pleased to announce its plans to release a line of healthful drinks to complement its flavored water selection.
The new company-owned brand line, Frost2O(tm), will have broad appeal to the health conscious consumer, particularly those concerned with managing weight and diet. Frost2O(tm) is a no calorie, sugar-free, vitamin enhanced and naturally flavored alternative to sugar-laden sodas and juices. Flavors will include Peach, Lemon Lime, Mixed Berry and Tropical Fruits.
Duane Martin, CEO of Universal, stated, "Universal is carving a niche in a seven billion dollar industry that has grown significantly at a rate of 15 to 20 percent over the past two years. We are extremely excited to announce the launch of this product in our flavored water category. We feel that consumers will be receptive to Frost2O(tm)'s health and nutritional benefits without worrying about artificial ingredients or unwanted sweeteners."
The new product line is slated for delivery July 5th of this year and will be packaged in 16 oz and 20 oz. PET bottles. Frost2O(tm) will retail at an introductory price of two for $1.
Former President of IGA North America Leads Universal Food & Beverage
Initial Orders Top $10 Million
ST. CHARLES, Ill., June 7, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Universal Food & Beverage Company located in St. Charles, Illinois (OTCBB:UFBV) is pleased to announce its first corporate update.
Former President of IGA North America, Duane Martin, will lead Universal Food & Beverage Company ("Universal") toward a dominant position in the $7 billion bottled water industry, in addition to increasing market share with the Company's present line-up of value added beverages and contract packing capabilities for other brand owners and private label clients. Expansion plans are underway to increase its current production facilities tenfold with capacity of 17 million cases over the next 12 months.
Mr. Martin has assembled a high powered management team with experience in manufacturing, branding and distribution of products to grocers and big box retailers.
Universal's founding shareholder and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Duane Martin recently explained Universal's corporate development strategy as follows: "We created this company from scratch with one core objective, to build Universal as the dominant player in the beverage co-packing and specialty bottled water market, an exploding segment of the industry. With our foundation of proven senior management; a portfolio of trademarked products targeted to meet existing market demands; a highly expandable state of the art production facility with untapped spring water resources; and our ability to anticipate and react to market demands, there is no question that Universal is poised to become a dominant industry player."
Currently, Universal owns and operates a bottling process plant in Independence, Virginia. Recently announced plans to call for Universal to increase current production capacity from 2.4 million cases annually of single serve water and cold fill product, to over 17 million cases annually with the addition of gallon packaging and high speed lines to be completed in Q-3 of 2005 along with a cold-blend production facility recently put into operation. This is a remarkable tenfold planned production increase aimed to meet anticipated demand for Universal's products and services.
According to Mr. Marc Fry, past Vice President of Operations for Parmalat and currently President & COO of Universal, "We are one of the few companies that can produce a full range of specialty water including flavored, vitamin, juice-based, isotonics, teas and custom formulated beverages either under our own brand or as single source supplier to private label and other brand owners."
About Universal Food & Beverage Company
Universal Food & Beverage Company is a full-service provider of Universal branded beverages and co-pack private label products for the health conscious consumer.
The Company continues to develop nutritional, controlled-calorie products that provide alternatives to medications and encourage natural living and healing. Universal also develops, tests and perfects production systems including new aseptic processing and packaging systems to enhance product quality. The Company's innovative range of products and systems are developed for both domestic and international markets.
This press release may contain statements, estimates or projections that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). Generally, the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future financings, results of operations, financial and business projections, plant expansions and product line acquisitions and product development and marketing. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our present expectations or projections. These risks include, but are not limited to, acceptance of the Company's products in the marketplace; changes in the non-alcoholic beverages business environment, including actions of competitors and changes in consumer preferences; adverse weather conditions; our ability to finance expansion plans and general operating activities; regulatory and legal changes; the effectiveness of our advertising and marketing programs; fluctuations in the cost and availability of raw materials; dependence upon third-party vendors; our ability to achieve earnings forecasts; integration of acquisitions; ability to sustain and manage growth; and changes in economic and political conditions. You should not place undue reliance on forward- looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
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