Peabodys Ships Order of Ground Black Rhino Coffee to BI-LO Thursday January 22, 10:36 am ET
ROCKLIN, Calif., Jan. 22, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Peabodys Coffee, Inc. (OTC BB:PBDY.OB - News), a retailer and marketer of the USDA certified organic brand Black Rhino Coffee(tm), announced today that the BI-LO supermarket chain, headquartered in Mauldin, SC, has ordered ground Black Rhino Coffee(tm) for up to 300 of its supermarkets in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee. ADVERTISEMENT ``With the recent success we have experienced since introducing our ground Black Rhino Coffee(tm) to the market, this represents a major step in building our packaged coffee revenues and our brand identity,'' stated Peabodys President and CEO Todd Tkachuk. ``Clearly, consumer demand for ground coffee is significantly larger than it is for whole bean - in fact, we believe the ground coffee market opportunity could be as much as ten times larger.''
Tkachuk said BI-LO customers should see all three Black Rhino Coffee(tm) ground varietals of French Roast, Spiritu Blend(tm), and Alma Blend(tm) in their new packaging on the shelf in early February.
According to Packaged Facts, organic food sales totaled $11 billion in 2002 and continue to show an annual growth rate equal to 20% or more annually. This growth is fueled, in part, due to increased distribution via traditional grocery outlets. In fact, the USDA reports that as of 1999, conventional food stores began outselling natural products supermarkets in several key categories.
``We still believe that the opportunity exists for an organic coffee brand to emerge as a market leader and our objective remains consistent - to be that brand,'' added Tkachuk. ``There is a lot of fresh interest in our Black Rhino Coffee(tm) brand now that we have our ground version and new packaging available, as evidenced by several new appointments we have in the near future with various supermarket category managers. We have high expectations that 2004 will be a big year for market penetration with the Black Rhino brand.''
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