INDUSTRY/BUSINESS NEWS: Reed’s, Inc. Announces Third Private Label Customer

Reed's, Inc. announced today that it has reached its third private label agreement with a major international food company. Reed’s expects to begin shipping to its third custom label client’s chain of 145 U.S.-based supermarkets later this year. For more on this story, check out the next issue of ihr magazine!
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Reed’s, Inc. Announces Third Private Label Customer

Reed's, Inc. (NASDAQ: REED) (OTCBB: REEDP), maker of the top-selling sodas in natural food stores nationwide, announced today that it has reached its third private label agreement with a major international food company. Reed’s expects to begin shipping to its third custom label client’s chain of 145 U.S.-based supermarkets later this year.

“We continue to see significant upside to our private label business, which has allowed us to tap into new sales channels with some of the largest and best known retailers in the country,” said Mr. Chris Reed, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Reed’s, Inc. “Our third private label deal with a major international food company highlights our ability to significantly grow our business by bringing creative, high-quality products to market that meet our private label clients’ exacting specifications and needs.” Mr. Reed added, “In fact, our third customer will also be picking up a number of our branded products, which reinforces the positive effect our growing private label relationships with mainstream supermarket chains are having on increasing our branded business line.”

According to a recent research report, titled “Recession, Recovery and Store Brands: What Consumers Are Saying Now,” published for the Private Label Manufacturers Association and conducted by GfK Custom Research North America, shoppers who identify themselves as ‘frequent’ buyers of store brands are at an all-time high, and some 57% say they buy private label products frequently, a figure that has been increasing and was under 55% a year ago. The research report found more than six in 10 American consumers said they plan on buying more private label as they attempt to stretch their food dollars. The full report can be retrieved at: http://www.plma.com/share/press/FOR_IMMEDIATE_RELEASE/PLMA_Recession_Recovery_and_Store_Brands.pdf

Mr. Reed concluded, “We recognize the growing trend in private label consumption, and hope to have 7 to 10 new private label customers by the end of 2010. As a result, we anticipate a record year as our financials begin to reflect the hard work we have put into this initiative. Since our private label clients have a long lead time to implementation, we expect most of the benefits will be felt in the third and fourth quarters of 2010. The strong increases in growth and profits that we expect to achieve from these accounts will allow us to further drive brand awareness and sales for our premium products and increase shareholder value as we take our business to the next level.”

SOURCE: Reed's Inc. Press Release