Atlanta - 3 December, 2002 -

Cinnabon , Inc. announced it has signed an agreement with Sun-Maid Growers of California to license Cinnabon Cinnamon Bread for manufacture and sale in the grocery channel. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. "Our strategy is to take Cinnabon from a single product to a consumer brand," said Chris Elliott, Cinnabon interim president. "Licensing allows us to leverage the power of the Cinnabon name, build our brand, and add to our bottom line very efficiently." Sun-Maid Raisin Bread is the most widely distributed raisin bread in the US, according to Information Resources Inc. Cinnabon is the worldwide leader in the cinnamon roll category. "We know from brand architecture research that our strategic point of distinction is the emotional bond consumers have with our products," said Steve McMahon Cinnabon chief marketing officer. "Cinnabon Cinnamon Bread has similar characteristics as our core bakery menu items and will translate well to the grocery channel. Cinnabon Cinnamon Bread is made with familiar ingredients such as Cinnabon cream cheese frosting and the brand’s proprietary Makara cinnamon. The bread will be in test markets second quarter 2003. A full product launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter 2003, pending favorable test results. The breakfast breads category in the US is a $140 million business and is growing six percent per year," said Mike Boggus, Director of Sales and Marketing for Sun-Maid Licensed Products. "We hope to do for Cinnabon Cinnamon Bread what we’ve achieved for Sun-Maid in the raisin bread category. Cinnabon is the worldwide leader in the cinnamon roll bakery category. As of November 3, 2002, the company operated and franchised 603 bakeries worldwide. The bakeries are located in 43 states, Puerto Rico and 17 other countries. Founded in Seattle, Wash., in 1985, Cinnabon bakeries are traditionally located in high-traffic venues such as shopping malls, airports, train stations and travel plazas. The bakeries typically are located in 500- to 1,500-square-foot areas. Cinnabon bakeries have built a reputation for serving fresh, aromatic, oven-hot cinnamon rolls made with premium Indonesian cinnamon and topped with sweet, rich, cream cheese-based frosting. Cinnabon had system-wide sales of approximately $205.5 million in 2001 and can be found on the World Wide Web at www.cinnabon.com. Sun-Maid Growers of California is based in Kingsburg, California. Sun-Maid processes raisins produced by its nearly 1,200 California growers and markets them throughout the United States and around the world. Sun-Maid also distributes and markets a full line of dried fruit products, including apricots, peaches, apples, cranberries, and other dried fruit mixtures and blends. The company reported sales of $221.9 million for the fiscal year ending 2002 for its core business. Sales of fully branded licensed products, including baked goods and confectionery items, account for an additional approximately $100 million at retail. Find out more about Sun-Maid at www.sunmaid.com.

This article has been read 2798 times .