MIAMI, FL–(Marketwired – Aug 3, 2017) – Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, CLR Roasters, makers of Café La Rica espresso, “The OfficalCafecito of the Miami Marlins,” has forged an alliance with Ascaso of Barcelona, Spain, manufacturers and distributors of espresso machines globally, whereby CLR Roasters owns exclusive distribution rights of Ascaso’s Espresso Equipment for the Food Service market in South Florida. Café La Rica has broadened its food service distribution footprint which now extends from the Florida Keys to Melbourne. Café La Rica, which is Co-Branded with the Miami Marlins, also continues to gain retail shelf space for its brand.
CLR Roasters announced that it has added an additional 25 food service accounts over the last 45 days including 7-11’s, Orion Convenience Stores, Circle K franchises, La Granja Restaurants, Bravo Stores (both retail and food service), and additional Winn Dixie and Freso Y Mas cafeterias. The company has continued to gain traction since Café La Rica became the official Cafecito enjoyed at Major League Baseball’s Marlins Stadium in April of this year.
“We are proud to now exclusively provide Ascaso Expresso Equipment alongside our As Café La Rica espresso in the food service market. In my opinion, there is no better espresso equipment available in the market today and we expect this competitive advantage to continue to drive the momentum of Café La Rica as we move toward national distribution,” stated Ernesto Aguila, President of CLR, and Founder of the Café La Rica Brand.
Jose Luis Ascaso Lopez, the CEO of the Ascaso, said, “CLR Roasters has earned the right to exclusively represent our brand in the prestigious South Florida Market. We believe that the Café La Rica brand is well positioned for strong growth and we want to be a part of it.” He also said, “They make a great cup of coffee.”
Ascaso, founded by Jesus Ascaso, has been making high quality espresso machines and machine parts since the 1960s, and currently distributes their products to more than 75 countries worldwide.
Dave Briskie, President and CFO, of Youngevity, the parent company that owns CLR Roasters, stated, “We have been installing 4 new food service accounts a week and we are optimistic we will maintain this growth throughout the year. Our goal is to have an additional 75 Food Service accounts operational by the end of the year.”
To support the growth, CLR Roasters now has a fleet of 8 branded service vans operating in the region and expects to add additional staff and support as needed. The company believes that the food service business is driving the recent sales success of its Café La Rica brand at retail.
About CLR Roaster
Youngevity’s coffee manufacturing division, CLR Roasters, was established in 2001 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary. CLR Roasters is a full-sized coffee roaster that produces gourmet coffees under its own boutique brands — Café La Rica®, Josie’s Java House®, and Javalution®; manufactures a variety of private labels for major national chains; and for the direct selling channel under Youngevity International. The company remains one of the largest suppliers in North America to the cruise line industry. CLR was the first entrant into the fortified coffee niche with its Youngevity JavaFit® brand. In May 2014, CLR acquired a coffee plantation and processing facility in Nicaragua, allowing the entity to control coffee production and quality — from field to cup.
About Youngevity International, Inc.
Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI), is a leading omni-direct lifestyle company — offering a hybrid of the direct selling business model, that also offers e-commerce and the power of social selling. Assembling a virtual Main Street of products and services under one corporate entity, Youngevity offers proven products from the six top-selling retail categories: health/nutrition, home/family, food/beverage (including coffee), spa/beauty, apparel/jewelry, as well as innovative services. The Company was formed during the summer 2011 merger of Youngevity Essential Life Sciences with Javalution® Coffee Company (now part of the company’s food and beverage division). The resulting company became Youngevity International, Inc. in July 2013. For investor information, please visit YGYI.com. For general information on products and services, please visit us at youngevity.com. Keep up with our activities by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” and similar expressions, and includes statements regarding the there being no better espresso equipment available in the market today, the expectation that this competitive advantage will continue to drive the momentum of Café La Rica as the company moves toward national distribution, the belief that the La Rica brand is well positioned for strong growth, optimism that the company will maintain this growth throughout the year, the goal of having an additional 75 Food Service accounts operational by the end of the year, the expected addition of additional staff and support as needed and the belief that the food service business is driving the recent sales success of the Café La Rica brand at retail. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, the continuing contribution of our affiliation with the Miami Marlins, our ability to expand our brand awareness beyond the Florida market, our ability to continue the addition of food service accounts, the collaboration generating a competitive advantage, our ability to continue our financial performance and the other factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and our subsequent filings with the SEC, including subsequent periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
- Investor Contact:
Chuck Harbey
PCG Advisory Group
charbey@pcgadvisory.com
646.863.7997