"With L'OR Espresso capsules available in retail stores consumers can enjoy great quality espresso from a great brand and with great convenience," said Frank van Oers, chief executive officer of Sara Lee's International Beverage and Bakery division. "This is an important first step in our strategy of broad retail distribution for L'OR Espresso capsules and we look forward to a very successful introduction of the product throughout France."
Sara Lee expects to reach 50 percent of national weighted distribution during the month of April, promptly ramping up to more than 80 percent in May. L'OR Espresso capsules will be available also online at http://www.lorespresso.fr[http://www.lorespresso.fr] later this month. The recommended retail price for a box of 10 L'OR Espresso capsules is EUR2.99 and applies to all four varieties of the product - Delizioso, Decaffeinato, Splendente and Forza.
L'OR Espresso capsules are a new espresso capsule compatible with coffee appliances by Nespresso(R) - a registered trademark of Société des Produits Nestlé S.A., a company not associated with Sara Lee. All varieties are made with only 100 percent Arabica coffee grown and harvested in a socially and environmentally sustainable way, following the UTZ CERTIFIED(R) program.
Sara Lee is the world's leading buyer of UTZ CERTIFIED(R) coffee. The company recently announced a commitment to source 40,000 tons of certified coffee in 2010: a 33 percent increase over 2009 levels.
Sara Lee's International Beverage division operates in more than 40 countries around the world and generated $3 billion in net sales in the fiscal year ended in June 2009.