JANUARY 14, 2002
 

NEWHALL COFFEE ROASTING COMPANY AND SMOOTH JAZZ KTWV-FM 94.7 "THE WAVE/LOS ANGELES " HIT A HIGH NOTE WITH THE DEBUT OF "SMOOTH JAVA BLENDS"
 
Sold Exclusively at Vons Pavilions Grocery Stores—Percentage of Per Bag Sales
To Be Donated to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Foundation To Honor Corey McMullen

Los Angeles—Jan. 14, 2002—The Newhall Coffee Roasting Company and Smooth Jazz radio station (KTWV) 94.7 “The WAVE” today debuted Smooth Java Blends—a co-branded array of unique premium coffee blends exclusively sold at 32 Vons Pavilions stores located in the five-county Southern California region. A percentage of per bag sales of Smooth Java Blends will be donated by the founders of the Newhall Coffee Roasting Company to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America.

Successful coffee entrepreneurs—brothers Kyle and Mitch McMullen—who lost their older brother Corey to leukemia several years ago—opened a pair of coffee houses in Valencia, California—and ultimately began micro-roasting their own coffee for their customers. Growing demand led them to the launch of the Newhall Coffee Roasting Company, a rapidly growing boutique-style of fresh, micro-roasted coffee sold directly to corporate customers as well as retailers throughout Southern California.

“The Newhall Coffee Roasting Company was established in the memory of our older brother—Corey,” said Mitch McMullen, co-founder and CEO, Newhall Coffee Roasting Company. “Our success is dedicated to him. With sales of Smooth Java Blends, we hope to honor his memory by raising money to fund research to fight this terrible disease,” McMullen finished. The brothers have a set a long-term fundraising goal of $1million.

94.7 The WAVE Expands Co-Branding Success
“Few things go together better than smooth jazz and java,” said Greg Schoenbaum, Director of Sales Marketing & Promotion, 94.7 “The WAVE”. “We share many characteristics with the Newhall Coffee Roasting Company brand—our mission is to take great music from diverse origins to offer our listeners a rich and smooth listening experience—the McMullen brothers value the same approach in the way they micro-roast top quality beans from diverse origins,” Schoenbaum stated.

As the official coffee of “The WAVE”, Smooth Java Blends will create a unique synergy between the perfect blend of music provided by 94.7fm in Southern California and the ultimate coffee prowess provided by Newhall Coffee Roasting. This co-branding effort isn’t a first for “The WAVE”. Since 1987, “The WAVE” has created a hugely successful series of CD samplers, all benefiting various charities, entitled the “Wave Aid” series. Millions of dollars have been raised by the sale of these samplers. Applying a similar strategy to Smooth Java Blends, “The WAVE” and the Newhall Coffee Roasting Company have put an innovative marketing program in place to drive sales of the coffee at all of Vons Pavilions stores in Southern California. Promotional activities include a mix of :30 radio spots and on-air mentions by 94.7 radio talents Dave Koz and Pat Prescott in the Morning, exposure on 94.7 “The WAVE’s” web site (www.947wave.com), and at various lifestyle events “The WAVE” is involved in Southern California beginning January 14. Vons Pavilions will also advertise availability of the coffee on the back page of an FSI drop scheduled to hit 1.7 million households by January 14. Freestanding displays will also be visible in 17 of the Vons Pavilions top-volume stores.

Smooth Java Blends, sold at the 32 Vons Pavilions stores located in Southern California will be available on store shelves on January 14. This launch is also an expansion for Newhall Coffee Roasting Company whose product is being offered by Vons Pavilions for the first time. Vons Pavilions customers looking for great coffee with a cause can choose from six Smooth Java Blends including: 1) Custom Blend; 2) Espresso Roast; 3) French Roast; 4) Hawaiian Hazelnut (#1 flavored coffee consumed across all brands in the U.S.); 5) Vanilla Nut (#2 selling flavored coffee consumed in the U.S. across all brands); and 6) Decaffeinated Columbian Supremo.

“We’re honored to be working with the Newhall Coffee Roasting Company and we appreciate the personal stake that Mitch and Kyle have in the success of this program,” said Meg Roundy, campaign manager, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America. Donations can also be made by logging onto www.teamintraining.org or calling the Newhall Coffee Roasting Company
at 661-295-1170.
 
Benefiting the:
 


About Newhall Coffee Company
Newhall Coffee was launched by brothers Kyle and Mitch McMullen in 1995 as a means of supplying high quality coffee beans for their Java n’ Jazz coffee houses in Valencia, California. Very quickly, regional demand for their fresh, micro-roasted coffee propelled the company’s dramatic growth. Following its launch, Newhall Coffee was brewing about 1,000 pounds of coffee per month. Today that figure exceeds 100,000 pounds of coffee—enough to brew four million cups per month, with demand expanding daily. The popularity of the over 100 Newhall Coffee blends and flavored coffees is evident in Newhall’s corporate client list, which includes some of the biggest names in entertainment, such as DreamWorks SKG studios, and Warner Bros. Newhall Coffee can be ordered online at www.newhallcoffee.com or through the Costco web site at www.Costco Business Center. Newhall Coffee Roasting Company is headquartered in Valencia, California. For more information, visit www.newhallcoffee.com.

About 94.7 “The WAVE”
KTWV, 94.7fm – The Wave, has been on the air in Southern California since February 14th 1987. The debut of the radio station also marked the debut of an entire radio format known as Smooth Jazz. There are now Smooth Jazz stations in nearly every metropolitan city in America. The Wave is consistently one of Southern California’s top rated radio stations and remains an industry standard, both in innovation and ratings, nationally. The music is a blend of sophisticated, yet accessible, contemporary instrumental jazz and smooth vocals. KTWV 94.7 "The WAVE" is an Infinity Broadcasting radio station, a subsidiary if Viacom, Inc.

About Vons Pavilions
Safeway Inc., parent company of Vons Pavilions, is a Fortune 50 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales. The company operates 1,754 stores in the U.S. and Canada and had sales of $32 billion in 2000. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.