Each Central Texas Smashburger will feature a regional menu created with regional flavors and tastes in mind. The Temple menu includes: The Texas Burger, served with crisp lettuce, fresh tomato, pickles, and red onion, and dressed within yellow mustard. It will also include the Texas Dog, a 100 percent Angus Beef hot dog dressed with pepperjack cheese, creamy guacamole, fresh jalapenos, spicy chipotle sauce, tomato, and onion. As a regional side item, the Temple store will offer fried jalapeno spears with buttermilk ranch dressing.

“Smashburger has a unique spot in the industry,” says Smashburger Founder and Chief Concept Officer Tom Ryan. “We have created a union of top-quality ingredients, loving preparation, and friendly service that we hope Temple will agree is unparalleled.”

At Smashburger, the secret is in the smash. They start with 100-percent-fresh, never frozen, Certified Angus Beef and smash it on a 400 degree flat grill to sear in the juicy flavor. To further the “better burger” experience, they are served on a toasted artisan bun and topped with a selection of the freshest produce, real cheeses, and highest-quality condiments.

Smashburger is known for its delicious burgers, but customers can also enjoy a selection of tender marinated grilled or crispy chicken sandwiches, grilled and split hot dogs, and fresh tossed signature salads, along with a variety of irresistible sides including rosemary and garlic-seasoned Smashfries, fried pickles, Haystack Onions, and Veggie Frites (flash-fried and seasoned asparagus spears, carrot sticks and green beans). The restaurant will also serve a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages including local beers, wine, hand-spun Haagen-Dazs shakes and IBC(R) root-beer floats in frosted mugs.

“We are thrilled to bring our business to Central Texas, starting in Temple,” says David Prokupek, Chairman and CEO of Smashburger. “We believe the Texmash franchise group will be great partners in helping the area come to love the excellent food and service Smashburger offers.”

“Temple is an exciting place for us to bring the Smashburger brand,” says Manish Agrawal, Managing Partner of Texmash Holdings LLC. “We see Temple as a thriving city with a lot of competitive growth in the fast-casual segment. Residents here have many choices for a high-quality quick meal, but we hope to stand out. Smashburger wants to be every city’s favorite place for burgers, and we aim to earn that respect in Temple with our great food and astoundingly friendly service.”

About Smashburger:

Smashburger is the country’s fastest growing, fast casual “better burger” restaurant. Its hand-crafted burgers are made with fresh, never frozen, 100 percent Certified Angus Beef, that are “smashed,” seared and seasoned on the grill to juicy perfection for every individual order. Guests can create their own burger masterpiece or enjoy one of Smashburger’s innovative signature recipes, including a unique burger for every local market that highlights the distinctive flavors of that region.

Smashburger also serves tender marinated grilled or crispy chicken sandwiches, grilled and split hot dogs, freshly prepared entree salads, kids meals, hand-spun Haagen-Dazs shakes and an array of signature sides. Developed and owned by private equity firm Consumer Capital Partners (CCP), Smashburger operates and develops both corporate and multi-unit franchise territories across the country with 140 restaurants nationwide. Smashburger topped the Forbes Most Promising Company list in 2011 and was also named to the 2011 Inc. 500 list. It is the recipient of the International Council of Shopping Centers 2011 Hot Retailer Award. To learn more, visit www.smashburger.com .

About Consumer Capital Partners:

Denver-based Consumer Capital Partners (CCP) is an innovative private investment and concept development firm focused on multi-unit retail businesses, primarily in the restaurant industry. CCP has deep experience in the fields of private equity, brand, concept and product development and strategic consulting. To learn more about CCP, please visit www.consumercp.com .

IPAs have a rich history dating back to the 18th Century when British colonists needed to ensure that their beer would stay fresh and unspoiled during their long voyages from England to India. Brewers added extra hops and more fermented malt to their ales to prevent spoilage on the journey and to withstand the warmer climates of India. The new style was embraced and came to be known as India Pale Ale.

“The IPA style is a popular craft beer with a strong hop aroma and flavor that complements the lushness of the late summer season. It’s a great beer to savor on those final long afternoons on the lake or warm evenings on the deck,” said Jeff Garwood, Big Bay Brewing Co. co-founder and managing partner.

The introduction of Long Weekend IPA marks Big Bay Brewing’s first limited edition brew. It will be available into the fall at which time the brewer will roll out its next limited edition style – a porter.

“Craft beer drinkers are interested in exploring new flavor profiles, and with our limited edition beers we’ll be able to deliver a greater variety of beer styles to meet the unique demands of our craft beer consumers throughout the year,” said Garwood.

The original test brew of Long Weekend IPA has been available for sampling at the Big Bay Brewing Co.’s Tasting Room and Retail Center, located at 4517 N. Oakland Ave. in Shorewood, Wis., for several weeks and has received positive feedback from tasting room visitors.

The craft brewer introduced its first two beers – Big Bay Brewing’s Boatilla Amber Ale(R) and the award-winning Wavehopper Kolsch Style Ale(R) – late last year and both have been well-received by retailers, restaurants and consumers across Wisconsin. Earlier this month, Big Bay Brewing launched its Oh Buoy! Cherry Cola and Pierjumper Twisting Citrus natural gourmet sodas across Wisconsin.

Developed from unique and exclusive recipes that feature proprietary yeast and the highest quality ingredients, Big Bay Brewing beers offer the distinctiveness of Wisconsin’s microbrews with a clean finish. They’re brewed slowly and methodically resulting in a well-balanced, robust, drinking experience. The company has an alternating proprietorship with the Milwaukee Brewing Company, which leases space, brewing time and equipment to Big Bay Brewing Co.

Big Bay Brewing’s Long Weekend, Boatilla Amber Ale and award-winning Wavehopper Kolsch Style Ale are available at select retailers, bars and restaurants across Wisconsin. They are sold at retail in six-packs of 12-oz. bottles, as well as in draft form in 1/4 barrel slim kegs and 1/2 barrels. Big Bay products are sold by local distributors across Wisconsin, including Beer Capitol Distributing Inc., Frank Beer Distributors Inc., CJW Inc., Lee Beverage of Wisconsin, Kay Beer Distributing and Zastrow the Beer Man.

About Big Bay Brewing Co.:

Based in Shorewood, Wis., Big Bay Brewing Co.(R) produces specialty hand-crafted beers and gourmet sodas. Big Bay is built with the vision that life on the water is a little sweeter, and that sweet life is infused in every Big Bay Brewing Co. beverage. Big Bay Brewing’s founders believe that craft brewed beverages and life on the water go hand-in-hand. Life on the water means creating moments that turn into memories to be cherished for a lifetime. And, what better way to enhance those moments than with the right beverage.

For more information, visit www.BigBayBrewing.com .

The genesis of “nourisH20″ developed from requests of several healthcare foodservice directors who have experienced a sharp increase in their juice costs (primarily orange juice and apple juice concentrates, which more than doubled in the last 2 years).

Dennis Nahill, the Director of Sales Operations, felt that “There’s a tremendous need among Foodservice Operators for Bag-In-the-Box, fortified and flavored water. Especially now, with sharply rising food costs. Operators can’t control the cost of commodities, but at least they can control what they choose to serve, which ultimately pumps up their bottom line.”

Nahill stated that “Healthcare facilities that are bound by strict budgets have found that by replacing one serving of orange or apple juice each day with nourisH2O, they can save thousands of dollars annually. These savings are possible because nourisH20 is vitamin-enriched and can easily be substituted for one of the required juice servings per day.”

Multi-Flow’s Product Development Team, led by Director Owen Rothstein, ensured that nourisH20 met 3 primary requirements. “The first goal,” said Rothstein, “was to insist on the ‘nutrient’ aspect. Our new brand delivers stress-relieving, performance-boosting B-Complex, including cholesterol-improving, detoxifying Niacin, as well as antioxidant-rich Vitamin C, which aids growth and repair of muscles and tissues.”

The second goal, according to Rothstein, was to “nourish the palate. We have several flavors that scored exceptionally during blind taste tests, including the subtle sensations of watermelon, strawberry- kiwi, pomegranate and peach. In addition to the flavor, we utilized a light application of Splenda brand sucralose to keep the brand zero-calorie and pleasant tasting.”

Upon completion of the nourisH20™ branding, Multi-Flow CEO Mark Stephens was pleased enough with the finished product to introduce the brand into the restaurant and hospitality industries. “Consumers continue to demand lower-calorie, better-tasting, healthier beverages,” Stephens said. “nourisH20 delivers on every one of those benefits. The brand offers restaurants yet another opportunity to increase revenue by offering their customers an alternative to ‘tap water,’ which is requested almost 50% of the time during dining occasions, but at zero revenue and a negative margin.”

More information is available at Multi-Flow Industries’ company website, www.multiflow.net .

“Prestige Imports is excited to be utilizing the Penthouse brand in connection with these new and innovative libido shots,” says Tom Cleaver, Director of Marketing for Prestige Imports, LLC. “Recent IRI data shows an impressive increase in retail sales in the new sexual enhancement segment by 57.7 percent over the last 52 weeks in North America, to roughly a $20 billion category. With our expertise in the food and beverage industry and the reputation and global reach of the Penthouse brand, we believe this is a winning combination for these sexual wellness products.”

Amanda Byrd, Director of Licensing for the Penthouse brand, says, “Penthouse is a brand synonymous with sexual well-being and this product is an ideal branding opportunity for us. We are very excited for the upcoming launch!”

The Penthouse libido shots are scheduled to be available nation-wide beginning in July 2011. For more information on Per4mance Shots by Penthouse and Pleasure Shots by Penthouse, or to locate a retailer, please visit www.PenthouseShots.com .

About Prestige Imports, LLC:
Prestige Imports, LLC is an international Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) importer, exporter and brand owner. All of the brands owned, imported, or distributed by Prestige Imports, LLC are exclusive, unique and high margin spirits marketed with integrity and passion for responsibility and worldwide appeal. Prestige Imports LLC was built on offering the highest quality products with competitively high margin percentages. The mission of our company is to continue building our national network of distributors to sell, market, support and promote our highly desired products. The national network’s portfolio includes premium spirits, beers, and other alcoholic beverages.

About Penthouse:
Penthouse is a globally recognized premier adult entertainment and lifestyle brand of General Media Communications, Inc.

“These custom-layering spoons each bear the buyer’s logo stamped on the handle and serve as terrific marketing tools,” says James M. Beale, CEO of JMB Brewcraft. “They also help brew businesses to get the edge on their competition.”

And these custom bar tools are designed to help any beer-related business turn a profit. The wholesale cost ranges from around $5 to $12 per spoon; the more ordered, the lower the price. Businesses can easily double their money by retailing them for $15 to $20 each. JMB Brewcraft is taking wholesale custom orders of 1,000 units or more.

JMB Brewcraft designs these black and tan spoons with quality in mind. They are manufactured from solid 1/16-inch, high-grade stainless steel and then hand polished to a high finish. They are dishwasher safe and come individually packaged in classy black-velour drawstring bags.

When hung in a pint glass, the bowl of this patent-pending spoon (U.S. patent: 12/789,329) rests at the midpoint of the glass to ensure optimal layering every time.

Bill Balaschi of Boston, who purchased some of these beer-layering spoons said, “What a hit these spoons have been. I gave one to my brother-in-law, a real Irishman, and he loved it. I also brought the spoon to a hard-core St. Patrick’s Day party and I quickly became the ‘designated pourer.’ The spoon worked flawlessly every time. Once people see them in action, they’re sold.”

To view a video of the four-pour (four black and tan beers poured in 60 seconds), visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaBhBa1m_cw .

For more information online, visit: http://www.jmbbrewcraft.com .

The Mid-America Food Processors Association provides information, programs, and university agricultural and food department research grants to strengthen the productivity of food processors in the Midwest.

Katz will discuss how mid-sized food companies and brands should manage internal and external communications to avoid typical food company crises, have crisis management marketing strategies in place, and mobilize external communication to protect consumers and restore the company’s reputation.

According to Katz, “Food companies must protect the quality of their products and brand reputation. Even companies with impeccable quality assurance, product development, and supply chain processes have product recalls and other food safety crises. Upfront planning and proactive communication ensures that your company can survive, and thrive during a media crisis.”

The presentation will offer attendees practical ways to avoid product recalls and other food safety crises, and address them if they do occur. The techniques include:
1. Effective product development processes;
2. Comply to product specifications;
3. Independent quality assurance communication;
4. Cohesive and responsible external communications;
5. Partner with regulatory agencies;
6. Effective media relations;
7. Harness social media;
8. Rebuild consumer trust and loyalty.

About Katz Marketing Solutions:
Katz Marketing Solutions (www.katzmarketingsolutions.com) is a brand and marketing consulting firm that specializes in growing food and beverage and brands and businesses and is based in Columbus, Ohio.

He added, “This strategic partnership with CMI allows us to gather ongoing customer feedback about positive shopping experiences and any suggestions for improvements, all aimed at becoming a more compelling place to shop.”

As a result of this program, Family Dollar will have a clear understanding of the main drivers of shopper satisfaction and be able to measure the impact of initiatives. The information collected through this program will be particularly useful as the company continues to roll out its current store renovation plans more extensively in 2011.

“We are happy to be helping Family Dollar continue to advance their mission to be the leading small-format convenience and value retailer in the nation,” said Chet Zalesky, president and founder of CMI.

Family Dollar’s reporting will be provided through CMI’s Web Insights Navigator(TM) (WIN) system to easily customize reporting to various levels and departments within the Family Dollar organization. In addition, Family Dollar management will be able to track the impact of store renovations on the shopping experience by monitoring satisfaction levels pre and post renovation.

This new association with Family Dollar expands CMI’s presence in the retail industry. CMI has helped numerous retail clients understand their shopping experience across sales channels.

About Family Dollar:

Beginning with one store in 1959 in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Company currently operates more than 6,800 stores in 44 states. Family Dollar Stores, Inc., a Fortune 300 company, is based in Matthews, North Carolina, just outside of Charlotte and is a publicly held company with common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FDO. For more information, please visit www.familydollar.com .

About CMI:
CMI is a full-service marketing research company that creates competitive advantages for clients by turning research data into strategic insights and recommendations that drive business results. Since 1989, CMI has delivered unique solutions to uncover opportunities, optimize marketing strategies, and improve performance for clients in consumer and B2B markets. CMI’s experienced team of market research consultants leverages a wide range of qualitative and quantitative methods and technologies to help clients align products, services and strategies with customer needs.

CMI serves primarily Fortune 1000 clients and is currently ranked on the Honomichl Top 50 list of the country’s largest marketing research organizations. For more information about CMI, visit www.cmiresearch.com .

“Citrus Splash” offers a unique balance of lemon and lime flavors. Product Development Director Owen Rothstein tested dozens of flavor mixtures, including several different blends of sweeteners. The results, according to Rothstein, prove that the new lemon-lime soft drink outscores the national brands by as much as a 10-to-1 ratio.

The brand name was developed by one of Multi-Flow’s Route Drivers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Reggie Garret. During the brand team’s visit to the Miami area, Reggie offered up “Citrus Splash” as a potential name for the new soft drink.

Stephens said, “As soon as it came out of Reggie’s mouth, I knew we had the perfect brand name for the perfect new beverage.” Based on “Taste Panels” from consumer focus groups, the descriptive tag, “Crisp, Light, and Refreshing” was subsequently added.

“Citrus Splash” will be branded under the “Micro-Brewed by Multi-Flow” logo, which also encompasses Kodiak Cola, Kodiak Diet Cola, Morning Dew, and a variety of other carbonated soft drinks. Multi-Flow Industries exclusively manufactures fountain-dispensed beverages, through its own distribution network along the East Coast, as well as through allied distributors throughout the U.S. Their product line is available for national distribution to restaurants, foodservice, and all other locations that serve fountain-dispensed drinks.

More information is available at Multi-Flow Industries’ company Web site, www.multiflow.net .

Unified chose ESI’s WIN platform as one of its loyalty solutions because of its simplicity, affordability and above all, its focus on the needs of the independent grocer. The WIN program allows independent grocers to identify and reward their best customers without the overwhelming data and cost burdens typically found in loyalty offerings.

“Our loyalty philosophy is simple: focus on those elements which keep the consumer loyal while taking the burden off the grocer,” said Ian Diery, CEO of ESI, “Sometimes too much information is simply too much, and it is our responsibility to provide our partner the optimum amount of information that allows them to maintain a strong consumer focus within a reasonable budget.”

Other Benefits of the WIN Rewards Program:
- The WIN platform is highly customizable, allowing each grocer to pick and choose the features they can afford and is relevant to their business, instead of force-fitting all grocers in the same mold.
- Provides a one-stop shop facility for the independent grocer. ESI offers a wide array of services including POS integration, managing program launch from start to finish, mining consumer insights for clear and actionable recommendations, marketing, and administration for one low monthly fee with no hidden costs.
- Helps grocers develop an online communication platform that not only saves cost but enables better consumer targeting.
- Supports green initiatives by reducing the need for paper.

Unified’s Executive Director of Retail Support Services, Kory Burwell, stated, “In today’s challenging times, the independent grocer needs the right information in order to compete effectively and grow. ESI’s WIN Rewards Program is designed to increase customer loyalty and sales. Undifferentiated discounting has not proven to be effective against large grocery chains that use electronic media for targeted customer marketing. WIN adds tremendous value by bringing to the grocer the technical, marketing, and analytical expertise to compete in today’s economy.”

About Unified Grocers:

Founded in 1922, Unified Grocers, Inc. is a retailer-owned wholesale grocery distributor that supplies independent retailers throughout the western United States. Unified and its subsidiaries, which generated approximately $4.1 billion in sales during fiscal 2009, offer independent retailers all the resources they need to compete in the supermarket industry.

About ESI:

Founded in 1999 and based in San Mateo, California, ESI introduced eScrip, an electronic scrip program to provide resources to organizations that support children through member retailers. In 2008, ESI Introduced the WIN Rewards Program to offer a low cost loyalty solution specifically designed for local and regional grocers. ESI currently process over 76 million transactions and $2.5 billion in sales annually. ESI’s board and officers include individuals with diverse backgrounds that include computer technology, banking systems, marketing, accounting, fundraising, and the non-profit sector.

More information: http://www.escrip.com .

The new cola brand introduced recently in Multi-Flow’s headquarters is being marketed as “Kodiak Cola.” The journey, according to Stephens, was based upon employee input, customer feedback, and several branding contests that “all led us to one conclusion: Kodiak Cola is poised to be a national player in the cola wars.”

The first challenge, according to Product Development Director Owen Rothstein, was to create a cola beverage that would stand up to the national brands in blind taste tests. “We tested dozens, if not hundreds, of recipes using various blends and mixtures of cola flavoring, including vanilla, cinnamon, and citrus. Then we pounded away at different blends of sweeteners to ensure we outscored the national brands in sensory attribute tests.” The results, according to Rothstein, prove that the new cola outscores the current national brands by as much as a 2-to-1 ratio. And best of all, operators can save as much as $30 per Bag-in-Box by converting from Coke/Pepsi to Kodiak Cola. “That could equate to thousands of dollars a year,” Rothstein said.

The next challenge was to create a brand that delivered a premium message. “We held several internal contests with our employees to develop and then choose a brand image that represented the 3 attributes we wanted to deliver: Big, Bold, and Pure,” Stephens said. “After several inter-company polls, we were convinced that ‘Kodiak Cola’ was the brand image that represented everything we were trying to convey.”

The imagery of a Kodiak Bear representing the new cola was developed by District Service Manager Randy Christopher. “When I first tasted the new cola,” said Randy, “I just kept thinking about a gigantic grizzly bear, roaring, a huge and natural creature that’s not afraid of anything. For years, we’ve sold a generic cola, but now, we have a beverage that’s not afraid to go toe-to-toe with the national brands.”

Next job for the Product Development Team was to develop the logo that would accompany the new cola into a widely-anticipated product launch. Instead of developing logo concepts with their Graphic Designer, the Multi-Flow team posted a “Logo Contest” on logomyway.com, hoping that several different designers would offer up many different artistic approaches to convey the “Kodiak” message. The results, according to Business Development Manager Brett Rosenbloom, were incredible. “We received over 175 different logo concepts from graphic designers all over the world.” And the winning concept was, once again, put to a company-wide vote.

“The end result,” according to Stephens, “is a cola brand that is being universally applauded throughout the Multi-Flow Family.” Kodiak will be branded under the “Micro-Brewed by Multi-Flow” logo, and is available in Regular Cola as well as Diet Cola. Rothstein said, “Diet Kodiak Cola was put through the same scrutiny as the Regular version. And we’re proud to announce that Diet Kodiak Cola demands the same attention as the regular recipe: Big, Bold, and Pure.”

Kodiak Cola and Diet Kodiak Cola join the rest of the “Micro-Brewed by Multi-Flow” lineup as premium fountain soft drinks offered at a value price versus national brands. All are available for immediate national distribution to restaurants, foodservice, and all other locations that serve fountain-dispensed soft drinks.

More information is available at Multi-Flow Industries’ company Web site, www.multiflow.net .