SAN ANTONIO, June 19, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Sweet Success Enterprises (OTCBB:SWTS) issued the following Letter to Shareholders today:
Dear Shareholder,
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend the American Diabetes Associations (ADA) 2007 Father of the Year Awards Dinner in Phoenix. During the ceremonies a video was shown stating that one out of three American newborn babies in the U.S. will become diabetic. In addition the video indicated 50% of new born minority children in the U.S will become diabetic. The cost of diabetes to our American society is astronomical in that a huge percentage of health care dollars are spent on diabetes.
A report issued last month by Medco Health Solutions concluded that total spending on diabetes drugs could increase by 70% in 2009. The report also stated that only medication for cholesterol surpassed diabetes. As we digest the above statistics it is evident that we are facing a healthcare disaster of international proportions. It is obvious that each and every one of us is faced with the task of contributing some knowledge and actions towards the solution of these problems.
We are fortunate to own a delicious, refreshing, functional beverage, GlucaSafe(tm). As we move products into the marketplace this year it seems that our "home run" could be GlucaSafe(tm), the only drink of its kind with pomegranate, green and white teas, a delicious beverage packed with a proprietary blend of functional ingredients that has benefits for diabetics and people with hypertension and cholesterol problems. Because of this, Sweet Success(tm) has undertaken the filing of a patent application to protect this one of a kind, exciting refreshing and delicious beverage.
Sweet Success Enterprises purchased the Sweet Success brand from Nestle. Although the brand averaged over $50 million a year in net revenues for Nestle after their 1993 launch, they were never able to overtake their arch rival, Slim Fast, and always remain a distant second place in the market. Our goal in purchasing this brand was to take this tremendous brand equity and convert into seven functional beverages including GlucaSafe(tm), Chocolate and Vanilla VitaTein Shakes(tm), Power Blend(tm), Ultra Greens(tm), ChocKoala(tm) and Chocolate Immunity Infusion(tm). By the end of 2006 this goal was complete along with all of our R&D and beta testing at a cost of $10 million. In January of 2007 we began to launch into the retail channels that include the supermarkets, club stores, drug stores, specialty stores and the internet, primarily through distributors such as Kehe, Tree of Life and Southern Wine and Spirits. This is a big market. It is apparent that consumers are demanding these kinds of beverages. The carbonated soft drink market (CSD) is declining. Our market, which is specialty health beverages, is currently in excess of $14 billion. It is obvious that our goal is to have a large share ofthat market. This market has a 19% compound growth rate annually since1990. Our target is to have 15,000 points of distribution within the next 12 months. We are now available through Tree of Life which has approximately 40,000 points of distribution through their various accounts, Kehe has 16,000 points of distribution, and Southern Wine and Spirits is the largest distributor of its type in the U.S.A.
In order to enhance our sales and market share we have initiated in-store sales promotions and other promotions. We have retained and are working with celebrity sponsor, Jeremy Shockey (tight end for the NY Giants). We have an image of Jeremy that says Sweet Success' Power Blend is "healthful for your body" that we use in various promotions.
Also, we have had a strategic alliance with Mark Burnett Productions to discover, create and execute product integration whereby a Sweet Success Product or Products will be integrated as a part of the central premise of an episode of a Mark Burnett Production.
Recently, Sweet Success Enterprises has entered into an agreement with movie producer, Richard Garcia, to establish Sweet Success Productions. Garcia will create an Internet-based show or "VLOG" to be distributed weekly on the popular YouTube.com web site, and other internet sites. Potential distribution could exceed 40 million viewers for the weekly show. Recent Neilson/net rating indicated that 45 million people spent 41 minutes a day at YouTube. In addition, Sweet Success Productions plans to produce infomercials and other promotional videos to advertise its GlucaSafe(tm) product as well as its other healthy-for-you beverages.
Our product with enormous potential is GlucaSafe(tm). 25% of the U.S. population is either diabetic or pre-diabetic -- the market is huge. We have a product that's head and shoulders above everything else out there. There is really no functional nutraceutical beverage that can have the total health benefits of this product and we urge all of you to buy it. Even if you don't have diabetes, you feel better after using the product for several weeks. So as we expand the different taste and sizes of GlucaSafe(tm), it is going to be a giant.
Some of the direct competitors that we encounter today are Coca-Cola's Odwalla line, which is the line of juices and functional nutritional beverages. Pepsi owns Naked Juice, which is almost a copycat of Odwalla. Bolthouse is another competitor in that space. The difference between our products and theirs is that we are shelf-stable (do not require refrigeration) and they are not. Thus, we can be in accounts such as Amazon.com, who has sold out of GlucaSafe(tm) four times in six weeks. Odwalla and Naked cannot sell electronically because they don't have the shelf life required for Web-based grocery sales.
Last year non-carbonated drinks comprised 33.5% of the $105 billion non alcoholic beverage industry. Recently, Coke's plans to buy Glaceau, the maker of Vitamin Water for $4 billion, has offered the most compelling evidence that coming up with a new beverage or putting a new twist on an old one can be lucrative. Shares of companies similar to Glaceau have surged. Stock in Hansen has ballooned 1200% in three years and the shares of Jones Soda are up nearly 850% in that time.
Our company only has a market value of $9,000,000. Nutrisoda just sold to Coca-Cola of America for $100,000,000 on only $2,000,000 in sales. So drink GlucaSafe(tm).
Yours Truly,
Bill Gallagher Sweet Success Enterprises, CEO
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