SAN DIEGO, June 24, 2003 Javo™ Beverage Company announced today that it has signed an exclusive, multi-year agreement to supply coffee to WP Beverage Partners, LLC, the firm responsible for launching a new, ready-to-drink iced coffee beverage from nationally recognized restaurateur and gourmet food celebrity, Wolfgang Puck. The new, ready-to-drink coffee, called Wolfgang Puck® Gourmet Lattes, will begin shipments to supermarkets and convenience stores in the Western United States this month. WP Beverage Partners is led by brand marketer Bob Groux, who has been behind a series of successful beverage brand launches on the West Coast, including: Snapple, SoBe, Nantucket Nectars and others. Based on the enthusiastic response of beverage distributors thus far, WP Beverage Partners expects the new product line to achieve full national distribution by the summer of 2004.

Javo's premium coffee will be used in all of the Wolfgang Puck® Gourmet Lattes, which initially will come in four rich blends: Rich Espresso, Rich Mocha, Dulce de Leche and French Vanilla. According to Bob Groux, "From the beginning we challenged ourselves to make a product that tasted like the chilled lattes that drinkers were enjoying in specialty coffee houses everyday. Our efforts were boosted when we discovered the premium extract produced by Javo Beverage Company since it allowed the coffee flavor to punch through in a very clear and pleasing way."

"We worked very closely with the Wolfgang Puck® Gourmet Lattes team and were pleased that our coffee helped push the flavor to a level that met their high standards," commented Cody C. Ashwell, Javo CEO. "Our new San Diego-area brewing facility was designed and built with just this type of product in mind."

Coffee flavored beverages, popularized by coffee houses over the last decade and by the introduction of Starbuck's Frapuccino® in supermarkets and convenience stores, are a blend of coffee, milk, and sweeteners meant to be enjoyed chilled or over ice as a morning eye opener or an afternoon refreshment. Most industry analysts expect ready-to-drink coffee, already more than a $300 million dollar retail business (Beverage Digest/Fact Book 2002), to rapidly become mainstream.

Javo's proprietary brewing technology captures the best elements of high-grade beans and leaves behind the bitter overtones found in traditional commercial coffee flavors. Javo's coffee extracts have already found their way into several premium products because they provide exceptional flavor and formula stability. "This is a terrific application for Javo's extract," says Gary Lillian, President of Javo. "The Puck team had the right idea from the beginning - high-quality ingredients and plenty of them. Javo's extract is a genuine, dark roasted coffee that comes through in a very pleasing way and allows the Wolfgang Puck® Gourmet Lattes to deliver a real, fresh coffeehouse experience."

Last year, Javo announced the opening of its state-of-the-art coffee facility in Vista, Calif., capable of brewing over 2 million gallons per year of premium coffee concentrates and extracts. Javo Beverage Company also supplies premium, concentrated coffees to the foodservice industry that may be hand mixed or conveniently dispensed from hot beverage equipment.

SOURCE Javo Beverage Company, Inc.

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