FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2007

IMC Licensing Turns Brands into Great New Consumer Products

LOUISVILLE, KY - IMC Licensing, the nation's leading full-service licensing agency specializing in consumer product brands, announced today that it has had another record year, outperforming agency expectations by delivering a host of distinctive new licensed products to the marketplace.    

Portfolio of Respected Brands

IMC Licensing has worked over the past ten years with some of America’s largest companies and their brand portfolios including brands such as Altoids and Life Savers for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company; Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Oscar Mayer, A.1., Oreo and others for Kraft Foods; Berkley, Fenwick and Abu Garcia for Pure Fishing; and Cub Cadet and Troy-Bilt for MTD Products.  In addition, IMC Licensing has worked with other powerhouse brands including TABASCO, Manischewitz, Southern Comfort, Louisville Slugger and Remington Arms.

According to Cara Bernosky, IMC Licensing President and Co-Founder, “As we celebrate IMC Licensing’s 10^th Anniverary, we are delighted to have had the privilege of working with such an incredible group of brands over the years as part of our growing portfolio of clients.  Firmly grounded in America’s heartland where great brands have been built and where these brands live, breathe and interact with consumers, we believe we have a grounded approach to licensing that is truly unique.  Our mission is to turn brands into great new consumer products that delight consumers and expand the long-term value of our clients’ iconic trademarks.”

Turning Brands into Great New Consumer Products

IMC Licensing is the nation’s leading licensing agency, specializing in consumer product brands.  No other agency represents more food and beverage brands than IMC Licensing, many of which have recently launched new consumer products in the marketplace including:

·         Crème Savers® Ice Cream and Sherbet, available in both ice cream and an ice cream and sherbet swirl, debuted in early 2007.  IMC Licensing, Wrigley’s licensing agency, secured and negotiated this deal with Kemps Ice Cream.

·         Jack Link’s® A.1.® Steak Sauce Beef Jerky and Jack Link’s® A.1.® Steak Sauce Beef Steak Nuggets, two new innovative and convenient premium meat snacks for people on the go.  IMC Licensing, Kraft’s licensing agency, secured and negotiated this deal with Wisconsin-based Link Snacks, Inc., the leading U.S. meat snack brand and fastest growing meat snack manufacturer worldwide.

·         Manischewitz® Vanilla and Chocolate Flavored Non-Dairy Ice Cream and Manischewitz® Cherry and Lemon Flavored Italian Ices, new premium quality Kosher dessert products, perfect for entertaining guests and sharing with family all year round.  IMC Licensing negotiated both licensing agreements for R.A.B. Food Group’s world-renowned Manischewitz® brand.  The licensee is Brooklyn-based Real Kosher Ice Cream Inc., operating as Klein’s Kosher Ice Cream, a leading manufacturer of Kosher dairy and non-dairy desserts.

·         Manischewitz® Cheese Pizza, a new Kosher pizza product formulated with potato starch rather than matzo meal to adhere to stricter dietary laws, making it available for a larger audience to enjoy and available during Passover.  Brooklyn-based Real Kosher Ice Cream Inc., operating as Klein’s Kosher Ice Cream, is the licensee.

IMC Licensing also represents a variety of non-food brands in their new product initiatives:

·         Cub Cadet® Branded Lawn Care and Garden Accessories, a premium line of branded accessories including steel carts, poly carts, broadcast spreaders, lawn sweepers, tow sprayers, dethatchers, aerators and lawn rollers.  IMC Licensing, MTD Products, Inc.’s licensing agency, secured and negotiated this deal with Brinly-Hardy Company, a leading manufacturer of lawn care and garden products.

·         Cub Cadet® Riding Toy Tractor, a 12-volt battery-operated ride-on toy tractor targeting the next generation of young gardeners.  The licensee is Peg Perego USA, Inc, a global leader in the ride-on toy category.

·         Cub Cadet® Tractor Dump Cart, a pull behind 4-wheel tractor dump cart for the residential landowner and hobby farmer, exclusively available at The Home Depot.  The licensee is Tricam Industries, a leading consumer products company that specializes in the design, marketing and manufacturing of hardline products for mass merchants, home centers and farm and agriculture retailers.

·         Cub Cadet® and Troy-Bilt® Apparel, branded outerwear, workwear and headwear for men, women and children.  The licensee is 20/20 Promotions, Inc., one of the largest promotional marketing agents in the Midwest. 

·         Berkley®, SpiderWire®, Stren®, Abu Garcia®, Mitchell® and Fenwick® Sport Fishing Gear and Accessories, including fishing shirts, shorts, pants, soft-sided tackle boxes, backpacks, dufflebags, other soft-sided bags, rod and reel covers, wasitpacks, fishing towels, bait buckets, float tubes and waders.  IMC Licensing represents Pure Fishing, the world’s largest fishing tackle company, and this complete line will be produced by The Outdoor Recreation Group and will be launched at ICAST 2007, held July 11 – 13, 2007, in Las Vegas.

·         Berkley®, Abu Garcia®, SpiderWire®, Stren®, Mitchell®, Fenwick® and 7Strand® Casual and Technical Headwear for youth, men and women.  The licensee for these new apparel products is Arkansas-based Outdoor Cap, a provider of quality headwear for the fishing and hunting industries.

·         Abu Garcia® Men’s Loungewear.  The licensee for this new apparel line is San Francisco-based MjC Images.

Well-Respected Industry Thought-Leaders

In addition, IMC Licensing continues to lead the industry through its thought-leading articles, presentations and work for America’s leading brands. Its co-founders, CEO Stephen R. Reily and President Cara K. Bernosky, have been active speakers and participants for multiple industry conferences and publications.  Within the past year, Ms. Bernosky moderated a panel at Licensing University 2006 on “Opportunities in Food Licensing” and published multiple articles in The Licensing Journal and on brandchannel.com.  Other members of the IMC Licensing senior staff also play active roles as contributors to licensing industry events as well to IMC Licensing’s own regularly scheduled webinars.

According to Ms. Bernosky, “We at IMC Licensing are driven by a vision that licensing will earn a respected place among the best brand-building, marketing practices and we know that to demand this respect, we must earn it.  White papers, articles and presentations help us achieve this vision as well as keep on top of industry trends and insights and in turn create great new consumer products for our clients’ brands.”

ABOUT IMC LICENSING

Founded in 1997, IMC Licensing is the nation’s leading licensing agency specializing in consumer product brands. Firmly grounded America’s heartland, IMC turns brands into great new consumer products that delight consumers and expand the long-term value of our clients’ iconic trademarks.

IMC Licensing represents Kraft Foods, Remington Arms, TABASCO and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., among others. For more information, please visit www.imclicensing.com.

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