FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2007

IMC Licensing Announces Sweet Baby Ray's®

Flavored Beef Jerky

LOUISVILLE, KY – IMC Licensing, the nation's leading full-service licensing agency specializing in consumer product brands, announced today that it has negotiated a new licensing agreement for Sweet Baby Ray’s^® to develop a line of BBQ flavored beef jerky in conjunction with Bridgford Foods Corporation, a leader in the food service and retail food industries for 75 years.

According to Cara Bernosky, IMC President and Co-Founder, “We are delighted to bring together Bridgford Foods and Sweet Baby Ray’s, the fastest growing BBQ sauce in America and the #1 premium BBQ sauce in the grocery channel, to launch a line of BBQ flavored beef jerky that leverage Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce award-winning flavor equities.  We see great potential in linking Sweet Baby Ray’s with new opportunities in food licensing to expand the brand’s presence in supermarkets, mass merchandisers, convenience stores and restaurants across the country.”

Sweet Baby Ray’s Original and Honey Chipotle Jerky will be in-store late August 2007 at select mass merchandise locations with a rollout to other retailers to follow.  Distribution channels are expected to include mass market, grocery, drug, convenience stores, sporting goods, dollar stores, and other retail channels where food is sold.

“By leveraging licensed products to introduce Sweet Baby Ray’s in new places and new ways, we hope to deepen our brand’s relationship with the BBQ enthusiast,” said Tim Cahalane, Sweet Baby Ray’s Brand Manager.  “We believe there are tremendous opportunities to expand Sweet Baby Ray’s into a variety of food products that tap the brand’s personality and belief that it’s not just a sauce but a life enhancer.”

California-based Bridgford Foods is the first retail jerky company to support  “green” initiatives by reducing jerky packaging from the standard bag size of 7” x 12” to a smaller 7”x7” bag, reducing plastic packaging material by 42%. The standard 3.5 oz serving of jerky will now be sold in a 7” x 7” package size.

ABOUT IMC

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.

In addition to Sweet Baby Ray’s®, IMC Licensing represents Kraft Foods, Remington Arms, TABASCO and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. among others. For more information, please visit www.imclicensing.com.

 

ABOUT SWEET BABY RAY’S

Sweet Baby Ray’s is the fastest growing BBQ sauce in America and the #1 premium BBQ in the grocery channel. For more information, please visit www.sweetbabyrays.com.

 

ABOUT BRIDGFORD FOODS

Anaheim, California-based Bridgford Foods is a leader in the food service and retail food industries. The Company's principal products include sliced lunch meats and sandwiches for retail markets in the Southwestern U.S., frozen bread dough products for both the food service and retail food industries, shelf-stable dry and semi-dry sausage products for both retail and food service establishments, an assortment of frozen Micro-Ready sandwiches, a new line of shelf-stable sandwiches, and heat and serve monkey breads. For more information, please visit www.bridgford.com.

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