UN Unilever NV

Coming to a Store Aisle Near You: New Lipton Original Iced Tea and New Lipton Iced Tea New, reformulated ready-to-drink teas with great taste and antioxidants hit store shelves this month PURCHASE, N.Y., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pepsi-Lipton Tea Partnership today unveiled a new formula and new package graphics for ready-to-drink Lipton Original Iced Tea as well as an entirely new version of ready-to-drink Lipton Iced Tea. Both brands are appearing on store shelves nationwide this month. Lipton Original, a premium iced tea, is the only nationally distributed iced tea brand that is made with fresh-brewed tea. Sold in 16-ounce glass bottles and sporting a classic new look, Lipton Original has been reformulated with less sugar but all of the naturally protective antioxidants that it had before. A new Diet Sweet version joins the nine-variety lineup, which also includes Sweetened, Unsweetened, Lemon, Extra Sweet, Raspberry, Green Tea with Honey, Diet Lemon and Peach. New Lipton Iced Tea is sold in 20-oz and 1.5-liter and 2-liter plastic bottles, as well as 16.9-oz 6-packs and 12-packs, and delivers great taste with the health benefits of antioxidants. Created for the popular tea segment, Lipton Iced Tea is available in four flavors: Lemon, Diet with Lemon, Green Tea with Citrus and Diet Green Tea with Citrus. Lipton Brisk, which provides flavorful refreshment for the value tea segment, remains unchanged. Since Lipton Original Iced Tea and New Lipton Iced Tea are both made from real tea, they both contain antioxidants, which are found naturally in tea. Increasing scientific research has shown that antioxidants in tea, fruits and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet. An antioxidant logo will be included on packages of Lipton Original and New Lipton Iced Tea as well as on Lipton bag teas. "The naturally occurring 'better for you' benefits of tea are now being validated through science," said Craig Coffey, vice president and general manager, Pepsi-Lipton Tea Partnership. "Today's health and wellness trends have meant dozens of new beverage choices for consumers and this new lineup gives them a reason to reconsider ready-to-drink tea as a smart choice -- particularly the #1 name in tea, which is Lipton." The launch of Lipton Original and Lipton Iced Tea will be supported by national television advertising (coming later this spring) as well as a print and online advertising, in-store sampling and promotions. The Pepsi-Lipton Tea Partnership is a joint venture between Pepsi-Cola North America and Unilever. Purchase, N.Y.-based Pepsi-Cola North America (http://www.pepsi.com/) is the $4 billion refreshment beverage unit of PepsiCo Inc. in the United States and Canada. Its U.S. brands include Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi ONE, Pepsi Edge, Wild Cherry Pepsi, Pepsi Twist, Pepsi Vanilla, Mountain Dew, Diet Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew Code Red, Mountain Dew LiveWire, Sierra Mist, Mug, Slice, Aquafina, Dole single-serve juices, Tropicana Juice Drinks and SoBe. The company also makes and markets North America's best- selling ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees, respectively, via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks. Unilever (NYSE:ULNYSE:UN), one of the world's largest consumer products companies, aims to add vitality to life by meeting everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and personal care. Each day, around the world, consumers make 150 million decisions to purchase Unilever products. The company has a portfolio of brands that make people feel good, look good and get more out of life. In the United States these brands include recognized names such as: Axe, "all," Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Eternity by Calvin Klein, Hellmann's, Lipton, Knorr, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Snuggle, Suave and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of Unilever. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever in the United States employs more than 15,000 people in 74 office and manufacturing sites in 24 states and Puerto Rico -- generating approximately $10 billion in sales in 2004. For more information, visit http://www.unilever.com/. DATASOURCE: Pepsi-Lipton Tea Partnership CONTACT: Dave DeCecco, Pepsi-Lipton Tea Partnership, +1-914-253-2655, Web site: http://www.pepsi.com/ http://www.unilever.com/

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