Hero/Beech-Nut Awarded Infant Food WIC Contract for New England Region

First contract ever awarded for jarred infant food; award will generate further growth for infant food manufacturer

LATHAM, N.Y., May 4 /PRNewswire/ — Hero/Beech-Nut announced that the company was the successful bidder for the Infant Foods and Infant Cereal Rebate system for the states of Maine, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The contract takes effect on October 1, 2009. It is the first time the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program will make available to program participants jarred infant food products.

“We are extremely delighted to have been selected to implement this important program that will benefit women, infants and children throughout the New England region,” Christoph Rudolf, President and CEO, Hero/Beech-Nut said. “This continues our unprecedented growth in the infant food category and positions our new infant food manufacturing facility in Upstate New York for maximum production.”

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children – known as the WIC Program – serves to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care. The WIC program is administered by the Food and Nutrition Service which is part of the United States Department of Agriculture.

“Hero/Beech-Nut prides itself on making nutritional infant food cereals and products and we are confident that this award will boost our growth and increase our market share in the New England Region,” Rudolf continued. “We look forward to working with all of the states and retailers in the region to make this program a success.”

About Hero/Beech-Nut

Since 1931, Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation has been built on a history of innovation and dedication to infant nutrition. Headquartered in Latham, New York, Beech-Nut is the number two leading baby food brand in the United States and is committed to deliver more nutritious choices for parents and babies. As a subsidiary of Hero Group of Lenzburg, Switzerland, a global leader in consumer goods and infant feeding, Beech-Nut is able to combine resources to continuously improve food and nutrition for infants.

About Hero:

Hero, an international brand-focused consumer-foods group, was founded in 1886 in Lenzburg, Switzerland, and is committed to producing high-quality, nutritious products in its core product categories of Infant Nutrition and Fruit. Hero’s operations are based in Europe, North America, Middle East/Africa and Turkey/Central Asia. In North America, Hero markets leading brands in Infant Nutrition (Beech-Nut(R)), Decoration & Seasonal Products (Cake Mate(R), Paas(R), Pumpkin Masters(TM), Houston Harvest), Chilled Fruit (F2D(R)) and Jams (Hero(R)).

    Contacts:
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    Earl Wells/Andrea Colby
    518-431-1541

SOURCE Hero/Beech-Nut