NEWS BRIEFS: NEW ATKINS SPORTS DRINK...YOO-HOO SIMPSONS SWEEPSTAKES AND PROMOTION...SUMMER PROMOTION SUPPORTS PEPSI SHOW...HAWAIIAN PUNCH GETS LIGHTER...TAZO TEAS TAKE TOP SPOT IN NATURAL FOOD STORES

NEW ATKINS SPORTS DRINK

te Beverages here said it has received an initial purchase order from Atkins Nutritionals, New York, for ChampionLyte Sports Drink, which will be sugar-free and clear in appearance. It will appear on the Atkins Web site soon and in Atkins' fall catalog, to be delivered Sept. 1, the company said.

The order, which was placed through its national broker Alldiet, consists of a special run of "clear" ChampionLyte that will have all-natural flavors and no artificial colors. Atkins Nutritionals was founded as Atkins Complementary Formulations in 1989.

YOO-HOO SIMPSONS SWEEPSTAKES AND PROMOTION

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink announced the launch of the "Back 2 School with the Simpsons Sweepstakes," running from July 15 to Feb. 29, 2004.

The promotion will appear on all bottles and cans of Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink around the country, according to the Snapple Beverage Group here, owner of the brand.

The grand prize will be a 2004 Volkswagen Eurovan GLS. Other prizes include cases of Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink and a host of other Yoo-hoo and Simpsons items.

"We're excited about this promotional partnership with Yoo-hoo. The synergies are obvious -- the yellow label, cult-classic status, and the core target couldn't be more perfect," said Amy Lorbati, Fox Licensing & Merchandising's director of Worldwide Television Promotions.

Each of the Yoo-hoo promotional packages feature illustrations of Simpsons characters from a skateboarding Bart to a late-for-school Springfield Elementary school bus. The 15.5-ounce Yoo-hoo bottles feature the Simpsons characters on nine different collectible caps. Consumers can get their very own "Springfield Elementary Notebook" by sending in two UPC symbols from any Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink six-pack, 12-pack or 64-ounce carton, or four UPC symbols from 32-ounce cartons.

Consumers can find Simpsons Sweepstakes entry forms at participating Yoo-hoo retailers, or online at www.drinkyoo-hoo.com.

The Snapple Beverage Group, a unit of Cadbury Schweppes, has a beverage brand portfolio that includes Yoo-hoo, Mistic, Nantucket Nectars, Orangina, Snapple and Stewart's.

SUMMER PROMOTION SUPPORTS PEPSI SHOW

Purchase, N.Y. -- Pepsi-Cola North America here is headed for the small screen with a television marketing alliance tied to a summer promotion.

Pepsi has chosen Drew Carey -- star of "The Drew Carey Show" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" -- to host a TV special on The WB this fall called "Pepsi Play for a Billion."

The show guarantees a $1 million winner with a 1-in-1,000 chance to win $1 billion. Contestants will be randomly selected through Pepsi's summer promotion, called "Pepsi Play for a Billion." Under the promotion, specially marked Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist products contain a sweepstakes entry code or a $15 instant-win message.

One thousand consumers will be randomly selected throughout the summer, and will be invited to appear on the show and play a game of chance followed by an elimination process to determine the $1 million prizewinner. The $1 million winner will then have a chance to win $1 billion.

Pepsi-Cola North America is the refreshment beverage unit of PepsiCo.

The alliance comes at a time when Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, has partnered with Turner Network Television (TNT) to create eight weekend movie festivals for diet Coke. Developed by TNT, "diet Coke MovieFest" is a key part of the brand's integrated marketing activities this summer.

The "diet Coke MovieFest" will run on TNT through Sept. 28, and will feature customized diet Coke-branded movie introductions and conclusions, intermissions, and tune-in messages produced by TNT.

HAWAIIAN PUNCH GETS LIGHTER

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Mott's here has introduced new Light Hawaiian Punch, which contains 60% less sugar, calories and fewer carbohydrates.

Light Hawaiian Punch will be available nationwide next month in 1-gallon bottles at Wal-Mart. Other retail outlets will begin distribution in September 2003, with nationwide retail distribution expected by January 2004. A 64-ounce version will roll out nationally in 2004.

"Research has shown that parents feel their children are consuming too much sugar in their diets," said Kristen Marshall, senior brand manager, Hawaiian Punch. "With Light Hawaiian Punch, we're addressing that concern while still taking kids' taste preferences into account."

Mott's is a division of London-based Cadbury Schweppes.

TAZO TEAS TAKE TOP SPOT IN NATURAL FOOD STORES

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Tazo iced and juiced tea bottled beverages captured the national leadership position in natural food stores in dollar sales, dollar share and annual growth in the ready-to-drink tea category, according to the March 2003 SPINSscan.

In the overall carbonated beverage and single-serve category, Tazo is the fastest-growing beverage with a growth rate twice that of any other brand.

The company's most recent flavor, Tea Lemonade, was awarded "Best New Product, Ready-to-Drink Category" at the Specialty Coffee Association of America's annual conference April 25 to 28.

Tazo has 15 iced and juiced tea offerings. Tazo Iced Teas combine teas and herbs with other natural ingredients. Tazo Juiced Teas blend fine teas, herbs and juices. Unlike many ready-to-drink beverages, Tazo is brewed from hand-selected teas and contains no artificial additives or sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup.

Tazo's extensive variety of filter bags, full-leaf, chai, and iced and juiced bottled teas are found internationally in over 6,000 Starbucks stores, as well as restaurants, cafes, resorts, grocery, specialty and natural food stores.