Profitime Inc.
PROFITIME SIGNS DEAL WITH SOUTHWEST TRADERS
BECOMES EXCLUSIVE SUPPLIER OF FROZEN CONCENTRATED JUICES
North Hollywood, CA, October 20, 2000 Profitime, Inc. has recently signed a deal to become the exclusive supplier of frozen concentrated juices to Southwest Traders, headquartered in Temecula, CA. The deal between the North Hollywood dispenser beverage company and Southwest Traders, the largest specialty distributor to the ice cream and smoothie bar trade in the country, represents $5 million over the next five years.
"We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with Southwest Traders for the past three years," commented Ed Sullivan, vice president of Sales and Marketing for Profitime. "This agreement benefits both companies by concentrating on their respective strengths. It allows Profitime to pull out of direct distribution (to this segment) and to focus solely on juice packing, equipment and service expertise. It also increases Southwest Traders' customer base and market penetration, while allowing them to reduce suppliers and increasing inventory turns," Sullivan added. Profitime has experienced a 30% growth in the past year and has recently expanded its services into Utah and Colorado. "Several key customers requested that we offer our services in these states," said Sullivan. "Due to their continued support, the expansion has benefited over one hundred similar end users to secure a high quality frozen juice dispenser program at reasonable prices," he continued. Profitime is the low cost supplier in this market segment, saving customers up to fifty percent. Southwest Traders Ken Smith founded Southwest Traders Inc. in 1977 to distribute fresh juice, smoothies and health food items to health food centers in southern Orange and San Diego counties. Today, Southwest Traders' one-stop shop in Temecula, CA features the largest yogurt, ice cream, juice and smoothie inventory in the world. Its new facility is 67,000 square feet and includes dry storage, low-temperature freezers and medium temperature coolers. The company has developed its own private label, Rainbow's End, which includes premium-quality juice concentrates, smoothie nutrients, soft-serve yogurt mixes, hard-pack yogurt and sherbets, fruit, toppings, cone mixes and other items. Southwest Traders serves California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah directly through its modern fleet, and helps its national and international customers arrange their own transportation. Recently, the company changed its slogan to "Your Distribution Solution" to emphasize its various areas of distribution expertise. Profitime, Inc. Profitime is one of the largest independent dispenser beverage companies in the country. A vertically integrated company with over a dozen service technicians in Southern California alone, Profitime is the market leader in supplying juice products, beverage dispensers, dispenser service or turnkey beverage programs to the hotel, college and healthcare food service industries. Innovation has kept Profitime at the forefront of the juice dispenser business for the past 27 years. Originally the master distributor for Sunkist, the company marketed the popular "Sunkist Profit Pack." In the mid-90šs, Profitime became the first company to introduce tropical juice blends for dispenser juice. Today, Profitime is the leading dispenser juice and service provider to the hotel and smoothie bar trade. As a service company, Profitime services, distributes and refurbishes beverage machines for such clients as Lipton Iced Tea, Florida's Natural and Jamba Juice. The company offers a total dispenser beverage program through either direct distribution or local distributors. Profitime is also the number one supplier of premium frozen concentrate juices to juice bars. They are creators of the "Millennium Pack," a recyclable, disposable dispenser juice pack that fits into most post-mix dispensers available on the market today. Profitime has the most highly trained dispenser tech personnel in the industry, offering many services to its clientele, including 24-hour response time. The company's onsite refrigeration experts have extensive training and experience, and they can handle any technical problems that may arise.
For more information about Profitime and the many services it offers, call Ed Sullivan at 818-982-5400.
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