Boutique Purveyor Offers First Full-size Bottled Latte Under 100 Calories for Healthy Indulgence in Iced-Coffee-To-Go Market

18/10/07 Boutique iced coffee latte purveyor New York Coffee Company has taken a unique health and nutrition approach to challenge the biggest names in refrigerated, ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee beverages with Iced 'Spresso (http://www.icedspresso.com), the first product in the category with no sugar added and the lowest calorie count.

Iced 'Spresso has been shown in independent studies to be healthier than competing products based on caloric content while receiving high marks for customer satisfaction. It is designed as an "indulgence without the guilt" alternative to sugar-laden, higher calorie offerings from the dominant companies in the iced coffee arena. The 9.5-ounce Iced 'Spresso contains 90 calories versus the Starbucks 200-calorie offering at the same serving size. It has eight grams of sugar per serving to Starbucks' 31.

Industry analysts expect U.S. sales of RTD iced coffee to surpass $1 billion in 2009. "Consumers now regard these beverages as stand-alone drinks or as snack beverages, thus creating a new category unto itself that has quickly become the target of some of the industry's largest players," said Keith Chamish, president of New York Coffee Company. "Iced 'Spresso adds a health dimension to that equation."

The typical coffee drinker reportedly consumes an average of 3.1 cups per day with an increasing proportion in the form of high-calorie, high-fat specialty drinks. Consuming one latte a day containing 300 calories represents 2,100 calories a week or 109,200 calories per year. Drinking Iced 'Spresso would avoid 74,440 calories a year. With 3,500 calories translating to approximately one pound in body weight, switching to Iced 'Spresso over a year could mean 22 pounds in weight loss.

"There is a plethora of beverages today loaded with empty calories in the form of sugar. There is neither a sense of being full nor a compensation by taking in less calories, which can easily lead to unnecessary weight gain," said Nicole Britvan, registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator with Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco.

Iced 'Spresso is currently available online and at retail outlets including Foodtown, Shoprite and 7-Eleven stores on the East Coast, recently surpassing 3,000 points of sale with plans for a network of branded vending machines.