For Immediate Release: March 19, 2010
KANSAS CITY YMCA’S, SUBWAY® RESTAURANTS AND VITAZEST® WATER TEAM UP TO QUENCH KC’S THIRST IN RECOGNITION OF NATIONAL DIABETES ALERT DAY
Kansas City, MO—March 18, 2010— Kansas City YMCA’s, Subway® restaurants and VITAZEST® Water, today announced they are partnering to donate 25,000 free sample bottles of VITAZEST Water, a premium NO sugar, NO carbs, NO calorie, NO fat and NO sodium, vitamin enriched health beverage, along with coupons and literature about the new Subway Diabetes Friendlier Menu campaign. This campaign called “Scoop it,” www.subwayscoopit.com is being offered at about 200 Subway® restaurants in Kansas City. This effort will involve all 20 YMCA’s in the KC Metro area and is designed to bring attention to March 23rd’s National Diabetes Alert Day which falls during National Nutrition Month. The free giveaway will kick off on Monday, March 22, 2010 and is expected to run through the end of the week or until supply of the better- for- you, “diabetes friendly” VITAZEST Water® runs out.
“Diabetes is at epidemic proportions across the country and we here in Kansas City have been hit extraordinarily hard by its ravages. The YMCA is happy to help introduce a great product and a smarter way to eat out for Kansas City consumers. We hope that giving out free VITAZEST® samples and literature about the “Scoop it” Diabetes Friendlier campaign at Subway® restaurants will get the point across,” said Mark Hulet, Vice President of Membership Services of the Greater YMCA of Kansas City.
“I agree with the words of our first lady, Michelle Obama, who recently said at a Grocery Manufacturers Association event ‘we don't have a moment to waste’ Our timeliness and great fortune of being able to work with the YMCA in Kansas City and Subway® restaurants to help get the point about eating smarter, with a well balanced diet, means the stars have aligned for KC’s consumers. By providing free samples of VITAZEST® Water, which is part of the new Diabetes Friendlier Menu being offered at Subway® restaurants, we are helping people make better choices when dining away from home,” said Jeff Frahm Subway® restaurants area developer in Kansas and Missouri.
The promotion in Kansas City is available to anyone visiting any of the 20 participating YMCA’s during the week of March 22nd through March 29th. Visitors will enjoy a free 20z. bottle of VITAZEST® Water, and while supplies last, also receive a coupon for another free VITAZEST® with the purchase of any 6 inch Subway sandwich or salad offered from the Diabetes Friendlier Menu. In addition to that, consumers will also receive a flyer highlighting the better for you attributes of this one of a kind menu, being offered through June exclusively at 200 Subway® restaurants in the Greater Kansas City market.
VITAZEST® is not a newcomer to the campaign to help American’s eat smarter. In addition to its partnership with Subway® restaurants, VITAZEST® has been a close partner with the world renowned Diabetes Research Institute and a portion of all VITAZEST® sales go back to supporting their work to find a cure for diabetes. The DRI Foundation logo can be found on the packaging of every bottle and powder mix packet version of VITAZEST® Water also available through www.drinkvitazest.com.
For more information about the Subway “Scoop it” campaign or the partnership with the YMCA’s offering the free VITAZEST® samples, please visit www.subwayscoopit.com or contact Mark Hulet at 816-561-9622.
FIRST OF ITS KIND DIABETES FRIENDLIER MEAL CHOICES AVAILABLE JUST IN TIME FOR NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS
Kansas City - SUBWAY® restaurants now offer the first of its kind Diabetes Friendlier Meal Choices: Options that fit into a well-balanced diabetic diet in participating stores in the Kansas City market ONLY. The meal choices include a selection of the same fresh bread, vegetables and ingredients SUBWAY® restaurant customers have come to love. The meal choices are geared to help people with diabetes, and all SUBWAY® restaurant customers, make smarter food choices.
The number of incidences of diabetes has significantly increased across the general population, prompting health experts to agree that it has become an epidemic. Currently, there are an estimated 24 million diagnosed diabetics and upwards of 57 million Americans who are considered pre-diabetic. These numbers are expected to continue to rise in coming years.
“At SUBWAY® restaurants we have long offered our customers a variety of options that can meet different dietary needs as well as the nutritional information necessary so they can make more informed choices,” said Subway Dietitian Lanette Kovachi, MS, RD. “With the Diabetes Friendlier Meal Choices, we are responding to a consumer need and providing additional choices that can fit into a well-balanced diabetic diet.”
The menu, deemed “Diabetes Friendlier” by medical experts at the Diabetes Research Institute, a center of excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, consists of a variety of familiar sandwiches and salads except the new sandwich and salad builds feature fewer carbohydrates, sodium, fat and calories.
Each six-inch sandwich on the new menu must be SCOOPED, which means the core of the bread will be removed. This technique helps to decrease the carbohydrate, sodium, fat and calorie content in the sandwich while still maintaining the same full flavor and quality customers have come to expect from the brand. Additionally, some of the items on the menu, richer in these elements, have been omitted from the recommended sandwich and salad builds.
“Controlling carbohydrate intake may help better control blood sugars for people with diabetes. The Diabetes Friendlier Meal Choices provides a lower carbohydrate, sodium, and fat alternative to individuals with or without diabetes that are conscious about selecting healthier food choices from the SUBWAY® restaurants menu,” says Dr. Luigi Meneghini, Diabetes Research Institute at the University
of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Also, recommended as part of this meal is VITAZEST® Water, an exciting new beverage offered at SUBWAY® restaurants. VITAZEST® Water comes complete with 10 vitamins and minerals and boasts zero calories, carbohydrates, sugar and sodium. VITAZEST® Water is offered in three flavors: Kiwi Strawberry, Pomegranate and Acai Blueberry.
A portion of VITAZEST® Water sales will benefit the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation. The Foundation logo appears on each VITAZEST® Water bottle as well as on the menu boards posted at participating SUBWAY® restaurants throughout Kansas City.
“SUBWAY® restaurants, VITAZEST® Water and the Diabetes Research Institute are committed to raising diabetes awareness in the quick service restaurant world. The goal is to make it easier for people with and without diabetes to eat more responsibly. At the same time, consumers become active participants in the effort to slow and eventually reverse the diabetes epidemic,” says Ziv Alcalay, COO
VITAZEST® Water.
Visit www.subwayscoopit.com to learn more about the Diabetes Friendlier Meal Choices.