Fabio Viviani Declares New Bertolli® Premium Meal Soups for Two "Molto Buono!"

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Sept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bertolli® and Fabio Viviani, acclaimed Italian chef, restaurant owner and Top Chef contestant, unveiled the latest restaurant-inspired product offering from Bertolli® today – New Bertolli® Premium Meal Soups for Two.  With tender meat, al dente pasta, fragrant herbs and crisp vegetables like zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes flash frozen at the peak of freshness, Italian chefs, including Chef Viviani, are proclaiming, "Mangia tutto!" to the great taste of Bertolli® Premium Meal Soups for Two.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110926/NY74818 )

"Bertolli® uses high quality ingredients like I do in my restaurants – quality meats and pastas, fresh-tasting vegetables and stocks – to create the delicious New Bertolli® Premium Meal Soups for Two – and they're easy to make at home," says Chef Viviani.  "In Italy, we want delicious meals even when we don't have the time to go to a restaurant or make it from scratch. With Bertolli® Meal Soups, people can have a great restaurant-quality meal anytime."

Bertolli® Premium Meal Soups for Two are available in 24 oz. packages, and with the addition of one cup of water, yield 32 oz. of mouthwatering soup. The new line of hearty, fresh-tasting meal soups are available in the frozen aisle of grocery retailers nationwide, including Walmart and Target, in four varieties reminiscent of flavors created by Italian Chefs:

• Chicken Minestrone - Roasted white meat chicken, beans, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, tomatoes and pasta in a hearty vegetable broth
• Roasted Chicken & Rotini Pasta - Roasted white meat chicken, pasta, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots and celery in a savory chicken broth
• Tomato Florentine & Tortellini with Chicken - Cheese-filled tortellini, white meat chicken, spinach and tomatoes in a rich tomato bisque with a hint of basil
• Tuscan-Style Beef with Vegetables - Tender beef, mushrooms, yellow squash, zucchini, carrots and celery with bowtie pasta in a savory broth

"We've partnered with Chef Fabio Viviani to showcase the true Italian-restaurant-quality of new Bertolli® Premium Meal Soups for Two," says Rachel Porges, Senior Brand Manager for Bertolli® Frozen Meals at Unilever. "With the arrival of Bertolli® Meal Soups, consumers everywhere can have another great restaurant-quality meal from freezer to table in minutes."  

For more information on Bertolli® Premium Meals Soups for Two, please visit http://www.villabertolli.com/Home.aspx.

About Bertolli

In 1865, in the town of Lucca, in the Tuscan heart of Italy's olive growing region, Francesco Bertolli opened a small storefront business selling regional foods such as olive oil, wine, cheese and olives. In the late 1800s, the Bertolli business grew from its Italian roots when Italian emigrants to America, unable to find the products to which they were accustomed, wrote to Bertolli asking for crates of olive oil. In reply, Bertolli sent orders to America and thus became the first exporter of olive oil. By the 1890s, Bertolli was sold in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. From there, business gradually expanded west and eventually found export markets beyond the United States.

From its beginnings in olive oil, Bertolli today has grown to include a broad range of restaurant-quality pasta sauces and frozen meals. While the Bertolli portfolio of products is constantly evolving to meet changing consumer needs, it continues to stay true to its Italian origins of culinary craftsmanship and trademark values of guaranteed quality, consistency and authenticity.  Today, more than 140 years since Francesco Bertolli began selling his olive oil in Lucca, Italy, the original "Villa Bertolli" at piazza S. Donato still stands, just as Bertolli remains at the heart of the authentic Italian cuisine enjoyed at home by millions of families around the world.  For more information visit www.villabertolli.com.

About Unilever North America

Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong operations in more than 100 countries and sales in 180.  With products that are used over two billion times a day around the world, we work to create a better future every day and help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others.  In the United States, Canada and the Greater Caribbean (Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Blue Band, Breyers, Caress, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, fds, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, OMO, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Ragu, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemme, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs more than 13,000 people across North America – generating nearly $10 billion in sales in 2010.  For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com, www.unilever.ca, or www.unilevercaribbean.com.

SOURCE Unilever North America