Nespresso Signs an Event 'Supporter' Agreement with AC Management for the 32nd America's Cup

    GENEVA and PAUDEX, Switzerland, June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Nestle Nespresso
 SA, the leading premium-portioned coffee company, and AC Management, official
 organizers of the next America's Cup, today announced the signing of an event
 "Supporter" agreement appointing Nespresso as the official coffee of the 32nd
 America's Cup. The sponsorship deal allows for on-going brand visibility and
 media exposure, multi-faceted product displays and sampling at official VIP
 hospitality venues and functions and exclusive sales of Nespresso Grand Cru
 coffees at on-site F&B facilities open to the public as well as through
 dedicated Nespresso coffee corners.
     The 32nd edition of the America's Cup includes an ambitious three-phase
 program of sailing competitions to be held in Europe and the USA over four
 years including Pre-Regattas (Louis Vuitton Acts), the Challenger Series
 (Louis Vuitton Cup) and the America's Cup Match in summer 2007. It will also
 be the first time since 1851 that the America's Cup will again be held in
 Europe. The time zone of host city Valencia (Spain), combined with advanced
 multi media and communication technology, will allow the organizers, AC
 Management, to reach a much larger audience than has been possible in past
 editions, thereby allowing them to achieve their vision of bringing the
 America's Cup closer to the general public.
     "We are proud to be associated with such a prestigious international event
 as the 32nd America's Cup," said Gerhard Berssenbrugge, CEO of Nestle
 Nespresso SA. "The event's participants, partners and supporters all share the
 same core values as Nespresso: passion, commitment and pride in the continuous
 search for excellence and perfection. Our agreement with AC Management gives
 us the opportunity to share Nespresso's ultimate coffee experience with an
 exceptional audience while displaying our system and its key competitive
 advantages in a unique environment."
     Michel Bonnefous, CEO of AC Management said: "Nespresso's supportership
 adds to the notoriety and prestige that the America's Cup enjoys worldwide. We
 are pleased and proud to welcome this premium quality brand as the official
 coffee of the 32nd America's Cup. As such, Nespresso will contribute to this
 grand competition by enhancing the pleasure of the millions of visitors who
 will attend the regattas."
 
    For more information about Nespresso, visit http://www.nespresso.com or
                     contact Olivier Brunschwick, President
                 Nespresso USA, Inc at Tel: + 212 755 0585 x101
 
 For more information about the America's Cup, visit http://www.americascup.com
                  or contact Marcus Hutchinson, Head of Media
   AC Management at Tel: + 34 96 354 0530 or by e-mail media@americascup.com
 
     Notes to Editors
     The Nestle Nespresso SA company is one of the fastest growing operating
 units of the Nestle Group, the world food company. Headquartered in Paudex,
 Switzerland, Nestle Nespresso currently employs close to 900 people.
     Nespresso products are sold in more than 30 countries through 17
 subsidiaries located in Switzerland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands,
 Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Austria, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Poland,
 Russia, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and the U.S.A., as well as through a
 network of independent agents, spread throughout several countries in Europe,
 Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
     Clean and simple to use, the Nespresso system successfully combines
 advanced machine technology with superior quality ground coffee in a uniquely
 designed capsule. With the Nespresso Club, consumers can seek advice or order
 coffee and accessories 24 hours a day via the Internet or toll-free telephone
 and fax. The Club, the machine and the coffee capsules form the three pillars
 of the Nespresso system.
     There are currently 29 Nespresso Boutiques in more than 27 locations,
 including Paudex, Geneva, Bern, Basel, Zurich, Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Nice,
 Lisbon, Rome, Amsterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Munich,
 London, Vienna, Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, New York, Tokyo, Osaka and
 Ginza. In addition, new Boutiques will be opening in the following locations
 in 2004: Lucerne, Bordeaux and Strasbourg.
     For further information about Nestle Nespresso SA, visit:
 http://www.nespresso.com
     Established in 1997, Nespresso Professional is a natural progression from
 Nestle Nespresso's excellence in the household sector. Nespresso Professional
 provides convenient machine solutions and premium-portioned coffee to small or
 medium sized businesses, as well as to the premium hotel and restaurant
 sector.
     For further information about Nespresso Professional, visit:
 http://www.nespressopro.com
     Nestle Nespresso has sustained more than 25 per cent year-on-year growth
 since its market introduction in 1988. Its turnover in 2003 totalled CHF 450
 million (euro 295 million).
 
     THE AMERICA'S CUP IS...
     An America's Cup race is a duel. The simplicity of the concept, the
 complexity of the execution, and the challenge of the competition, makes
 America's Cup racing a singular pursuit.
     America's Cup match racing is sport of the highest magnitude. It is a
 punishing competition where only the winner is rewarded. All yacht racing is
 about winning; all match racing is about beating just one other boat. As Queen
 Victoria was told in 1851 when the schooner America glided across the
 finishing line, "Your Majesty, There is no second."
     As the oldest trophy in international sport the America's Cup boasts a
 rich heritage. To put the long history of this event in context, consider that
 when the first Games of the modern Olympics were held in Athens in 1896, it
 had already been 45 years since the yacht America defeated the British in
 1851. The history of the America's Cup is the story of a pursuit of excellence
 that continues to this day.
     Throughout its history, the challenge of the America's Cup has attracted
 entrepreneurs, merchants, engineers, media moguls, aristocrats and financiers.
 Often the big characters of the Cup have been masters of their society,
 representing the leading industries of their age. Equally, the Cup has been
 captured by dreamers; those with the vision and the drive to inspire their
 teams to overcome every obstacle.
     The 32nd America's Cup continues the evolution of this grand event by
 adding new elements to a long history of tradition. For the first time in 152
 years, the America's Cup is in Europe. Throughout its long history, the
 contest for the America's Cup has only ever been held in the United States,
 Australia and New Zealand.
     Among many other things, there is now an ambitious four-year programme of
 regattas commencing in 2004, each one a distinct Act in the drama of the 32nd
 America's Cup, there has been an original bid process to identify Valencia,
 Spain as the best possible host city, and there are a series of interesting
 changes to the race format, and the America's Cup Class Rule; in short,
 changes governed by an overriding vision of bringing the America's Cup closer
 to the people.
 
 

SOURCE  Nestle Nespresso SA