NY Giants Pro Bowl Wide Receiver Steve Smith to Endorse New Leaf Brands' Lemonades and Iced Teas

OLD TAPPAN, N.J., Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- New Leaf Brands and Steve Smith – Pro Bowl wide receiver for the New York Giants – have signed a multi-season endorsement agreement.  This agreement, officially signed on November 1, 2010, marks New Leaf's first celebrity endorsement. It also makes Steve Smith a New Leaf shareholder.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101109/NY97201 )

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20101109/NY97201 )

Smith, an avid iced tea fan, was introduced to New Leaf at a promotional signing appearance in 2009, where a variety of beverages were being sampled.  With a growing taste for New Leaf products, Smith's management team reached out to the company earlier this year to find out where he could get more New Leaf and possibly partner with the burgeoning brand. Not long after, New Leaf and Smith reached an exciting, mutually beneficial agreement that will last through the end of next season, at a minimum.

Smith, a 2009 Pro Bowl wide receiver, began his career with the New York Giants in 2007, where he played an integral role in their Super Bowl XLII victory with 5 catches for 50 yards.  After two seasons under the radar, Smith burst onto the scene in 2009 with 107 receptions, obliterating the previous single-season record of 82 receptions held by Amani Toomer. Before reaching this milestone, the Giants had never had a receiver break the 100-reception mark in one season.

It was that same year Mr. Smith was selected as the first NY Giants wide receiver in the Pro Bowl since Homer Jones made it in 1968. The Los Angeles native attended the University of Southern California, where he won a National Championship and had 190 catches for 3,019 yards, which placed him 5th and 4th, respectively, in USC history.

"Steve Smith is exactly the type of athlete we want endorsing New Leaf. He excels on the field and is relatable off the field, where he is extremely active with his fans in Social Media and heavily involved in various charitable organizations, including March of Dimes, Joe Girardi's Catch 25 Foundation for Alzheimer's research, and the Chelsea Piers Scholarship Fund. He came to New Leaf to discuss potential opportunities, because 'It Just Tastes Better™'. From a business perspective, his bi-coastal appeal will certainly help drive New Leaf in the top two markets in the US," commented New Leaf CEO, Eric Skae.

"I have been a life-long fan of iced tea.  When I go out to dinner, or I am just hanging around the house, it's my go-to beverage. When I tried New Leaf iced tea last year, I was hooked immediately.  Recently, I had the opportunity to try their line of lemonades and am now a big fan of them as well. I am humbled and excited to endorse a product that I not only believe in, but use in my daily life," stated Smith.

About New Leaf Brands, Inc.:

Founded by Eric Skae in 2004 in Orangeburg, New York, New Leaf Brands (OTC Bulletin Board: NLEF) was born out of the vision to provide consumers with healthy and great tasting beverages. New Leaf Brands are available in 11 unique tea flavors sweetened with 100% organic cane sugar, 4 lemonades made with 6%-10% real fruit juice and sweetened with 100% organic cane sugar and 2 diet iced teas sweetened with Splenda™.

In the US, the refreshing beverages can be found in over 15,000 outlets including restaurants, delis, health food stores, pizzerias and other retail establishments. For more information, please visit http://www.newleafbrands.com/ or follow New Leaf on Twitter @DrinkNewLeaf and become a fan on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/NewLeafBrands).

About Steve Smith:

To keep up with Steve, follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/SteveSmith and Twitter @SteveSmithNY, where he provides his fans with daily updates of his life as a New York Giants football player.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, made in reliance upon Section 21D of the Exchange Act of 1934, which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties or other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results, performance, or expectations implied by these forward-looking statements. The Company's expectations, among other things, are dependent upon general economic conditions, continued demand for its products, the availability of raw materials, retention of its key management and operating personnel, its ability to operate its subsidiary companies effectively, need for and availability of additional capital as well as other uncontrollable or unknown factors which are more fully disclosed in the Company's Form 10-Ks and 10-Qs on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE New Leaf Brands