Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership Announces Partnership With Annika Sorenstam

ORLANDO, Fla., March 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pepsi Lipton Tea partnership, a joint venture between PepsiCo and Unilever, has announced that Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sorenstam will promote Lipton® ready-to-drink iced teas throughout the state of Florida.  Her involvement will include in-market appearances and regional advertising for its portfolio of iced tea products, which includes Lipton® Iced Tea and Lipton Pure Leaf™ Iced Tea.

During her 15-year hall-of-fame career, Annika was known for her intense workouts and commitment to fitness and nutrition.  Now that she has stepped away from professional golf, Annika continues this mission through her philanthropic work – teaching children the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition.

"I am very proud to represent Lipton, the world's leading tea brand," said Annika.  "I drink tea morning, noon and night and have done so throughout my career, so it definitely aligns with my lifestyle and nutrition habits."

The Lipton iced tea portfolio includes teas for every occasion and taste preference, including sweetened and unsweetened black and green teas, delicious fruit blends and diet teas.

"We're thrilled to have Annika represent Lipton® Iced Teas," said Mary Barnard, General Manager of the Pepsi Lipton Tea partnership. "From her success on the golf course to her amazing work promoting health and wellness, Annika embodies the Lipton spirit and inspires others to pursue an active, healthy life."

Studies suggest that drinking black or green tea may help maintain normal, healthy heart function as part of a diet that is consistent with dietary guidelines and that drinking tea may help maintain normal focus and alertness throughout the day (1).

About Annika

Annika is the greatest female golfer of our generation and often regarded as the best of all-time. During her 15-year Hall of Fame career, she rewrote the LPGA and Ladies European Tour record books, won countless awards and changed the way women's golf was played, viewed, and covered. She amassed 89 worldwide professional victories, including 72 LPGA wins, ten of which are Major Championships. Annika stepped away from professional golf after the 2008 season to focus on her family and the ANNIKA brand of businesses, including the ANNIKA Academy, ANNIKA Financial Group, ANNIKA Course Design, the ANNIKA Collection of apparel with Cutter & Buck, signature high-end wines with Wente Vineyards and an online retail shop, shopannika.com. In 2007, Annika created the ANNIKA Foundation as a way to teach children the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition, and offer aspiring junior golfers opportunities to pursue their dreams. In 2008, Annika joined Arnold Palmer as only the second Ambassador of the United States Golf Association, and in 2009, along with Jack Nicklaus, she was named a Global Ambassador by the International Golf Federation and aided in the successful bid for golf in the 2016 Olympic Games.  Annika will serve as a vice-captain for The 2011 European Solheim Cup Team at Killeen Castle in County Meath, Ireland, Sept. 23-25.  More information can be found at www.annikasorenstam.com.

About Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership

The Pepsi Lipton Tea partnership is a joint venture between Purchase, NY-based PepsiCo and London-based Unilever. The partnership includes a complete portfolio of ready-to-drink iced teas for every occasion, including Lipton Iced Tea, Lipton Pure Leaf Iced Tea and Brisk Iced Tea.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses—Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade—also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide.

About Unilever

Unilever works to create a better future every day. We 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. Each day, around the world, we serve over 2 billion consumers. 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, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Hellmann's, Klondike, Knorr, Lipton, Omo, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Suave, Sunsilk and Vaseline. 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 2009. For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com, www.unilever.ca or www.unilevercaribbean.com.

(1) Grassi D, Mulder TP, Draijer R, Desideri G, Molhuizen HO, Ferri C. Black tea consumption dose-dependently improves flow-mediated dilation in healthy males. J Hypertens. 2009;27:774-781.;  Hodgson JM. Effects of tea and tea flavonoids on endothelial function and blood pressure: a brief review. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2006; 33: 838-841; De Bruin E.A. Drinking black tea improves attention and alertness. Presented at the Tea and the Brain symposium, New York, NY, 16 September, 2008; Hindmarch I, Quinlan PT, Moore KL, Parkin C. The effects of black tea and other beverages on aspects of cognition and psychomotor performance. Psychopharmacol. 1998;139:230-238. ; Hindmarch I, Rigney U, Stanley N, Quinlan P, Rycroft J, Lane J. A naturalistic investigation of the effects of day-long consumption of tea, coffee and water on alertness, sleep onset and sleep quality. Psychopharmacol. 2000;149:203-216.

SOURCE PepsiCo Beverages Americas