L'OR EspressO Capsules Reach $100-Million Sales Milestone

UTRECHT, The Netherlands, August 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Sara Lee on pace to double its annual sales of innovative premium espresso coffee product

Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) announced today that aggregate sales of its innovative single-serve espresso coffee capsules compatible with Nespresso®* coffee appliances have reached the $100-million mark according to Nielsen reports.

The majority of sales of L'OR EspressO capsules to date occurred in France, the product's first and largest market. Thanks to a rapid geographic expansion strategy, Sara Lee is now on pace to double its sales of the product versus a year ago.

"L'OR EspressO has been an instant success with consumers thanks to its unique combination of top-quality Arabica coffee, broad retail availability and attractive pricing," said Frank van Oers, chief executive officer of Sara Lee's international beverage and bakery businesses. "L'OR EspressO is a good example of why Sara Lee is focusing on strong consumer-oriented innovation to deliver profitable growth. The results to date confirm our confidence in L'OR EspressO's potential for even greater success globally."

Sara Lee's innovative espresso coffee capsule is the first product of its kind to be sold at mainstream retail outlets. In its first year in the market, distribution has increased to more than 15,000 European stores behind an eager response from customers and consumers.

Sara Lee launched L'OR EspressO capsules in France in April 2010 with four varieties. Since then, the company has introduced its capsules in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain - where it is marketed as L'aRôme EspressO. The company already expanded the product range to nine varieties and plans to continue innovating by introducing new varieties and origins.

All varieties of L'OR EspressO capsules are made with only 100 percent Arabica coffee grown and harvested in a socially and environmentally sustainable way, in compliance with the UTZ CERTIFIED Code of Conduct. Sara Lee sells coffee and tea products in more than 40 countries around the world and is the leading global buyer of UTZ CERTIFIED coffee.

*Nespresso® is a trademark owned by a third party not associated with Sara Lee.

About Sara Lee

Each and every day, Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) delights millions of consumers and customers around the world. The company has one of the world's best-loved and leading portfolios with its innovative and trusted food and beverage brands, including BallPark, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee and Senseo. Collectively, our brands generate nearly $9 billion in annual net sales from continuing operations. Sara Lee has approximately 20,000 employees in its continuing operations worldwide. In January 2011, Sara Lee Corp. announced that it will divide the company into two pure-play publicly-traded companies. One company will be focused around the current International Coffee and Tea business, while the other company will be focused on the North American Retail Meats and North American Foodservice businesses. For more information on this news and on Sara Lee's brands, please visit http://www.saralee.com.

SOURCE Sara Lee Corp

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