Mars Drinks Raises the Bar for Office Coffee With Addition of Specialty Brand Alterra Coffee Roasters

New Coffee and Tea Line-Up will Expand Premium Hot Beverages Offerings

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Feb 28, 2011, 03:12 ET

WEST CHESTER, Pa., Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars Drinks, a global leader in workplace beverages, today announced the Milwaukee-born Alterra Coffee brand is now available to coffee lovers nationwide through the Flavia Fresh Release System, which offers specialty coffees, teas and hot chocolate.

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With the addition of Alterra, Mars Drinks offers more than 25 combinations of premium coffee, cappuccinos, lattes, mochas and espresso-style drinks, as well as Dove hot chocolate and a selection of high quality specialty teas from The Bright Tea Co.

"We searched far and wide to find a hard-working, full-flavored coffee to enhance our specialty offerings and we found it in Milwaukee, Wisconsin," said Martin Radvan, President of Mars Drinks. "Alterra is a beloved brand throughout the Midwest and an icon in the specialty coffee industry. We are thrilled to bring this high quality brand to offices all over the country."

Mars Drinks announced last April it had purchased the global rights to the Alterra brand, which was founded in 1993 by three friends in Milwaukee who started roasting their own coffee after being unable to find a strong, full-flavored cup that worked as hard as they did. Today, Alterra operates a roasting facility and twelve cafes and kiosks throughout the Milwaukee-area and is exclusively available outside the Midwest through the Flavia Fresh Release System.

In addition to bringing Alterra into the Mars family, Mars Drinks also collaborated with a world-renowned tea expert Steve Smith to create The Bright Tea Co. The Bright Tea Co. rounds out the premium offerings available through the Flavia Fresh Release System with a selection of full-flavored, perfectly balanced teas.

"There is no reason to settle for 'glass pot' coffee in the workplace when offices can provide a personalized specialty coffee experience for colleagues and clients alike," said Radvan.

A complete list of Alterra coffees, The Bright Tea Co. teas and Dove hot chocolate selections is available at www.alterracoffee.com, www.thebrightteaco.com and www.myflavia.com.

Flavia, from Mars Drinks, has been satisfying the individual tastes of coffee and tea drinkers for more than 25 years, since their first brewer launched in 1984. The company was the first to introduce a single serve drinks system to the office, and has the only single cup system with authentic cappuccinos and lattes.

ALTERRA COFFEE ROASTERS, ALTERRA, THE BRIGHT TEA CO., FLAVIA, FLAVIA FRESH RELEASE, SOURCE.SEAL.SERVE., DOVE ®/MD/TM/MC Trademarks © Mars 2010.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars, Incorporated is a private, family-owned company founded in 1911 and employing over 65,000 associates at more than 230 sites, including 135 factories, in 68 countries worldwide. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, U.S.A., Mars, Incorporated is one of the world's largest food companies, generating global revenues of more than $30 billion annually and operating in six business segments: Chocolate, Petcare, Wrigley, Food, Drinks, and Symbioscience. These segments produce some of the world's leading brands: Chocolate – M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, MARS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX®; Petcare – Banfield, The Pet Hospital, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, SHEBA®, CESAR®, ROYAL CANIN®, GREENIES®, and NUTRO®; Wrigley – ORBIT®, EXTRA®, STARBURST®, DOUBLEMINT® and SKITTLES®; Food – UNCLE BEN'S®, DOLMIO®, EBLY®, MASTERFOODS® and SEEDS OF CHANGE®; Drinks – KLIX® and FLAVIA®; Symbioscience – WISDOM PANEL™ Professional and WISDOM PANEL™ Insights, SERAMIS®, and CirkuHealth.

SOURCE Mars, Incorporated