• Home:
• News:
• U-SWIRL:

U-Swirl, Inc. Acquires Beverage and "Gummies" Company

By: U-SWIRL |  1,014 Shares     227 Reads

Consumer Products Company to Service Existing Franchisees and Retailers

HENDERSON, NV - (Marketwired - Mar 11, 2014) - U-Swirl, Inc. (OTCQB: SWRL) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Moxie Consumer Products, LLC, which was created for the purpose of selling beverages, toppings, and other consumer products, has acquired the business assets of Moxie USA, LLC. The acquisition of all intellectual property and worldwide license rights includes the rights associated with national, regional, and local distributors that are currently purchasing beverage and candy products for sale across more than 15 States. U-Swirl purchased the Moxie USA, LLC assets for an earn-out of up to a total of 250,000 shares of SWRL common stock over a two-year period, based upon Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) generated by the acquired assets.

U-Swirl, Inc. is majority-owned by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ: RMCF).

"This acquisition provides an exceptional opportunity to add revenue streams to our existing business lines," stated Ulderico Conte, Chief Executive Officer of U-Swirl, Inc. "On a system-wide basis, corporate stores and franchisees purchase significant amounts of toppings and beverages, in addition to frozen yogurt ingredients. We believe this acquisition will enhance corporate revenue and earnings, while providing franchisees greater purchasing efficiencies. Moxie Consumer Products, LLC will provide us with a relatively low-risk entry into the consumer products space, while enhancing our presence in schools, where the Mr. Flav beverage product is very popular."

"We look forward to the introduction of Mr. Flav beverage and Moxie toppings to the entire U-Swirl family of frozen yogurt brands," continued Conte. "The self-serve frozen yogurt market is extremely fragmented, and we believe the initial step in consolidating an industry involves finding economies of scale by offering superior products at a competitive price. U-Swirl intends to play an important role in this process as we pursue both organic growth and an aggressive acquisition program. In addition to our recent acquisitions of frozen yogurt chains, we are pursuing new store openings by franchisees under the U-Swirl, CherryBerry and Fuzzy Peach brands, with 32 stores currently in various stages of the development process."

"I am very excited to be part of the U-Swirl, Inc. portfolio of brands," stated Rob Chang, newly appointed Chief Operating Officer of Moxie Consumer Products, LLC. "The Company is rapidly building a strong nationwide presence in the frozen dessert market, and I look forward to providing franchisees with a variety of superior product offerings in the near future. Moxie is currently distributing beverage and gummies products in 15 states. School sales represent a significant part of our beverage business, as Mr. Flav meets the more strict criteria for 'allowable sugar' in products sold in educational facilities. We intend to cross-promote yogurt brands and beverages in multiple markets."

About U-Swirl, Inc.

U-Swirl, Inc. is an operator and franchisor of self-serve frozen yogurt cafés that offer frozen yogurt in 20 non-fat and low-fat flavors, including tart, traditional, and no-sugar-added options, along with fresh sorbet. Approximately 70 toppings such as fresh fruit, sauces, candies, and granola, are available to customize each serving of yogurt to the customer's individual taste.

In January 2013, the Company acquired frozen yogurt café assets, franchise rights and certain other assets from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ: RMCF) in exchange for a 60 percent controlling ownership interest in the Company, certain warrants and notes payable.

U-Swirl, Inc. is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada, and its common stock trades on the OTCQB under the symbol "SWRL". As of March 9, 2014, the Company and/or its franchisees and licensees operated 286 self-serve frozen yogurt cafés in 38 states and 4 foreign countries. Additional information on U-Swirl, Inc. is available on the Internet at www.u-swirl.com.

About Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc., headquartered in Durango, Colorado, is an international franchisor of gourmet retail chocolate stores and a manufacturer of an extensive line of premium chocolates and other confectionery products. The company's common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "RMCF." Additional information is available on the Internet at www.rmcf.com.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, Inc. also owns a majority interest in U-Swirl, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements". These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information. Risks and uncertainties that could cause cash flows to decrease or actual results to differ materially include, without limitation, seasonality, consumer interest in the Company's products, general economic conditions, consumer and retail trends, costs and availability of raw materials, competition, market conditions, and future business decisions, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond the Company's control. Readers are referred to the Company's periodic reports filed with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. The information contained in this press release is a statement of the Company's present intentions, beliefs or expectations and is based upon, among other things, the existing business environment, industry conditions, market conditions and prices, the economy in general and the Company's assumptions. The Company may change its intentions, beliefs or expectations at any time and without notice, based upon any changes in such factors, in its assumptions or otherwise, and it undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. The cautionary statements contained or referred to in this press release should be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that the Company or persons acting on its behalf may issue.

Contact:

U-Swirl, Inc.
(702) 586-8700

###

Comments:

comments powered by Disqus