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On the Offense

By: 7-Eleven |  1 Shares     244 Reads

7-Eleven® Launches Fusion Defense Coffee in Time for Cold and Flu Season

October 05, 2007 // Franchising.com // Dallas, TX, - "The best defense is a good offense." 7-Eleven, Inc. has taken a page out of the proverbial playbook with the launch of its new Fusion Defense coffee, a brew with herbal extracts, in anticipation of this year's cold and flu season.

Available this fall, fresh-brewed Fusion Defense is infused with echinacea, ginseng and astragalus, three herbs thought to help boost the body's immune system. The introduction by the world's largest convenience retailer, which sells 1 million-plus cups of coffee every day, comes just months after the company broke new coffee ground with its Fusion Energy, believed to be the first herb-enhanced coffee-to-go in the Unites States.

"Fusion coffees taste as great as other 7-Eleven® coffees, but provide customers with an entirely new coffee alternative," said Donald Driver, 7-Eleven category manager for hot beverages. "Our Fusion line offers us so many new beverage opportunities. We're looking at other herbal blends to offer consumers in response to their desires for a variety of health-related attributes."

While the Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated these herbs for effectiveness, benefits that have been claimed for each herb include:

Ginseng – One of the most popular herbs used worldwide today, Asian ginseng is native to China and Korea and is used to increase stamina and energy during physical activity, improve memory and learning, boost immunity and reduce effects of stress.

Astragalus – Popular in China, astragalus' yellow root contains compounds that are believed to stimulate the immune system and, in clinical tests, have been found to promote the formation of antibodies and increase production of white blood cells. Benefits may include prevention of and decrease in symptoms caused by common colds and upper respiratory infections, heart failure, kidney ailments, and Alzheimer's and liver disease.

Echinacea – Better known in North America as the purple coneflower, Echinacea is believed to stimulate the immune system and has traditionally been used to treat or prevent colds, flu and other infections and, less commonly, for skin problems.

Fusion Defense coffee features a darker, richer roast of Arabica beans than Fusion Energy, which is more comparable in taste to 7-Eleven Exclusive Blend, the retailer's most popular brew. 7-Eleven's Dark Mountain Roast coffee is the base coffee blend for Fusion Defense.

Fusion Energy is infused with guarana, ginseng and yerba maté, all herbs thought to boost energy and sharpen mental alertness. Driver said it will remain in the coffee line-up while other Fusion coffees are rotated in and out of the stores and for as long as customers want the product.

"When we launched Fusion Energy earlier this year, it really captured the attention of 7-Eleven coffee drinkers," Driver said. "Introducing Fusion Defense is a logical choice for us to offer now because coffee sales perk up in the fall when temperatures drop, and the cold and flu season begins."

According to the National Coffee Association's 2006 study on coffee-drinking trends, Americans are gaining awareness of recent medical findings about the health benefits of drinking coffee. More than half (53 percent) responded that they had heard the good news about coffee and health versus just over one-third (37 percent) in 2005. In 2007, those numbers continue to grow with more than two-thirds of Americans regarding coffee as a "natural beverage."

7-Eleven coffee roasters blend the proprietary mixture of herbs for the Fusion Energy and Fusion Defense varieties with the fresh-roasted, fresh-ground coffees to stringent specifications. Both Fusion offerings retail for the same price as every other hot beverage served at their stores.

"Fusion provides a great value to customers," Driver said. "Regardless of which hot beverage variety our customers select, they're all available at the same low price. The cost of each beverage is based on each cup's volume in terms of ounces, not the beverage inside the cup."

The product is available at participating stores except in Texas, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and southern Nevada. 7-Eleven stores in these areas will introduce instead Exclusive Bold coffee, a rich, full-bodied blend, similar to the coffee sold at 7-Eleven stores in the Northeast.

About 7 Eleven, Inc.
7 Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience retailing industry. Based in Dallas, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 7,300 7-Eleven® stores in North America. Globally, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses some 33,000 stores in 17 countries and one U.S. territory. During 2006, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of more than $44 billion. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com .

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