Leader in allergy-friendly, gluten-free foods ‘enjoys’ three-year sales growth of 805%

SCHILLER PARK, Ill. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) August 20, 2008 -- For the second consecutive year, Enjoy Life Foods, which makes great-tasting allergy-friendly and gluten-free foods, has been named to the Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing privately held businesses in the U.S.¹ The 2008 list is the 27^th that Inc. magazine has published that in the past has included such companies as Zappos, Intuit, GoDaddy, Under Armour, and Jamba Juice.

I credit Enjoy Life Foods' continued success to an extremely energetic team of employees who are highly sensitive to the growing needs of more than 45 million Americans who have food allergies, intolerances, Celiac Disease or Autism

Where others have tried, we have succeeded in developing products that serve as safe and delicious alternatives for our very special consumers

If you want to find out which companies are going to change the world, look at the Inc. 500

These are the most innovative, dynamic, fast-growing companies in the nation – the ones coming up with solutions to some of our knottiest problems, creating systems that let us conduct business faster and easier, and manufacturing products we soon discover we can't live without. The Inc. 500 list is Inc. magazine's tribute to American business ingenuity and ambition.

Schiller Park, IL-based Enjoy Life Foods is ranked No. 371, with three-year revenue growth of 805%. It was one of only 13 companies in the Food & Beverage category to make the list, and the only one in the category from the Chicago area.

“I credit Enjoy Life Foods’ continued success to an extremely energetic team of employees who are highly sensitive to the growing needs of more than 45 million Americans who have food allergies, intolerances, Celiac Disease or Autism,” says Scott Mandell, President, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Enjoy Life Foods. “Where others have tried, we have succeeded in developing products that serve as safe and delicious alternatives for our very special consumers,” he adds.

Since being founded in 2001, the Enjoy Life Foods has grown to be the leading allergy-friendly food company in the U.S. and Canada, offering more than 29 allergy-friendly and gluten-free products.

Now in its seventh year of business, Enjoy Life Foods continues to show rapid growth. In the past year alone, the company:

• Introduced the first ever dairy-, nut- and soy-free chocolate bars into the booming allergy-friendly market; all three Enjoy Life boom CHOCO boom™ bars were accepted for national introduction at Whole Foods Market, a leader in serving the needs of special dieters
• Expanded its product line with two new products: Sunbutter Crunch snack bars and Not Nuts!® Beach Bash® trail mix
• Significantly expanded its product offerings at major grocery chains including Kroger, Wegman’s and Raley’s, making it easier than ever before for shoppers to find a broad variety of Enjoy Life products where they regularly shop
• Gained distribution at Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada, the largest drug chain in Canada representing approximately 900 stores

• Expanded its Schiller Park, IL production and warehouse facility to over 40,000 square feet to accommodate growing consumer demand for its products
• Significantly redesigned the packaging for all Enjoy Life products to make it easier for consumers to find what they are looking for on the store shelf
• Sponsored several peanut-free minor league baseball games throughout the U.S., enabling those with serious peanut allergies to enjoy a baseball game for the first time
• For the second consecutive year, was a national sponsor of the 26 Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) Walks for Food Allergy throughout the U.S., which increase awareness of food allergies and their associated issues and raise funds to support FAAN’s education and research programs
• Launched an aggressive e-couponing and social networking initiative, including a presence on sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Squidoo
• Has been featured as the subject of a Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University case study on entrepreneurship and new venture formation

“If you want to find out which companies are going to change the world, look at the Inc. 500,” said Inc. Editor Jane Berentson. “These are the most innovative, dynamic, fast-growing companies in the nation – the ones coming up with solutions to some of our knottiest problems, creating systems that let us conduct business faster and easier, and manufacturing products we soon discover we can’t live without. The Inc. 500 list is Inc. magazine’s tribute to American business ingenuity and ambition.”

Enjoy Life Foods offers 24 delicious products under its Enjoy Life brand including allergy-friendly AND gluten-free soft-baked cookies, snack bars, granolas, trail mixes, bagels, semi-sweet chocolate chips and chocolatey bars, all of which are free of the eight most common allergens and made in a dedicated nut- and gluten-free facility. They are also certified gluten-free (by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization), and are all-natural, trans fat-free and Kosher. More than 80 percent of Enjoy Life’s products are vegan and all are vegetarian. The company also markets five gluten- and nut-free cereals under the Perky’s brand.

About Enjoy Life Foods

Enjoy Life Natural Brands, LLC (d/b/a Enjoy Life Foods, LLC (ELF)) was founded in 2001 with the mission of making great-tasting allergy-friendly foods that most everyone can eat freely. The company launched the Enjoy Life brand in 2002 with a broad product line that is free of the eight most common allergens and gluten-free. To meet the needs of a rapidly growing consumer base, in 2004 the company acquired Perky’s™, a line of gluten- and nut-free cereals. Today, ELF offers 29 different Enjoy Life and Perky’s products that are sold in natural food and select grocery stores throughout the United States and Canada. Visit www.enjoylifefoods.com and www.perkysnaturalfoods.com for store locations and more. For two consecutive years, 2007 and 2008, Enjoy Life Foods was named to Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing privately held businesses in the U.S. For more information, visit www.enjoylifenb.com.

¹ The Inc. 500 was announced in the September 2008 issue of Inc. magazine.

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