Tampa Bay, FL
December-16-2008
PowerBar, a division of Nestlé S.A., and the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), owners of the Ironman brand, announced an extention of the exclusive three-year global sponsorship agreement yesterday including Ford Ironman World Championship, the world’s most challenging endurance event. The deal designates PowerBar as the “Official Global Energy Bar and Energy Gel Sponsor” from 2009 through 2011 for all U.S. and international Ironman and 70.3 qualifying events, and both World Championship events.
For PowerBar, creator and worldwide leader of the estimated US $2 billion international sports nutrition bar category, the partnership with the world’s leading triathlon brand marks the importance of Ironman events.1 This strategic alignment will further Nestlé’s goal of achieving worldwide leadership in the rapidly growing sport nutrition category. Through the agreement, PowerBar will leverage the international Ironman program as a platform for its sports nutrition education initiatives and will support the sponsorship via advertising, promotions and sports marketing. POWERBAR® PERFORMANCE energy bars, POWERBAR® energy gels and POWERBAR® RECOVERY PRODUCTS, endorsed as Official Products of Ironman, will be on-course at more than 50 Ironman/70.3 events in more than 20 countries each year to deliver essential sports nutrition to Ironman competitors. In addition, consumers will also see the Ironman logo featured on all POWERBAR® products on shelves throughout 2009.
With partners such as Timex and Foster Grant, Ironman has become the number-one user-based sports brand in the world. These partnerships continue to help meet the needs of Ironman athletes as well as the active consumer. The nutritional needs of Ironman athletes are vast, with more than 25,000 units of POWERBAR product being consumed on Ironman race day alone. Athletes training for Ironman and Ironman 70.3 events will make POWERBAR products a key component of their training regimen, as athletes recognize the importance of training and racing with sports nutrition products that deliver consistent results.
“The extended global partnership builds on a terrific relationship we’ve enjoyed with Ironman for years. It not only allows PowerBar to expand its range of technical sports nutrition resources into new markets, but also officially provides all Ironman athletes with the same critical POWERBAR race-day nutrition tools that they’ve relied on throughout their training,” said Philip Annett, Global Business Head for Performance Nutrition at Nestlé Nutrition. “We look forward to collaborative marketing and education initiatives designed to support the world’s top endurance athletes and to expand the sport of triathlon and both our brands to a wider international athletic community.”
Source:
1. Datamonitor, NBJ and Nielsen research
PowerBar Ironman Global Partnership
PowerBar’s heritage with the sport of triathlon traces back to the company’s beginning. U.S. triathlete legend Scott Tinley was one of PowerBar’s first athlete product testers and sponsored athletes. Over the past twenty years, thousands of triathletes worldwide have come to rely on PowerBar’s sports nutrition products for training and competition, including Ironman Triathlon World Champion Faris al Sultan and three-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion Peter Reid.
“Ironman and PowerBar are both synonymous with authenticity, excellence and performance. Ironman athletes have used PowerBar products as an integral part of their training and race needs for years. The Partnership worked extremely well over the last three years. Thus, Ironman and PowerBar are a natural fit for both brands’ first-ever global sponsorship,” said Ben Fertic, Ironman President and CEO.
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Media Contacts:
Bethany Mousseau Director of Communications
Carmichael Lynch Spong Blair LaHaye
Bethany.mousseau@clynch.com Ironman Public Relations
781.801.9663 www.ironman.com
blair@ironman.com
727.942.4767 ext.207
About Ironman
The Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run completed in succession within a 17-hour allotted timeframe. Each year, more than 100,000 athletes compete for slots in the Ford Ironman World Championship, held every October in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. In June 2006, WTC launched the Ironman 70.3 Series, a global series of events that consists of a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike and a 13.1-mile run. The series culminates each year with a world championship event held each November in Clearwater, FL. Throughout Ironman’s 30-year history, Ironman has transformed from an event into a lifestyle and sports brand that includes licensed products and television production. Ironman has global reach with more than 50 events worldwide. Millions may remember moments in Ironman history such as Julie Moss’ crawl to the finish line in 1982, which was showcased on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Ironman has been featured in a range of media outlets to include NBC, CNN Headline News, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, The TODAY Show, Entertainment Tonight and USA Today. For more information on Ironman, log on to www.Ironman.com.
About PowerBar
PowerBar is the creator and worldwide leader of the international sports nutrition bar category. Nestlé S.A., the world’s largest food and beverage company, owns PowerBar. Backed by decades of sports nutrition experience, PowerBar’s product line includes a full spectrum of great-tasting food and beverage options developed to help meet the nutrition and energy needs of everyone from athletes to individuals seeking more active, healthier lifestyles. The company’s products are distributed internationally in more than 40 countries. PowerBar proudly fuels world-class athletes and premier events including swimmer Michael Phelps, triathlete Faris al Sultan, the Tour de France, and the Boston and ING New York City Marathons.
About Nestlé Nutrition
Nestlé Nutrition is an autonomous business operation within Nestlé that has managed and developed, since January 1, 2006, the group’s core nutrition business. Through science-based nutritional solutions—comprising both products and services—Nestlé Nutrition helps enhance the quality of people’s lives by supporting health and providing care for specific consumer groups with special nutrition needs at every stage of life. Its product portfolio—covering infant nutrition, healthcare nutrition and performance nutrition—includes such trusted and well-recognized brands as POWERBAR, NAN, VIDAL, LACTOGEN, GUIGOZ, NUTREN and PEPTAMEN.