PEET Peets Coffee & Tea, Inc. (MM)

EMERYVILLE, Calif., June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEET), the leading super-premium coffee company, today announced it has expanded its New England grocery presence with new distribution with Big Y Foods, Inc., a popular family-owned supermarket chain headquartered in Springfield, Mass. By mid-June, a selection of Peet's signature, hand-roasted whole bean and ground coffees will be available in 55 Big Y stores throughout Mass. and Conn. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070606/AQW139LOGO ) "Peet's is the fastest growing specialty coffee brand in Boston and is accelerating its growth throughout New England," said Pat O'Dea, Peet's chief executive officer. "With our partnership with Big Y, we're making our top-selling coffees even more accessible to an audience of consumers who appreciate truly fresh, artisan specialty food items." Specialty coffee drinkers consistently rank Peet's as the highest-quality, freshest coffee available. "Peet's distinctive flavor sets the standard for the specialty coffee category, and we expect the Peet's brand to drive sales in the category throughout our stores," said Bill Eichorn, category manager for Big Y. "Our goal is to offer our customers the very best in taste, quality and freshness, so we know they will be delighted to see Peet's on our shelves." Peet's ensures its coffee is the highest-quality, freshest available on grocery shelves through its unique direct store delivery system. "We've built our own grocery delivery distribution business, unlike any other coffee company, so that we can be 100 percent sure that Peet's is always sold fresh," added O'Dea. "No other company goes to the extremes we do to deliver the highest quality coffee available." Peet's will be offering the following signature coffees packaged in 12- ounce bags: -- Peet's French Roast -- an intense, bold coffee with pronounced smoky overtones -- Peet's House Blend -- a medium-bodied blend of coffees from Latin America -- Major Dickason's Blend(R) -- a rich, full-bodied coffee that is complex and smooth -- Decaf House Blend -- a lively and flavorful blend of coffees from Latin America -- Italian Roast -- an intense blend of the fullest-bodied, most flavorful coffees from the Pacific and Latin America Visit http://www.peets.com/locate for a complete list of Big Y supermarkets where Peet's will be offered. About Peet's Grocery Program To meet its ongoing commitment to provide customers with coffees of uncompromising quality and superior freshness, Peet's delivers to grocery stores in select markets throughout the United States through its own Direct Store Delivery (DSD) network. Peet's has made a significant investment in DSD resources to carefully manage the freshness of its coffee and pledges to its customers that the coffee they buy from Peet's will always be fresh. Unlike other specialty coffee roasters, the company retains dedicated and trained DSD "Peetniks" to work directly with grocery partners to manage their orders and personally deliver and rotate freshly roasted Peet's coffee into each grocery store ensuring its coffee is enjoyed at the peak of freshness and flavor. About Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc., (PEET), the leading super-premium coffee company, is dedicated to artisan roasting, distributing and marketing the highest quality coffee available to coffee lovers throughout the United States. Founded in 1966 in Berkeley, Calif., Peet's is committed to strategically growing its business while maintaining its unique culture and focus on quality and customer satisfaction. For more information about Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. visit http://www.peets.com/. About Big Y Big Y Foods Inc., based in Springfield, Massachusetts, operates 55 stores throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut. For more information on Big Y, visit http://www.bigy.com/. This press release contains statements that are not based on historical fact and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management, including financial and operational information, the Company's stock price volatility, and current competitive conditions. As a result, these statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements depending on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the Company's ability to implement its business strategy, attract and retain customers, and obtain and expand its market presence in new geographic regions; the impact of the Company's stock price volatility on the valuation of stock-based compensation under SFAS 123( R ); the availability and cost of high quality Arabica coffee beans; consumers' tastes and preferences; and competition in its market as well as other risk factors as described more fully in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006. These factors may not be exhaustive. The Company operates in a continually changing business environment, and new risks emerge from time to time. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070606/AQW139LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Peet's Coffee & Tea, Inc. CONTACT: Patsy Barich of Double Forte, +1-415-863-4900, ext. 204, , for Peet's Coffee & Tea; or Phill Schneider of Big Y, +1-413-504-4300, Web site: http://www.peets.com/ http://www.bigy.com/

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