California Pizza Kitchen and Kraft Pizza Co. Deliver New CPK Frozen Pizza Line to Southern California; Seven Signature Gourmet CPK Pizzas in Local Grocers' Freezers.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 13, 1999--

California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), a restaurant acclaimed for reinventing pizza, and Kraft Pizza Co., the nation's leading frozen pizza company, are launching the new line of California Pizza Kitchen(tm) Frozen Pizza in Southern California.

The frozen line features seven of the restaurant's most popular gourmet pizzas, including BBQ Chicken, Thai Chicken, Rosemary Potato Chicken, Five Cheese and Tomato, Portobello Mixed Mushroom, Grilled Vegetable and Southwestern Chicken Burrito, all of which bake up fresh at home in the oven.

"Now, even more people will be able to enjoy CPK's most popular pizzas," said Rick Rosenfield, co-founder of California Pizza Kitchen. "We wanted to bring our restaurant-quality pizzas to people who didn't have time to come in to the restaurants or may not have a restaurant near them."

"Our passion for creating delicious pizzas was combined with Kraft's trademark rising crust technology, manufacturing and marketing expertise to deliver premium-quality pizzas that are among the best in the grocer's freezer," said Larry Flax, co-founder of California Pizza Kitchen. "The proof is in the product. Consumers in San Francisco, one of our test markets, have made it one of the fastest-growing frozen pizzas in that city, and we hope Los Angeles enjoys the new pizzas just as much."

The new line includes seven CPK originals, each at the suggested retail price of $4.99:

-- BBQ Chicken -- succulent white-meat chicken, sweet barbeque sauce

on a pizza crust topped with red onions, smoked gouda and

mozzarella cheeses.

-- Thai Chicken -- featuring spicy peanut ginger sauce, sesame

chicken satay and mozzarella cheese, topped with bean sprouts

carrots and green onions.

-- Five Cheese and Tomato -- smoked gouda, fontina, mozzarella and

romano cheeses layered with zesty tomatoes.

-- Rosemary Chicken Potato -- garlic chicken blended with a

bordelaise butter sauce made with white wine, rosemary and lemon,

topped with roasted rosemary potatoes.

-- Portobello Mixed Mushroom -- succulent Portobello and roasted

mushrooms, tossed in garlic and topped with mozzarella cheese.

-- Grilled Vegetable -- grilled zucchini, red onions and eggplant

with a sun-dried tomato and basil sauce, topped with roasted

peppers and three cheeses.

-- Southwestern Chicken Burrito -- lime-marinated chicken, black

beans, tomatillo salsa and green chili peppers, topped with sharp

cheddar and pepper jack cheeses.

"The California Pizza Kitchen line will offer pizza lovers a new, exciting taste experience -- with uniquely delicious toppings and sauces -- they can buy right from their supermarket," said Kevin Scott, general manager, Kraft Pizza Co. "Consumers are looking for cool, convenient pizza products to enjoy at home, and this is the next wave in pizza innovation."

Most Californians know the story how two attorneys -- Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax -- traded in the courtroom to start the restaurant chain in 1985. CPK features hearth-baked, creative pizzas and is the birthplace of the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza. There are now 79 full-service CPK restaurants and 15 CPK ASAP locations throughout the United States, as well as two international locations.

Kraft Pizza Co. is part of Kraft Foods, the nation's largest packaged foods company.

www.cpk.com.