Challenge Dairy Brings a Taste of Europe to the Western States; Company producing the type of butter preferred by master chefs around the world.

Business/Food Editors

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SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 2001

Americans returning from European travels frequently rave about the butter they were served with their meals. They say it tasted richer, had a creamier texture and seemed to add more flavor to the foods. It is not a coincidence, nor is it their imaginations. European butter has a higher level of butterfat - 82% or 83% versus the 80% butterfat found in U.S. butters. The result is a product that produces flakier pastries, smoother sauces and more savory seafood, meats and vegetables. No wonder master chefs throughout the world use European-style butter in their recipes.

In the grand tradition of Europe's finest buttermakers, Challenge Dairy Products, Inc., the producer of the West's favorite butter is introducing a unique European Style Butter with a creamier taste and silkier texture than ordinary butters. Challenge's European Style is churned slower and longer than is customary to produce a rich flavorful butter with more butterfat and less moisture. A higher butterfat content produces more yield when clarifying and less splattering when sauteing, while less moisture makes the butter better for cooking and baking.

"Challenge Butter has been a family tradition for 90 years," said Mr. John Whetten, President and CEO of Challenge Dairy Products, Inc. "Our new European Style lives up to the quality standards that our customers have come to expect from the Challenge label and allows them to take their recipes to new levels of refinement and flavor. Whether they're cooking for hobby or for passion, people who prefer to use the best ingredients available will find this butter an ideal component for producing great tasting dishes. It's also a delightful alternative for spreading."

European-style butter is the fastest growing category of the butter industry. In recent years, consumers have become more taste-sensitive and have returned to butter after becoming dissatisfied with margarine and other spreads. Butter contains 120 different flavor components, producing a taste that scientists say is impossible to duplicate in a test tube. Also, health concerns have been negated - a single pat or teaspoon of regular butter has exactly the same number of calories and fat as margarine and contains only 4% of the maximum recommended daily cholesterol intake recommendation.

While Challenge European Style Butter is new to grocer's shelves, it is not an entirely new product - it has been available to Challenge's food service trade accounts for several years. During that time, its superior cooking and baking abilities has made it the preferred choice by many professional chefs over any other leading brand. Additionally, Challenge European Style Butter was tested in 40 California stores during the second half of 2000 and met with enormous public acceptance, outselling the leading competitor.

Challenge European Style Butter is available in salted and unsalted varieties and, like all Challenge Butter products, is AA grade. Demonstrations and taste tests of the butter will take place in over 2,000 retail stores, with the product appearing on grocery store shelves throughout the Western States. For product availability in your area or additional information call 1-800-733-2479 or email [e-mail].

About Challenge Dairy Products:

Celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2001, Challenge Butter is the Western United States' market leader, offering a complete selection of Challenge Butter products for retail stores in California, Nevada, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Texas, and New Mexico. In addition, Challenge Dairy Products, Inc. also markets Danish Creamery Butter to grocery stores in California, along with other Challenge dairy and non-dairy food items. Challenge has won over 250 Gold Medals for quality over the years, and recently the Gold Medal for salt and unsalted butter by Food Service Chefs of America. Company history and a rich variety of recipes can be found at www.challengedairy.com.

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