FEATURE/Dreaming of a Low-Carb Christmas: Sunset Brands Buying-up the Low-Carb Biz.

Feature Editors/Business Editors/Food Writers

FEATURE...

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 2003

"Whether its Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza...By this time next year, we're hoping to make the 'dream' a reality!" said Todd Sanders, CEO and Chairman of newly created Sunset Brands, Inc. (a subsidiary of Sunset Holdings International, Ltd. -- www.sunsetholdings.com) as Sunset Brands has set its sights on quickly becoming the fastest growing supplier of great tasting HONESTLY LABELED low-carb foods and beverages.

"Sunset Brands will be pursuing a classic roll-up strategy and expects to acquire between 1-to-3 companies and/or products PER MONTH over the next 12-to-18 months," said Sanders. "Few companies have undertaken such an aggressive market approach. The bottom line: I'm issuing an OPEN CALL... If any company or individual out there has a GREAT TASTING TRULY LOW-CARB PRODUCT deserving national distribution and presence -- but doesn't have the resources we at Sunset Brands do -- then I WANT TO TALK TO YOU!!!"

With the advent of the Atkins Diet and the world's most successful food and beverage companies -- such as Heinz, Anheuser-Busch and Breyers, etc. -- seeking to capitalize on the low-carb craze, the low-carb diet marketplace has gained explosive notoriety. "Having now clinically demonstrated both the efficacy and safety of low-carb dieting, what was once considered a mere 'fad' has now become a mainstream lifestyle, catching the attention of the nation's largest retailers," said Sanders, "and Sunset Brands intends to emerge as the low-carb brand/market leader where one currently DOES NOT EXIST by supplying the national retail sector with a comprehensive strategic approach to exploit this massive market opportunity."

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly two-thirds of American adults are overweight, with over 30% being classified as obese. Not surprisingly, Marketdata International placed the 2002 diet/weight-loss products market in excess of $39 billion, and LowCarbiz reported the low-carb products industry surpassing $15 billion. Additionally, 17 million diagnosed diabetics have increasingly turned to a low-carb diet regimen.

"While there are currently over 1,600 low-carb affiliated products and product lines in the marketplace, a vast majority are owned and managed by 'mom and pop' operations which simply do not possess either the resources or capabilities to scale distribution on a national level," said Sanders. "Sunset Brands' strength lies in our ability to leverage our financial, merger/acquisition, sales/marketing, and operations expertise to exploit this emerging market opportunity through the acquisition of locally established brands and launching them into national retail distribution."

With over 60 years' collective experience in marketing, sales, finance, and operations, Sunset Brands' team of experts are quickly building a portfolio of low-carb products that -- unlike the current scattering of undercapitalized, mismanaged, product-centric companies attempting to participate in the national retail marketplace -- will significantly benefit from economies-of-scale in manufacturing, advertising, funding, etc. not otherwise possible in their present incarnation. "By grouping several companies and products under our Sunset Brands umbrella, significant increases in efficiencies will be realized," said Sanders, "resulting in lower-priced low-carb offerings across the board, ultimately benefiting the industry and -- more importantly -- consumers. Plus, Sunset Brands will take great steps to ensure our low-carb products both taste great, and -- despite recent industry investigations which found otherwise -- are labeled correctly and honestly."

As a subsidiary of Sunset Holdings International, Ltd., Sunset Brands, Inc. is the company's first investment initiative in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) space. "We're absolutely elated with the launch of Sunset Holdings International as a Los Angeles-based financial advisory and private investment firm," said Sanders. "Sunset Holdings' focus is on emerging growth investment opportunities in a variety of sectors -- our team of professionals have participated in over 30 transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $5 billion."

Todd Sanders is CEO and Chairman of Sunset Brands, Inc., Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sunset Holdings International, and has held senior-level positions with some of today's largest Wall Street financial giants including Morgan Stanley & Company, UBS, and Prudential Financial. Sanders has secured private placements in excess of $400 million, and effectuated corporate market capitalization increases well beyond $1 billion.