Elite Beverages lives up to its name on Team Canada Atlantic Mission

Elite Beverages of Port de Grave has secured an agreement with European Imports Ltd. to distribute the company�s iceberg and natural spring water. The company secured the deal while participating on a Team Canada Atlantic (TCA) trade mission to Chicago, Illinois from October 2-6, 2005.

�Participating in this Team Canada Atlantic trade mission has been extremely beneficial for Elite Beverages. We had very productive meetings and will start providing our product to the distributor immediately. What we have accomplished on this mission, and what we will accomplish over the next few months as a result of the mission, would take several years if we were to do it ourselves. It has been a very positive experience,� said Elite Beverages president Kevin Bussey.

European Imports Ltd. has concentrated distribution in the Midwest and a total distribution in 40 states. European Imports Ltd. will distribute Elite Beverages� products to the specialty food market, catering shops and high-end hotels through the company�s high-end catalogue, as well as through retail channels. This was the company�s first trip to the Chicago area.

�The immediate success of Elite Beverages in the Chicago market is a testament to the value of trade missions and the benefits of exporting,� said Joseph McGuire, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). �Trade missions like TCA raise our exposure in the marketplace and create promising opportunities for Atlantic Canadian businesses like Elite Beverages.�

�Newfoundland and Labrador companies established valuable contacts on this mission. Elite Beverages is one company that was able to turn those contacts into a distribution agreement on the ground,� said Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of the provincial Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. �This is great news for the company and I congratulate the company on its success.�

Elite Beverages Inc. harvests, bottles and distributes natural Newfoundland and Labrador iceberg water for sale in Caribbean and European high-end water markets. The icebergs are harvested from the frigid North Atlantic. The company also bottles and distributes natural spring water, which it sources from a deep, underground glacial spring.

Media contact:

Kevin Bussey
President
Elite Beverages Inc.
Port-de-Grave, NL
A0A 3J0
709-685-6587 (P)
709-738-2690 (F)
kevinrbussey@hotmail.com

Val�rie Poulin
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Joseph McGuire
Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
(613) 941-7241

Tracy Kenney
Senior Communications Officer
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
(506) 851-2639

Lynn Evans
Director of Communications
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
(709) 729-4570

2005 11 24                               9:45 a.m.