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AL International’s coffee division has deals with Carnival ships and Walmart

A fast-growing company with headquarters in Chula Vista is doing well in the coffee business, with new agreements that will get its products on all Carnival cruise ships and on the shelves of retailers including Walmart.

AL International is the parent company of both Youngevity, a direct-sales nutritional supplement company that distributes products out of Chula Vista, and CLR Roasters in Miami. The companies merged last year, becoming one publicly traded company.

The coffee division, which has a niche supplying cruise ships, has been keeping pace with the company’s overall growth, said Dave Briskie, the chief financial officer. AL International’s revenue is on track to be $60 million a year, he said, up from $28 million at the time of the merger. The coffee division has held steady at 12 percent of the company’s revenue.

Recent coffee milestones for AL International:

• The company-owned Josie’s Java House Brand has been added to Walmart’s product assortment for distribution beginning this fall.
• The company-owned Café La Rica brand has been added to Sam’s Club’s fall assortment and approved for distribution in Publix supermarkets.
• It expanded its distribution from 60 percent of Carnival Cruise Lines ships to 100 percent of ships, providing both in-room coffee and coffee for the restaurants.
• It began producing a “functional coffee” with health benefits under the JavaFit brand, distributed by Youngevity’s direct-sales network.

“We are quite pleased with the growth we are experiencing through all divisions of the company and we are especially pleased with the recent contracts and contract extensions earned by CLR Roasters, which will positively impact the second half of this year,” said company CEO Steve Wallach.

The company recently signed up three new green coffee bean suppliers and purchased new packaging machines and a commercial grinder to handle the orders. It plans to double the size of its coffee plant in Florida, Briskie said.

SOURCE:
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jul/25/business-supplies-carnival-cruise-ships-coffee/