Lotus Bakeries North America

Juggling Cookies and Coffee:
Grand Opening of Lotus Bakeries’ Biscoff Coffee Corner at PIER 39
Thursday, July 8 at 11 a.m.

Free event offers cookie samples, cookie-and-coffee-cup juggling performances
and a “Cookie Breaking” ceremony

Proceeds from grand opening to benefit The Marine Mammal Center

WHAT:    Lotus Bakeries North America announces the grand opening of the Biscoff Coffee Corner at PIER 39 – the first company-branded retail location in the world to sell Biscoff, Europe’s favorite cookie with coffee made by Lotus Bakeries.  The free event will feature entertainment by cookie-and-coffee-cup-juggling street performers, Biscoff cookie samples and coupons handed out by Salty the Sea Lion, plus an official “cookie breaking” ceremony.  The 850 square-foot Biscoff Coffee Corner offers coffee “the European way” – every coffee purchase includes a Biscoff cookie, so that the two can be enjoyed together – and will sell a wide range of Biscoff products.

CHARITY
PARTNER:     On Grand Opening Day, 100 percent of Biscoff cookie sale proceeds will be donated to The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC).  The TMMC helps to maintain the world-famous sea lion community at PIER 39 and educates the public about marine mammals and the oceans.

WHEN:         Thursday, July 8th (Grand Opening Day)
    11:00 AM – “Cookie breaking” ceremony with Lotus Bakeries executives and a short presentation by the Marine Mammal Center(Biscoff Coffee Corner at the entrance of PIER 39)
    10:00 AM-2:00 PM – Cookie jugglers and cookie samplings (various locations along PIER 39)

WHERE:       PIER 39 (the Biscoff Coffee Corner is located near the Embarcadero entrance)

WHO:        Matthieu Boone, CEO Lotus Bakeries (worldwide)
Jan Boone, Managing Director, Lotus Bakeries (worldwide)
Marco De Leeuw, Executive President, Lotus Bakeries North America
Scooter Simmons, Founder of Simmons Family Restaurants
Jeff Boehm, Executive Director of The Marine Mammal Center

PUBLIC INFO:     For more information about the Biscoff Coffee Corner and grand opening events, please visit www.biscoff.com.

MEDIA INFO:       Media interested in attending/covering the Biscoff Coffee Corner grand opening event should contact Jessica Lee at 415-359-2312 or jessica@landispr.com. High-resolution images and interviews are available.
RESS CONTACTS:
Donna Berry
Landis Communications Inc.
(415) 359-2303
donna@landispr.com
www.landispr.com

Jessica Lee
Landis Communications Inc.
(415) 359-2312
jessica@landispr.com
www.landispr.com

Lotus Bakeries Launches First North American Coffee Corner
at San Francisco’s PIER 39 Featuring World-Famous Biscoff Cookies

Lotus Bakeries partners with San Francisco Restaurateurs, the Simmons Family, to open
Biscoff Coffee Corner and Biscoff Coffee Cart on June 30.
Each customer gets a free Biscoff cookie with every coffee purchase

San Francisco, CA – June 10, 2010 – Lotus Bakeries, which sells Europe’s favorite cookie with coffee, and the Simmons Family, owners of Simco Restaurants’ popular PIER 39 eateries, announced today the opening of Lotus Bakeries’ first North American store where its world-famous Biscoff cookie products will be sold.  These two family-owned-and-operated businesses will jointly open the Biscoff Coffee Corner and Biscoff Coffee Carts at San Francisco’s PIER 39 on Wednesday, June 30, followed by a grand opening celebration on Thursday, July 8, 2010.

Biscoff cookies first shot to fame in the U.S. when different airlines began serving them on flights in the 1980s.  The caramelized biscuits quickly developed a fan base, with many customers asking how they could purchase the highly addictive treats directly.   Today, Lotus Bakeries North America has sales of $25 million.
The company opened its own U.S. headquarters, based in San Francisco, in July of 2009.

“Lotus Bakeries, whose famous Biscoff cookies are enjoyed by billions of consumers globally every year, is thrilled to be grounding itself with its first branded retail location,” said Marco de Leeuw, Executive President of Lotus Bakeries North America.  “Until now, Biscoff cookies in the U.S. have only been available on airlines, at retail outlets, through catalogue sales and online.  With the opening of the Biscoff Coffee Corner and Coffee Carts, customers can now enjoy Biscoff the ‘European way’ by pairing them with a cup of coffee.”

The Biscoff Coffee Corner and Biscoff Coffee Carts will offer a free Biscoff cookie to every customer who purchases a cup of coffee, which mirrors the traditional way that many Europeans consume their coffee on a daily basis.  The name Biscoff is a derivative of “bis”cuit and “coff”ee, reflective of how the cookies are best enjoyed.

“We serve guests from all over the world every day. The Biscoff Coffee Corner will appeal to our European
visitors as well as the millions of guests from abroad and locally who visit PIER 39,” said Scooter Simmons,
owner of Simco Restaurants.  “Part of providing world-class hospitality is to treat our guests
as VIPs every time.  That’s why we are giving a free cookie with every coffee.  We’re confident our guests will fall
in love with Biscoff.”

Lotus Bakeries and Simco Restaurants will host an official grand opening celebration of the Biscoff Coffee Corner on July 8.   On that day, 100 percent of the Biscoff cookie sales will be donated to the Marine Mammal Center.  The Center helps to maintain a healthy sea lion community at PIER 39 and educates the public about the connections we all share with marine mammals and the oceans.  Beginning July 9, one percent of the store’s daily Biscoff cookie sales will also be given to The Marine Mammal Center.  The grand opening will include cookie-juggling street performers, members of both the Boone and Simmons families and an official “cookie breaking” ceremony.

For information about Lotus Bakeries or Simco Restaurants, please visit www.lotusbakeries.com or www.simcorestaurants.com.

LOTUS BAKERIES
For more than 75 years, Lotus Bakeries has been baking Europe’s favorite cookies.  All products are baked and packaged by Lotus Bakeries in Europe and Canada and shipped directly to the Lotus Bakeries warehouses in different locations in the U.S.  Lotus Bakeries has been family owned and operated since 1932 and is now a $300 million-a-year business with sales in more than 25 countries.  For more information, visit www.lotusbakeries.com.

SIMCO RESTAURANTS
For nearly four decades the Simmons family has served up a distinctive style of Waterfront Hospitality by offering up their guests sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz while they dine on seafood and freshly-baked San Francisco sourdough bread. Their restaurants have long been a favorite destination in Fisherman’s Wharf and beyond. The family ‘s record of success speaks for itself – PIER 39 and Chevys Fresh Mex are both Simmons creations. Chevys Fresh Mex was sold to PepsiCo in 1993 and PIER 39 has been one of San Francisco’s most beloved landmarks since it opened in 1978. Currently the family owns and operates many retail establishments on PIER 39 including: Pier Market, Fog Harbor Fish House, Wipeout Bar & Grill and now Biscoff Coffee Corner. For more information about the Simmons Family and its Waterfront Hospitality, please visit: www.simcorestaurants.com

“We’ve dressed Biscoff cookies in a modern new packaging; they now display the “Lotus” logo – our seal of high quality and authenticity of Lotus baked goods. And we proudly proclaim Biscoff as “Europe’s favorite cookie with coffee.” Who could argue?

Rest assured – one thing that did not change is their taste – they are still baked with the Original Recipe created in 1932 that gives Biscoff its unique crisp and caramelized flavor you’ve come to love.

Starting in May we will start shipping our Biscoff cookies in their new wrappers. We are expecting to have a two month transition period during May and June where we will ship Biscoff cookies in both old and new wrappers.

NEW! Biscoff Twin Pack
Newest addition to our family of Biscoff cookies! 2 extra-large rectangular size Biscoff cookies are packed together for a larger snack. ”

Please tell us what you think about our new wrappers.

Email us at: idil@biscoff.com