RED BANK, N.J., Nov 16, 2012 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- Cono Italiano, Inc.
(OTCBB:CNOZ) ("Cono Italiano" or the "Company") is a manufacturer of frozen
foods and the distributor of "pizza cono," a drip-free, cone shaped pizza made
from proprietary dough.
The Company's management team would like to thank the Company's shareholders for
their support and patience during the past year in affording the Company the
opportunity to promote its brand and build the Company's infrastructure.
We recently completed the expansion of the Company's USDA and FDA certified
production facility in South Plainfield, New Jersey, and can now begin the
manufacturing and packaging of our products for retail distribution. We
anticipate delivery of the first shipment of printed microwave wrappers for the
cones and empanadas to begin December 2012, and at such time, the Company will
begin initial distribution to retailers and national food distributors.
During the summer of 2012, Cono Italiano introduced their "pizza cones" and
empanadas on the boardwalks along the New Jersey Shore. The Company's products
received a very favorable response, as reorders were placed weekly throughout
the summer months.
In August, the Company implemented a testing program with convenience stores
located within gas stations in the New York tri-state area. We placed the
Company's products in approximately 25 locations, with the Gulf station entering
the Holland Tunnel being one of the more successful locations, selling
approximately 600-800 empanadas weekly. Further, our testing program indicated
that customers prefer the cones to be sold in retail packaging for microwave or
baking, and we will now introduce the cones in such form when packaged for
retail. We anticipate building on this program and placing the Company's
products in an additional 50-75 locations in similar areas.
We are currently selling products to one of the largest super markets and we are
in discussions with several others for product placement. We plan to inform the
Company's shareholders of further details concerning our customers in a separate
release in the near future. Although the products are presently being sold in
the hot food section, based on the results from the testing program, these
customers will begin offering our products in the frozen food sections in retail
packaging.
Our Canadian partner, MSU Foods, recently launched "pizza cones" in Canada at
the Innovative Grocery Show in Toronto under the name "Pizza Cornetto." The
product was well received with commitments from several customers that wish to
sell this product in their stores. We anticipate several more customers will be
placing orders in the coming weeks. Further, Cono Italiano plans to sign a
distribution agreement with MSU Foods and their U.S. partners to assist with the
marketing of the Company's products in the retail environment. They presently
sell products to Wakefern Stores, A&P, Trader Joes, among others. We will work
with MSU and their affiliates to develop gourmet recipes for the cones and
empanadas in order to market to those consumers that crave the taste for Italian
flavor.
In conjunction with the first production of the Company's products, the Company
plans to change both the name and direction of the Company. We want to be viewed
in the marketplace as a global food company, offering products throughout the
world. Going forward, we plan to change the name of the Company to "Cono Foods,"
and accordingly we will apply for a new trading symbol to reflect this change.
All of the Company's packaging will have the new name branded on the label.
Further, we also decided to sever our relationship with Spuntibreak s.r.l., our
previous manufacturer, as we have developed our own proprietary cone. As such,
the Company will no longer be obligated to pay a royalty for each cone sold,
thereby raising the Company's profit margin in the process. This new development
will also allow us to work free of a licensing agreement and allow us to market
our own proprietary brand, including all recipes.
Several shareholders have expressed concern regarding the price of the Company's
common stock. As we are a growing company, we believe the recent developments
are a large step towards the goal for the price of the Company's common stock to
one day reflect what we believe to be the true value of the Company.
We are currently debt free to outside investors, as the only debt on our balance
sheet is for deferred compensation to officers of the Company. We have an open
line of credit with TCA Funding ("TCA"), of which the Company has used $250,000
of the total $1.5 million available to us. We are able to use the remaining
$1.25 million over a 24-month period ending in February 2014. We do not have any
future payment obligations if we do not use the remaining available funds. TCA
received approximately 988,000 shares at closing in order to cover transactions
costs of the credit line, which is equal to 4% of the entire amount. TCA
exercised its right to sell such shares, which represented the recent selling
over a two-day period.
In the future, the Company plans to provide the shareholders with Company
information and developments as they occur.
About Cono Italiano
Cono Italiano, Inc. owns the North American distribution and manufacturing
rights for Pizza Cono. This pizza cone is designed to be a drip free, spill free
cone-shaped pizza made of proprietary dough and filled with freshly selected
ingredients. The Company intends that the Pizza Cono will be distributed through
the fast food market, including quick-service restaurants, takeaways and leisure
locations. These establishments include typical fast food chains, supermarkets,
convenience stores, entertainment facilities and sports arenas. Frozen pizza is
one of the fastest growing categories in supermarkets and convenience stores.
For more information, please visit www.conoitaliano.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
The information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These
statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance, and
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be
materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some
cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect
actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any
forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future
events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions
relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and
liquidity. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these
forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual
results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking
statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.
This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com
SOURCE: Cono Italiano Inc.
By Staff
CONTACT: CONTACT: Cono Italiano, Inc.
Mitchell Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Tel.: 1 (877) 330-2666
(C) Copyright 2010 GlobeNewswire, Inc. All rights reserved.
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INDUSTRY KEYWORD: Food
SUBJECT CODE: FOODS
Company Announcement
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