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| Dear Friends of ITO EN: As the year comes to a close and we kick off the New Year- 2010, I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation for your support this past year. Your confidence in ITO EN is essential to our success and we are forever grateful for this. Despite the challenging economic times, we are pleased to share that we have achieved many accomplishments in 2009. First and foremost are the cherished relationships we have nurtured with our many customers. We value our friendships and customer loyalty. With the rising popularity of tea and its health benefits, we are pleased to see our relationships grow. A milestone we wish to share is the celebration of OI OCHA’s 20th Anniversary. As Japan’s #1 Selling Green Tea and ITO EN being the innovator of this first ready-to-drink green tea, we are proud of the role it has played in the daily lives of our customers. Oi Ocha today is available nationwide, as we continue to expand our distribution here in the United States. We are committed to bringing quality products that embody our five (5) principles of Healthy, Natural, Safe, Well-designed and Delicious. With our corporate stance being to “walk with nature”, we apply this as the basis for all our products. An important priority since the onset of the company has been to be socially and environmentally responsible. We continue to recycle all of our used tea leaves to create innovative products and eco-friendly packaging. With that said, we were honored this year with several awards and recognitions. Rachael Ray and her team voted OI OCHA as “Best Bottled Green Tea” in her July issue. This was a blind taste-test and a true indication of the growing awareness of authentic teas. FITNESS Magazine awarded TEAS’ TEA “Best Iced Tea” for its Healthy Food 2009 Award. On the West Coast, the highly respected news publication-The San Francisco Chronicle voted TEAS’ TEA as “Best Green Tea” by a panel of notable food professionals. With the recent launch of our Mate Sencha Shot, we have expanded our ITO EN Shot line to include three flavors- Sencha Shot, Oolong Shot and now, Mate Sencha. This invigorating blend of South American Mate and Green Tea is a true marriage of East meets West. Our ITO EN New York Tea Shop on Madison Avenue once again received “Best Tea Emporium” in NYC Zagat’s Gourmet Shopping & Entertainment Guide. This was the 6th consecutive year for this recognition. We do hope you will have an opportunity to stop in to visit us while in New York. At our ITO EN Restaurants- KAI and DONGURI, our chefs continue to receive accolades for their culinary talent. Zagat’s and Forbes rave with 4 star ratings. Both chefs, Yorinobu Yamasaki and Hitoshi Kagawa are now sharing their cooking experiences on their respective blogs. I hope you will enjoy them, if not a visit to the restaurant. We also invite you to follow us on twitter and facebook. Your comments are invaluable to us as we expand into new horizons. Our commitment again for 2010 is to bring high quality products that bring refreshment and good health. We look forward to your continued friendship and support in the coming year. All the best, Yosuke Honjo C.E.O. & President, ITO EN(North America) INC. |
© 2010 ITO EN, All Rights Reserved