Twinings Tea to Celebrate Its 300th Anniversary With Ruder Finn

CLIFTON, N.J., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Twinings North America, Inc., America's premier specialty tea company, announced today that it has retained Ruder Finn as its public relations agency of record. The agency will work to raise the profile of Twinings heritage and high-quality specialty teas, beginning with the celebration of the company's 300th anniversary in 2006.

The account will be serviced by Ruder Finn's New York office and will be led by Marketing Practice Leader Bob Seltzer. "We're thrilled to work on such a quality, respected product as Twinings," said Mr. Seltzer. "The brand has a reputation as a tea expert, and part of our task will be to expand awareness of that reputation in the U.S. The opportunity to celebrate a company with such a long celebrated past doesn't come along often; we can't wait to get started."

"Ruder Finn impressed us with their knowledge of the tea market and the creativity of their concepts for such a significant anniversary," said Michael Cobb, marketing director for Twinings North America, Inc. "Their relationships with key media and the team's experience in the food and beverage industry will help increase awareness of Twinings as a leader in the tea arena. In addition, they have excellent experience delivering world-class corporate anniversary programs for a variety of clients."

Work will begin immediately with a number of initiatives planned to raise awareness of Twinings' upcoming anniversary, including editors' events and tasting celebrations.

About Twinings North America, Inc.

Since 1706, Twinings Tea has been at the forefront of the tea trade. Today, Twinings is the world's leading specialty tea brand, and consumers in more than 100 countries can enjoy the reward of discovering a cup of Twinings. The brand offers a rich selection of black, green and herbal teas in many flavor varieties. The black and green teas are rich in antioxidants. Twinings is available throughout North America in leading grocery stores, mass merchandisers, fine dining establishments, specialty stores and online at http://www.twiningsteashopusa.com/. Twinings North America, Inc. is part of Associated British Foods, an international food, ingredients and retail group. The group is one of Europe's largest food companies with annual sales of 5.2 billion pounds Sterling and more than 35,000 employees.

About Ruder Finn

Ruder Finn is a leading independent communications, counseling and services agency with more than 57 years of experience. The Ruder Finn Group maintains offices in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington, London, Paris, and Jerusalem. Asia Pacific offices include Sydney, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. The agency also works with leading independent affiliates in major markets throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America. Ruder Finn is ranked No. 1 in New York in revenues and staff size by the PR trade newsletter, O'Dwyer's. The agency serves the

global and local communications needs of more than 250 corporations and nonprofit organizations.

   Contact:  Stephen Fidgeon
             Ruder Finn
             212.715.1693
             fidgeons@ruderfinn.com