PLEZi Nutrition Announces Launch Of Kids’ Drink, PLEZi, In Walmart Stores Nationwide

Co-Founded By Former First Lady Michelle Obama, PLEZi Nutrition Is A Public Benefit Company With A Purpose To Help Raise A Healthier Generation Of Kids

PLEZi Nutrition, a new kids’ nutrition company co-founded by former First Lady Michelle Obama, today announced the launch of its inaugural product, PLEZi, at Walmart stores nationwide. The product has been available on Walmart.com since May when PLEZi Nutrition formally launched. PLEZi Nutrition is on a mission to be a driver of change, creating higher standards for how the U.S. makes and markets food and beverages for kids, leading with nutrition, taste, and truth. The Company was founded to give parents a helping hand by offering healthier, great-tasting products that provide nutrients kids need while helping to replace sugary drinks and snacks. Importantly, while PLEZi Nutrition is lowering sugar, the company is also lowering sweetness to help adjust kids’ palates to crave less sweetness overall.

The U.S. is in a nutrition-related health crisis. Kids are not getting the recommended levels of nutrients they need, and they are consuming far too much added sugar—on average, 53 pounds of added sugar per year. Sugar-sweetened beverages, also referred to as sugary drinks, are the leading source of added sugar, and nearly two-thirds of youth consume sugary drinks on a given day. PLEZi Nutrition’s first product, a kids’ drink called PLEZi, has 75% less sugar than average leading 100% fruit juices, no added sugar, plus fiber and nutrients, like potassium, magnesium, and zinc. There are 6g of sugar per 8 oz serving of PLEZi, while leading fruit juices average over 25g of sugar per 8 oz serving.

Parents are asking for better options. PLEZi Nutrition interviewed 6,000 moms and heard loud and clear that they are in need of more healthier options for their kids, especially products with less sugar, to meet the demands of today’s modern parenting.

“We still have a lot of work to do when it comes to improving children’s health,” said former First Lady Michelle Obama, Co-Founder and Strategic Partner of PLEZi Nutrition. “While I’m proud of the progress we made when Barack and I were in the White House, I’ve also learned that to truly push the food and beverage industry to make better products for our kids, you have to work from the inside. And I could not be more thrilled to expand PLEZi Nutrition’s relationship with Walmart and make PLEZi more accessible to families across the country.”

“We’re excited to welcome PLEZi to Walmart,” said Melody Richard, Senior Vice President, Pantry, Walmart U.S. “PLEZi provides an important healthier option for parents and kids seeking nutritional beverages.”

More than a product, PLEZi Nutrition is an educational platform, using its marketing resources to engage with families about what’s best for kids’ health, like drinking water and eating whole fruits and vegetables, because PLEZi isn’t intended to replace water and whole foods. The company also pledges to invest 10% of profits right back into the broader movement to promote children’s health, and has already announced an initial $1 million donation to FoodCorps Nourishing Futures initiative, which is working to ensure all 50 million students across the country have access to nutrition education and free school meals by 2030. PLEZi the product, the platform, and the philanthropic efforts are here to help raise a healthier generation of kids.

PLEZi is currently available in Walmart stores nationwide and on Walmart.com, as well as in Target and Sprouts. PLEZi’s four flavors - Tropical Punch, Orange Smash, Sour Apple, and Blueberry Blast - are available in four count packages of 8 oz bottles for $2.98 on average. For more information, visit: www.plezi.com and follow PLEZi on Instagram.

###

About PLEZi Nutrition
PLEZi Nutrition is a new kids' nutrition company, created to bring higher standards to how we make and market food and beverages for our kids. We are the motivated voices of parents everywhere looking for more practical, healthier options. The first product is a kids' drink called PLEZi with no added sugar and 75% less sugar than average leading 100% fruit juices. The U.S. is in a nutrition-related health crisis and sugary drinks are the leading source of added sugar: nearly two-thirds of youth consume sugary drinks on a given day.

PLEZi also contains fiber and nutrients to support kids' growing bodies. PLEZi the product, the platform, and the philanthropic efforts are here to help raise a healthier generation of kids and have some fun along the way. PLEZi Nutrition is part of Juggernaut Capital's portfolio of companies. For more information, visit www.plezi.com and follow PLEZi Nutrition on Instagram.

About Mrs. Obama's Health Advocacy Work
Michelle Robinson Obama is a lawyer, best-selling author, and served as the first African American First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Obama began her career as an attorney at the Chicago law firm Sidley Austin. She later worked in the Chicago mayor's office, at the University of Chicago, and the University of Chicago Medical Center. Obama founded the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an organization that prepares young people for public service careers.

In 2010, then First Lady Michelle Obama launched Let's Move!, a comprehensive initiative dedicated to raising a healthier generation. Combining comprehensive strategies with common sense, Let's Move! worked to put children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years; giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices; providing healthier foods in our schools; ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food; and, helping children become more physically active. During Mrs. Obama's time as First Lady, Let's Move! improved the federal school nutrition standards, garnered meaningful commitments from food companies and restaurant chains to lower calories, salt, sugar, and trans fat in their products, and modernized the Nutrition Facts Label to help give families the information they need, among many achievements. By the time the President and First Lady left office:

• 1.6 million kids were attending a Let's Move! Child Care program, where they were eating healthier meals and snacks
• 8.1 million people in underserved areas could buy healthier food somewhere nearby, like a convenience store
• 11 million kids were attending a Let's Move! Active School where they could get 60 minutes of physical activity a day
• 50 million kids had access to healthier meals and snacks at school. In many areas of the country, school lunches and breakfasts were considered some of the healthiest meals in America.
  
  Press Contact:
  Joanna Rosholm
  press@plezi.com