Sunkist Growers Joins Forces With ‘The Biggest Loser’

New Orleans – This season, Sunkist is joining forces with NBC’s hit series, “The Biggest Loser®,” through a promotional licensing agreement with NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products to inspire consumers to make healthier choices, like incorporating fresh citrus into their diet. “The Biggest Loser,” now in its 15th season, is a motivational weight loss competition in which overweight contestants compete to reach a healthier weight through the adoption of a healthier lifestyle. Season 15 of “The Biggest Loser” premiered October 15 and airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. (ET) on NBC.

“Obesity is one of the most serious health issues facing our nation today,” said Sunkist Director of Retail Marketing Julie DeWolf. “To help curb the obesity epidemic, Sunkist is proud to be joining forces with ‘The Biggest Loser’ to encourage consumers to make healthier choices. Fresh citrus offers many health and weight loss benefits, making this relationship a natural fit for Sunkist.”

Sunkist will channel viewers’ motivation to live healthier by bringing “The Biggest Loser” brand to grocery stores nationwide, inspiring them to make better, more nutritious choices while shopping. Starting as early as December, specially marked packaging for Sunkist® citrus will feature on-pack stickers that incorporate “The Biggest Loser” logo and information about the health and weight loss benefits of citrus. Sunkist will also offer a valuable consumer promotion that inspires entrants to achieve their weight loss goals.

The promotion will place a particular emphasis on Sunkist lemons and grapefruit, as both of these citrus varieties are known for their weight loss benefits.

Squeezing fresh lemon into your water adds flavor and Vitamin C, helping you stay hydrated and healthy. By replacing high calorie drinks with lemon water, you’ll be cutting back the number of calories you consume which can aid weight loss, that is why Sunkist has branded lemon water The Ultimate Diet Drink®.  Find out more about using fresh lemons in your water at http://www.sunkist.com/healthy/ultimate-diet-drink.aspx.

Grapefruit is a nutrient-packed superfood, providing antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that promote heart health, healthy skin and may reduce the risk of certain cancers1, 2. Studies have shown that this superfruit also plays a supporting role in healthy weight loss 3. For more information about the health and weight loss benefits of grapefruit, check out Sunkist’s online brochure: http://www.sunkist.com/pdfs/sunkist_grapefruit_brochure.pdf.

About NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group

NBCUniversal is a leader in providing entertainment programming to the domestic and international marketplaces. NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group manages all global ancillary television business endeavors for the NBC Entertainment and Catalog portfolio, including third-party home entertainment distribution, consumer products, musical soundtracks, special markets projects and www.nbcuniversalstore.com. For the latest product updates and an overview of the properties managed by the group, visit the NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products portal at http://nbcuconsumerproducts.com. Viewers can join The Biggest Loser Club by visiting "The Biggest Loser" health and fitness website at www.biggestloser.com. The Biggest Loser Club offers comprehensive and interactive weight-loss tools, bringing "The Biggest Loser" lifestyle from the hit NBC show right to your home.

About Shine America

Shine America is a world leader in producing and distributing compelling scripted and unscripted television and digital content. Shine America is known for popular and award-winning original series including The Biggest Loser and The Face, as well as adaptations of Shine Group formats such as MasterChef, MasterChef Junior and Minute to Win It, and scripted series including The Bridge.  Shine America incorporates several divisions including unscripted format label Ardaban and Shine Latino, which develops and distributes original Spanish-language content to the U.S. marketplace. The company also has a joint-venture with award-winning producer Nigel Lythgoe (Nigel Lythgoe Productions). The global Shine 360 division builds brands through the leveraging of its intellectual property and creating integrated marketing opportunities for advertisers. The company has also developed over 20 ground-breaking original online series on MSN, Yahoo!, YouTube premium channels and other platforms, many produced in partnership with global brands. Through Shine Group’s distribution arm, Shine International, Shine America distributes its extensive library of programming and formats to more than 150 countries. Visit www.shineamerica.com for further information.

Sunkist Growers is a citrus marketing cooperative, founded in 1893, which is owned by and operated for thousands of family farmers growing citrus in California and Arizona. SUNKIST and Design, The Ultimate Diet Drink and S’alternative are registered trademarks of ©2013 Sunkist Growers, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Produce of USA. The Biggest Loser is a registered trademark and copyright of NBC Studios, Inc. & Reveille, LLC. Licensed by NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products Group 2013.

1. Jairam Vanamala, Tety Leonardi, Bhimanagouda S. Patil, Stella S. Taddeo, Mary E. Murphy, Leonard M. Pike, Robert S. Chapkin, Joanne R. Lupton and Nancy D. Turner (2006). Suppression of colon carcinogenesis by bioactive compounds in grapefruit. Carcinogenesis, Volume 27  (Issue 6),  1257-1265. http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/27/6/1257.long

2. Hahn-Obercyger M, Stark AH, Madar Z. Grapefruit and oroblanco enhance hepatic detoxification enzymes in rats: possible role in protection against chemical carcinogenesis. J Agric Food Chem. 2005 Mar 9;53(5):1828-32. PubMed PMID: 15740081. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15740081

3. 1: Fujioka K, Greenway F, Sheard J, Ying Y. The effects of grapefruit on weight and insulin resistance: relationship to the metabolic syndrome. J Med Food. 2006 Spring;9(1):49-54. PubMed PMID: 16579728. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16579728

Source: Sunkist Growers