LOS ANGELES, June XX, 2011 – A summer run of the award‐winning Wonderful Pistachios® “Get Crackin’” advertising campaign is driving an impressive 51 percent increase in May pistachio sales. This continues an upward sales trajectory trend for the pistachio category, currently the fastest growing nut type on a monthly and on an annualized basis, as reported by Information Resources (IRI).

Leading the increase in the category are Paramount Farms’ Wonderful Pistachios and Everybody’s Nuts® pistachio brands, which together saw a 57 percent increase in dollar sales with Food and Drug merchants, driven by a 114 percent sales increase in the drug retail channel and new distribution. Overall, snack nut sales growth was positive showing a 4 percent increase.

Wonderful Pistachios was recently named a 2010 New Produce Pacesetter by Symphony IRI, placing it among the top five most successful food & beverage consumer packaged goods brands. The honor goes to top product launches which delivered against consumer desires for health and wellness, with just a little bit of indulgence along the way.

“We took an aggressive approach by re‐running spots from the 2010 fall ‘Get Crackin’ advertising campaign in the summer, a traditionally quiet period for snack nut promotions,” said Marc Seguin, director of marketing, Paramount Farms. “Our approach is showing groundbreaking results for overall category sales and most importantly, brand sales, and confirms that consumers are continuing to exchange other nuts for pistachios.”

Airing during the traditional “off” promotional summer season, the eight‐week $5.5‐million “Get Crackin’” campaign features celebrity figures demonstrating how they crack open a pistachio in their own unique, tongue‐in‐cheek way. The summer spots feature several top pop‐culture figures including infamous Illinois governor and Celebrity Apprentice star Rod Blagojevich; MTV Jersey Shore’s beloved Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi; NFL Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver and VH‐1 star Chad Ochocinco; Golden Globe™ Award‐nominated actor and former real‐life drill instructor R. Lee Ermey; stand‐up comedian and actor Lewis Black; YouTube sensation “Keyboard Cat”; and Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts gang, which is widely considered the most popular and influential comic strip.

Spots are airing on a variety of top‐rated programs including Comedy Central’s The Daily Show; Fox’s Two & a Half Men; and HGTV’s House Hunters International; creating 553 million impressions among the 35‐54 year target audience. Now in its second year, the “Get Crackin” campaign was launched in 2010 as a $20‐million national advertising campaign and responsible for a 233 percent sales increase for the Wonderful Pistachios brand in the launch year of the campaign. Today, Wonderful Pistachios is a $300‐ million brand and one of the top fastest growing brands globally.

About Wonderful® Pistachios
The Wonderful Pistachios brand features upscale, premium packaging and a bold contemporary look, appealing to a sophisticated, health‐conscious consumer. Wonderful Pistachios are grown in Lost Hills, California, part of the San Joaquin Valley, the agricultural heartland of California. Grown, processed and packaged by Paramount Farms, Wonderful Pistachios are available at retail outlets and grocery stores nationwide including Albertsons, Giant Eagle, Kroger, Safeway, Sam’s Club, Publix, Winn Dixie, Shoprite, Vons and Wegmans, and are available in a variety of sizes. For more information about Wonderful Pistachios or the Get Crackin’ campaignvisit www.wonderfulpistachios.com; www.getcrackin.com; http://www.facebook.com/wonderfulpistachios and http://twitter.com/getcrackin.

About Paramount Farms
Part of Roll Global LLC, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Paramount Farms is one of a group of privately owned, affiliated companies that comprise the largest farming operation of tree crops in the world. In addition to pistachios and almonds, Paramount Farms is also the largest producer and exclusive grower of the California Wonderful variety of pomegranates. Sister company, Paramount Citrus, is the largest orange and lemon packing facility in North America, the majority of which come from its own orchards, and the largest grower of Clementine mandarin oranges in the United States.