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Suntory Beverage & Food Limited (SBF) announces the nationwide launch of PREMIUM BOSS BLACK in a bottle-shaped can on March 10, 2015 (Tuesday). PREMIUM BOSS BLACK is a new lineup of PREMIUM BOSS coffees that achieve the richest, most full-bodied flavor ever of BOSS coffees.

Since was first rolled out in 1992, BOSS has been a long-selling favorite that many consumers recognize as the “coffee of the working people.” We have constantly offered a wide lineup of BOSS products, and carried out aggressive marketing, including popular TV commercials and consumer campaigns. Since its inception in the marketplace, BOSS has continued to grow for 22 years. In September 2014, we added PREMIUM BOSS to the lineup of core BOSS products (Boss Rainbow Mountain Blend, Boss Zeitaku Bito, Boss Muto Black, and Boss Café au Lait). In addition, we implemented marketing campaigns. In 2014, sales volume of BOSS coffees was extremely brisk, rising 6% year-on-year, thus largely outperforming growth of the overall canned coffee market.

In creating PREMIUM BOSS, we focused on conventional methods for producing canned coffees, which involved using a filter to remove coffee grounds, the key to a coffee's rich flavor, after the pour to prevent flavor inconsistencies and a bad aftertaste. Utilizing the product development expertise we fostered over 22 years of producing the BOSS brand, we applied an innovative production method for PREMIUM BOSS that involves flash freezing a blend of high-quality coffee beans to condense their richness and flavor before finely grinding the beans into an exquisite blend. In this manner, we achieved a canned coffee that allows consumers to enjoy the richest, most full-bodied flavor ever of BOSS coffees. Although we only just released PREMIUM BOSS in September 2014, the product proved to be highly popular and we sold 4.8 million cases in 2014.

This time around we are launching PREMIUM BOSS BLACK to the bottle-shaped canned coffee market, which is showing pronounced growth. PREMIUM BOSS BLACK allows consumers of bottle-shaped canned coffees to enjoy the richest, most full-bodied flavor ever of BOSS black coffees by using finely ground coffee beans prepared using the new production method to achieve the desired traditional strong coffee taste.

●Characteristics of the product’s flavor

The characteristic of PREMIUM BOSS is the production method which superbly blends finely ground coffee beans. For PREMIUM BOSS BLACK, we have newly added coffee oil extracted from deep roasted coffee beans. Furthermore, we developed a special roasting method that achieves both the richness and bitterness (but with a clean finish) that are expected of a bottle-shaped canned black coffee. Consequently, we attained the richest, most full-bodied flavor ever of BOSS coffees.

●Package characteristics

We employed a bold design for both the naming and logo. We used a basic black, the symbol of the black canned coffees, and the letters PREMIUM BOSS embossed in gold to give it a feeling of luxury. The design conveys our message that this is a bottle-shaped canned coffee brought to you by the long-selling BOSS brand and which offers the richest, most full-bodied flavor ever of BOSS coffees.

Moreover, in tandem with the launch of PREMIUM BOSS BLACK, we plan to do an extensive launch campaign, including various promotional activities such as TV commercials.

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▼Product overview

▼Release date        March 10, 2015 (Tuesday)

▼Region        Nationwide

▼Sales channels        All channels, including vending machines and convenience stores

▼BOSS website (Japanese only)
　　http://suntory.jp/boss/