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Sam's Club and Cafe Bom Dia Support National Fair Trade Month by Strengthening Commitment to Raise Additional Funds for Brazilian Farming Communities

$1 from Every Bag Purchased in October Goes Toward New School

CORAL GABLES, Fla., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate National Fair Trade Month in October, Cafe Bom Dia will donate $1 for every bag sold of its Member's Mark(R) Marques de Paiva(R) Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee. Fair Trade Certification ensures family farmers get paid a fair price for their harvest. The $1 per bag in October is in addition to the fair trade price and will directly benefit the children of the Brazilian farming families and their community which grow this fine coffee. Member's Mark(R) Marques de Paiva(R) Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee is offered at Sam's Club nationwide through a partnership with Cafe Bom Dia, who is one of Brazil's leading growers and roasters of gourmet coffee.

For more than 100 years, the Marques de Paiva(R) family has grown coffee in the fertile highlands of southern Brazil. Member's Mark(R) Marques de Paiva(R) Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee, a 100 percent Arabica whole-bean blend, has earned an impressive rating of 88 points from CoffeeReview.com, the world's largest and most respected coffee buying guide. This rating places Cafe Bom Dia in the company of the world's leading specialty coffee producers.

"As the first company licensed by TransFair USA to sell Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee roasted and packaged at origin, Cafe Bom Dia has revolutionized the Fair Trade system by increasing supply chain efficiency, keeping more revenue at origin while passing along savings to Sam's Club members," said TransFair USA President and CEO Paul Rice.

Member's Mark(R) Marques de Paiva(R) Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee offers the best consumer value among all Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee on the U.S. market today thanks to its tree-to-shelf supply chain which cuts out several layers of middlemen. Sam's Club offers a 40-ounce bag of Member's Mark(R) Marques de Paiva(R) Fair Trade Certified(TM) French Roast for $11.77.

"By supporting Fair Trade, Sam's Club is helping improve the lives of over 2,000 farming families, while still delivering the best consumer value for specialty coffee available anywhere. A true win-win," said Joe Alcantara, President of Cafe Bom Dia's North American Operations.

Since its national launch at Sam's Club in 2005, Member's Mark(R) Marques de Paiva(R) Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee has enjoyed tremendous success. Sam's Club has contributed funds to over 2,000 cooperative farming families in Brazil. Receiving a fair price for their harvest allows these farmers to invest in their families' health care and education, reinvest in quality and protect the environment. The Fair Trade Certified(TM) label is supported by TransFair USA, the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products for the U.S. market. Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee has more than doubled in the past two years, making it the fastest-growing segment of the $11 billion U.S. specialty coffee market. Since 1999, TransFair USA has certified 150 million pounds of Fair Trade coffee.

"We are extremely pleased with the success of Member's Mark(R) Marques de Paiva(R) Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee at Sam's Club and anticipate our Members will appreciate the opportunity to support the growers and farmers during Fair Trade month as they have since we introduced the coffee in 2005," said Matt Kistler, Vice President, Product Packaging and Innovation .

Fair Trade Awareness Events

During October, all of the more than 570 Sam's Club locations nationwide will feature video footage of the farming communities who produce Member's Mark(R) Marques de Paiva(R) Fair Trade Certified(TM) coffee via in-Club TV network, giving members an intimate view of the people behind their purchase. Fair Trade themed special events are planned for 170 Sam's Club locations in 33 states.

About Cafe Bom Dia, Ltda.

For over four generations, the Marques de Paiva(R) family has been growing gourmet coffees on the Brazilian countryside's richest agricultural lands. Cafe Bom Dia is based in southern Brazil in the state of Minas Gerais, where 25 percent of the world's coffee supply originates. The company employs a tree-to-shelf supply chain, which allows it to bring a range of certified specialty coffee products to market at a great value to consumers. Cafe Bom Dia has partnered with Sam's Club to support their mutual commitment to bettering the lives of coffee farming families and distributes several certified coffees nationally through this relationship. For more information, visit http://www.marquesdepaiva.com.

About TransFair USA

TransFair USA, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, is one of twenty members of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO), and the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States. TransFair USA audits transactions between U.S. companies offering Fair Trade Certified(TM) products and the international suppliers from whom they source, in order to guarantee that the farmers and workers behind Fair Trade Certified(TM) goods were paid fair, above-market prices and fair wages. FLO annually inspects producer organizations to ensure that strict socioeconomic development criteria is met using increased Fair Trade revenue, in addition to sustainable farm management, environmental stewardship and democratic decision-making. For more information, visit http://www.fairtradecertified.org.

About Sam's Club

Sam's Club is a division of WalMart Stores Inc., and ranks as one of the nation's largest warehouse clubs with 47 million U.S. members. The first Sam's Club opened its doors in Midwest City, Oklahoma in 1983. Sam's Club offers exceptional values on merchandise and services for business owners and consumers. Online merchandise and club information is available at http://www.samsclub.com.

CONTACT: Julie Hall of Schneider Associates, +1-617-536-3300, jhall@schneiderpr.com

Web site: http://www.marquesdepaiva.com/ http://www.fairtradecertified.org/ http://www.samsclub.com/

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