TORONTO, August 17, 2008 – Selected from hundreds of photo entries submitted by Canadians from coast-to-coast, Veronique Langlois from Granby, Quebec showed the sunniest smile, winning the grand prize trip to California, plus bragging rights of having her “Sunkist Smile®” flashed on a giant TV screen at the world-famous Times Square in New York City. Ms. Langlois was among 4,233 entrants from around the world who participated in an international photo competition commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Sunkist brand”.

In the winning photo, Veronique sports a “Sunkist Smile” (orange wedge in the mouth) next to a frosty snowman with orange slices as eyes – and matching citrus smile! Her caption highlights enjoying the outdoors in winter and the rejuvenating powers of Sunkist® Oranges – perfect for providing the daily recommended Vitamin C in one orange. Grabbing high marks for Fun Factor (30%), Quality of Image (30%) and Creativity (40%), Veronique’s positively “citrus” photo excelled in all three judged categories.

As part of an international photo competition that benefited the Special Olympics, Canadians shared their sunny smiles to celebrate 100 years of Sunkist. Citrus lovers from around the world entered their smiles for the opportunity to have their winning smile posted at Times Square in New York City – grand prize trips varied from country to country, with Canadians having the chance to visit sunny California.

Citrus fans from nine countries -- including Canada, the United States, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan -- submitted original photos of themselves with a creative “Sunkist Smile” to launch Sunkist International Smiles Day on February 20, 2008. One grand prize winner from each participating country was selected. In honour of global consumer participation, Sunkist Growers donated $50,000 to Special Olympics.

“We are delighted with the enthusiasm for Sunkist citrus shared by people from around the world,” said Claire Smith, Sunkist Director of Corporate Communications. “Cultivating delicious and nutritious citrus fruit is something we’re passionate about so it’s a triumph knowing different cultures shared in this unifying contest that commemorated 100 Years of Sunkist.”

About Special Olympics
Special Olympics is an international non-profit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and competition to 2.5 million adults and children with intellectual disabilities across more than 170 countries. The Special Olympics movement offers one of the world's greatest platforms for acceptance and inclusion for all people--regardless of race, religion, ethnicity or cultural differences. Be a fan and visit www.specialolympics.org.


About Sunkist Growers, Inc.
The Sunkist brand was first used in 1907 to promote and further unify an emerging fruit cooperative formed by independent growers (known previously as the Southern California Fruit Exchange and later as the California Fruit Growers Exchange). In 1908, the “Sunkist” name had captured the organization’s interest and it was adopted as trademark to appear on boxes of premium quality fruit. Its legacy is honoured today, over 100 years later, by the California and Arizona growers, most of whom are small family farmers, who now own Sunkist Growers.

Steadfast to its commitment to provide quality fresh fruit, Sunkist is one of the world’s oldest and largest citrus marketing cooperatives, packing millions of cartons of fruit each year.

Stretching its presence beyond the produce aisle, Sunkist has licensed its name to more than 600 products – ranging from vitamins to beverages - in more than 40 different countries.

For more information about Sunkist, visit www.sunkist.com.

* To view the winning photo, please contact below:

Media Contact:
Sara O’Reilly/Diane Sidik
Manning Selvage & Lee
416.847.1334/416-847-1316
sara.o’reilly@mslpr.ca/diane.sidik@mslpr.ca