May
1, 2004 (Los Angeles, California) -- Chubby Checker, King of the
Twist, started a world-wide revolution in 1959 with his infectious,
upbeat music, introducing “dancing apart to the beat,”
and is again making history in the snack food industry with a
new, unique line of products that fits the needs and tastes of
today’s consumers. A hands-on entrepreneur, Checker is the
visionary and creator of Chubby’s Checkerbar, Chubby Checker
Brand Beef Jerky, Outside the Bun Hot Dogs, New York Twist Steaks,
Golden Hits Gourmet Popcorn, and Girl of the World Bottled Water.
CorBranz Marketing Group, LLC, has formed an exclusive alliance
with Last Twist, Inc., Checker's parent company, to market his
brand on a worldwide basis. The company is currently launching
the brand in North America, Australia, and Europe. Chubby and
his CorBranz partners have big plans for his brand in supermarkets,
convenience stores, drug stores, clubs, mass merchandisers and
quick service restaurant chains.
In
order to capitalize on the “Fun Food” phenomenon,
CorBranz plans to implement high impact in-store merchandising
programs that leverage Chubby’s name and retro/nostalgia
appeal in the form of colorful floor, wing, and counter displays
(some in the shape of jukeboxes) and personal appearances by Chubby
himself. “This is a wonderful opportunity to provide today’s
consumer with high quality, fun foods, that combine the fame and
appeal of one of the world’s true music legends,”
says Mark Davis, CorBranz Co-President. “Chubby’s
persona and style have no boundaries when it comes to time, age,
race, or geography and we’re confident this mass appeal
will help to attract a broad demographic group to his food items.
“ John Schlosser, CorBranz other Co-President, suggests
that fun food and distinctive packaging from The King of The Twist
provides the retailer with tremendous profit potential. “Just
the mention of “The Twist,” he says, “brings
a smile to anyone’s face, and when your customers are smiling,
they are certainly inclined to spend a bit more freely.”
It’s
over 40 years since Ernest Evans debuted as Chubby Checker on
the Hot 100, the week of May 15, 1959, with “The Class,”
a recording that featured him impersonating well-known artists
such as Fats Domino, the Coasters and Elvis Presley. His breakout
single “The Twist” was the only record to reach number
one twice in its glory (once in 1960 and again in 1962). Selling
250,000,000 records during those 4 ½ years, Dick Clark
said, “The three most important things that ever happened
in the music industry are Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Chubby
Checker.” How did Checker morph from a life-long entertainer
into a confessed “foodie” and entrepreneur? Checker
says, “Over the years, the food industry has had a lot of
success selling products using “Chubby,” “Checker”
and “Twist” in their brand names, so that was one
of the reasons I decided to develop my own brand. I wanted to
provide consumers with my own unique and fine tasting products
from The King of the Twist.” Definitely Checker knows what
it takes.
Mover
and shaker that he is, while additions to his expanding line of
“portafuel” products were being readied for distribution,
Checker was back in the studio recording his latest single, “Limbo
Rock (Remixes),” featuring “Original Master of the
Dancehall Beat,” credited to Chubby C & OD featuring
Inner Circle. (Chubby C is the latest incarnation of Chubby Checker),
adding pop, rap and reggae sounds to his lively and long-standing
repertoire. The song debuted on Billboard’s Top 100 and
quickly rose to number 3 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Singles
Sales Chart. Clearly, Checker’s intuition, vitality, drive
and talent wear many hats. He loves his fans and appreciates the
significance they play in boosting sales and name recognition
of his new line of fun food products.
No
one can accuse Checker of being just a figurehead. His commitment
to his foods, added to his 40+ year share of history and pop culture,
is a proven recipe for success.
