FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Charlie Conner, info@yachanagourmet.com
Yachana Gourmet

WILD OATS LAUNCHES ALL FOUR VARIETIES OF YACHANA JUNGLE CHOCOLATE

The U.S.'s Second Largest Natural Foods Retailer Launches
Yachana Jungle Chocolate in its Western U.S. Stores

Quito, Ecuador (July 15, 2004) -. Following its approval of Yachana Jungle Chocolate earlier in the year, Wild Oats will launch all four varieties of Yachana Jungle Chocolate in 52 retail outlets in the Western U.S. during the months of July and August of 2004. The product launch is expected to boost Yachana Gourmet's sales significantly and, in doing so, have a strong impact on the lives of the thousands of small family farmers which Yachana Gourmet and FUNEDESIN exist to help.

The Boulder, CO based natural foods retailer will launch Yachana Jungle Chocolate in its retail outlets in the states of CA, WA, OR, AZ, UT, and NV in the month of July. In August, Wild Oats will extend the product launch to include all of its retail outlets in the states of CO, NM, KS, MO, NE, and OK.

The product launch represents a shift in Yachana Gourmet's marketing strategy designed to open up channels in the natural foods industry after concentrating primarily on Fair Trade outlets, gift shops, and specialty shops. The move is expected to introduce thousands of new consumers to Yachana Jungle Chocolate. Considering that Yachana Gourmet is a Fair Trade company that donates 100% of its profits to supporting the healthcare, conservation, and sustainable development work of the Ecuador-based FUNEDESIN Foundation (the Foundation that founded FUNEDESIN), this product launch is expected to have an enormous impact on the lives of the thousands of small family farmers with whom Yachana Gourmet and FUNEDESIN work.

When asked to comment, Yachana Gourmet and FUNEDESIN founder Douglas McMeekin responded, "We're absolutely thrilled. This is something we've been working towards for years. If this goes as planned, it could provide permanent financial sustainability to the work of FUNEDESIN and thus create a new socio-economic reality in the Ecuadorian Amazon," Afterwards, McMeekin added, "We're also excited to be able to offer our product to people in such a large territory. For years, the Americans that have come down to stay at Yachana Lodge have fell in love with the chocolate and have begged us to tell them where they could buy this in their community. Well, now we have the answer - Wild Oats."

To find the Wild Oats nearest you, please visit the Wild Oast Store Locator .

To learn more about FUNEDESIN and Yachana Lodge, please visit www.funedesin.org , and www.yachana.com .