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Tasti D-Lite signs Middle East development deal

January 5, 2012

Tasti D-Lite has announced its next phase of expansion in the Middle East. Al-Himmah International Limited signed an international master franchise agreement to expand Tasti D-Lite into six Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon and Jordan, with plans to open its first two locations in Saudi Arabia in March 2012.

The company is committed to opening more than 30 units over the next five years.

The Himmah group of companies, with a background in construction, hospitality, logistics and infrastructure projects throughout the region, conducted an extensive search to determine the ideal brand and concept as the lead project for its newly-formed food division.

"Once we began to research options that best fit our market and expansion goals, Tasti D-Lite easily came to the forefront. With its variety of flavors and reduced calorie, fat and carbohydrate count, Tasti D-Lite was the delicious guilt-free treat that fit perfectly to consumer demand in this region," said Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Babutan, chairman of Al-Himmah International. "In a region where levels of overweight population nearly mirror that of the U.S., we are confident that Tasti D-Lite's healthier alternatives to ice cream will earn a growing base of extremely loyal customers."

Tasti D-Lite, which first opened in 1987, has plans to build a global 500-center franchise network. With the company's recent acquisition of the Planet Smoothie chain, it has added a 100-store network selling products that are complementary to those offered by Tasti D-Lite.

"We believe the environment is right for expanded and accelerated growth in the Middle East. The Himmah group is dedicated to the brand and understands the unique factors that differentiate our product from the multitude of ice cream and frozen yogurt brands in the market," said Jim Amos, Tasti D-Lite's chairman and CEO.

Tasti D-Lite first launched its franchise program in 2008 and is now operating in 14 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. Internationally, the company has established master franchise relationships in the United Arab Emirates, Central America and Australia, and has commitments to grow in 15 countries.

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