THE STORY

A Sweet Tale
Waldemar Ventura Rodriguez, better known by his friends and associates as "Wally" is the grandson of don Ventura Rodriguez, one of Puerto Rico’s most respected legendary figures in the food and beverage distribution business. Wally inherited the natural business acumen and intuitive ability to identify profitable opportunities from his grandfather. This visionary capacity has led him to introduce and develop several winning brands in Puerto Rico’s fiercely competitive consumer products arena.

The Inspiration
During the 80’s, actively engaged in running his consumer products sales, marketing and distribution business, Wally was amazed by the explosive growth of the tabletop sweetener category sparked by the discovery, development and FDA approval of aspartame as a safe sugar substitute. He noticed however, that due to the mark-up structure of the pharmaceutical companies then controlling the category, pricing to he consumer of major brands in the category resulted considerably high. Sparked by his intuitive inspiration to identify a possible winning opportunity, and accustomed to running a lean food- oriented operation thriving on much smaller margins, he envisioned the day when the aspartame patent expired. Why not seize the day and produce a similar product? In the process, why not offer retailers and consumers a "win- win" proposition with value pricing so attractive it would seem almost incredible. Why not!

A Brand is Born
With a wickedly competitive and category perfect name, SAME was launched on June 1994 and was pre-destined for greatness from the start! The brand was developed and test marketed it in Puerto Rico ( incidentally, the U.S.’s 25th largest market). Barely two years after its launch, SAME’s volume surpassed that of the major brand. Subsequently, the above made Sweet Health Products Company an offer impossible to refuse, they acquired SAME. The agreement contemplated an abstention by Sweet Health Products and or Mr. Waldemar Rodriguez from the artificial sweetener market for a period of five years.

The Re-entry: A Natural Winner
After the five-year non competition period expired, Sweet Health Products Company has now launched a premium quality sweetener. This time, it has been christened ZERO. That’s right, ZERO, A Zero Calorie Sweetener formulated with the finest quality ingredients in the necessary proportions to achieve a super premium product with "The perfect taste". When formulating Zero, Sweet Health Products Company Inc., decided to use aspartame as the primary sweetening ingredient due to the fact that aspartame's safety has been documented in more than 200 separate scientific studies. Food regulatory authorities in over 100 countries have confirmed its safety over and over, and according to the FDA, aspartame is one of the most thoroughly tested and studied ingredients in the US food supply.

Prior to its approval in 1981, aspartame's safety was documented in more than 100 scientific studies. Tests were conducted in laboratory animals as well as in human groups, including infants, children, adults, lactating women, people with diabetes, and obese individuals. The results concluded that aspartame is safe and not associated with adverse health effects.

Besides, independent research reviews by health organizations, such as The American Medical Association's Council on Scientific Affairs, the American Diabetes Association and the American Dietetic Association have further confirmed its safety for human consumption.

Manufactured in the United States using only the finest ingredients and offered at extremely competitive prices, ZERO is unquestionably the best priced value available within the sugar substitutes category. The secret is simple. There are fewer intermediaries in the product’s distribution channel, as ZERO is being offered directly from the producer (Sweet Health Products Company Inc.) to the retailer. The trade and consumers are currently snapping it up faster than you can say KARAMBA! (Who says lightning never strikes twice?).