MARBLEHEAD, Mass., Sep 25, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mountain Herbal Foods, LLC, announced today the appointment of Rudy Rubenis, as the company's Corporate Operating Officer. Rubenis has joined the ownership and management team of Mountain Herbal Foods, creators of Alpine Ice, an all-natural frozen dessert that uses an innovative base of therapeutic and aromatic herbs. Most recently a Regional Vice-President with Whole Foods Market for the past five years, Rubenis will lead the expansion of Alpine Ice and new products into core and expansion markets as the company continues to grow.

Mountain Herbal Foods addresses the importance of healthy nutrition for all lifestyles and diet needs. The base of Alpine Ice uses teas, herbs, and flowers thereby eliminating lactose issues, cholesterol and calories. Each serving of Alpine Ice is low in calories, certified vegan, free of all 8 major food allergens, a good source of dietary fiber, low in sugar and safe for most diabetics, made with all natural ingredients, no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, and brewed using a proprietary blend of teas and herbs. "This is an exciting time to be part of Mountain Herbal Foods," said Rubenis. "The products are unique in their category and offer consumers optimum health benefits with the taste demanded in the marketplace."

"We are fortunate to have Rudy on our team in this period of our company's growth," said Andrew L. Barnett, CEO of Mountain Herbal Foods. "He joins the company with over 20 years experience in the natural food industry with Whole Foods Market, contributing to the company's growth from $90 million to $5 billion in revenues, including six acquisitions and the transition from a private to a public company. Rudy's addition to the Mountain Herbal Foods team further solidifies the company's unique potential for generating category sales based on product innovation with superior health benefits."

"Rudy's arrival gives Mountain Herbal Foods the ability to realize more quickly our mission to reach the underserved food sensitive consumer and the food aware customer with healthy, delicious products," said Michael S. Hoffman, Co-founder and President.

Alpine Ice, the company's premier frozen dessert brand, is now in over 50 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Flavors include Bolder Berry, Green Tea Lemon Verbena, Hibiscus Rose, Lavender Sunrise, Mango Passion, and Plum Lucky.

Alpine Ice is produced in Western Massachusetts at a specialty food venture center. Each flavor is made by hand in small batches. Neither sorbet nor ice cream, the exclusive product stands alone under the Alpine Ice brand, and is made by Mountain Herbal Foods LLC of Marblehead, Massachusetts. For more information about the company and its products, visit our website at www.mtnherbal.com or call 781-639-1192.