(This article is not stating that Oprah Winfrey endorses any Amazon Thunder product.)

http://www.oprah.com/presents/2005/young/life/life_acai.jhtml

February 9, 2006

"Wow!!  Oprah's people just called!"  exclaimed Amazon Thunder owner and founder Todd Reum to his business partner Jeanette as he sat working at his office desk reviewing the books pertaining to a huge pile of  recent Açaí Berry product sales and bulk ingredient inquiries.  "The phone has been ringing off the hook!" exclaims Todd. "Sales have increased 100-fold literally,  due to great exposure of the Açaí Berry in recent articles on its health benefits as well as a recent article in People magazine!  This exposure is great for the Açaí Berry!"  says Todd,  due to the fact that people are becoming more aware of the incredible health benefits of this Amazon superfood, which Oprah has posted on her website health section as the one of the top superfoods in the world!  

Here's how it happened!  "I was working away frantically on some business from my hotel room while on the road in LA.   I was preparing for a new product run this week and get a call from one of Oprah's people.  He called me up on my cell phone and introduced himself and said "Hi Todd,  this is Brian from the Oprah show, can you get me some pictures, berries and some product overnight by fed-ex for the Oprah show tomorrow? We begin taping at 1 p.m. tomorrow and it airs on Friday.   I'm like "Yes of course!, no problem!" We get off the phone,  "I can't pass up this opportunity at any cost!"  I say.  This is a chance of a lifetime!   I panic, how am I going to get real berries to him on time? 

 For those of you who don't know, you can't just buy fresh açaí berries anywhere.  Açaí grows only in the Rainforest of Brazil, and it is only the skin that carries all of the nutrition.  So anyone who knows this berry knows that the closest you can get to it in North America is in puree pulp form, which is how it is brought in and which is what makes up every bottle of Amazon Thunder.   I frantically  call up one of  my partners who happens to be stuck in traffic on the other side of L.A. and tell her the scenario.  She has to drive to a client's place to get the berries that she brought back with her from her last visit to Brazil and it is already 4 p.m.  

Cut-off time for FedEx overnight is 6 p.m. and we hadn't even gotten anything ready yet!  By the time we get things packaged and ready to go out it is already 5:45 pm and the only place that would accept FedEx overnight was a place near LAX!  Impossible -- we can't make it, so  everyone on our team is brainstorming, what can we do?

"I got it" says Todd, "I'm catching the red eye at midnight!  It  will get  there by 5 a.m!"  What an expensive courier service, but how often does one get this chance?  Todd arrives at 5:30 a.m., freshens up and shaves in the Chicago O'Hare airport and catches a cab straight to Oprah's studio downtown.  "I was adjusting all the packaging and product samples and making sure the berries were okay and that the ice hadn't melted while traveling by cab from the airport to the studio because I didn't have enough time to get everything looking the way I wanted it to," said Todd.

"It was quite an experience walking into those studios and dropping off the goods" said Todd.  "People couldn't believe I paid out of my own pocket about $1,000.00 for this overnight delivery. Some might think I'm crazy, but I'm not -- okay, maybe a little!  I was just blessed to get this opportunity and will remember it for the rest of my life!  The point is we got the berries and products to them and now the show can go on!"  

See this new article by the University of Florida!