T.G.I. Friday's Launches "Make It or Break It" Menu

Press Release
Source: T.G.I. Friday's Restaurants

Eating Healthier is a Popular Resolution to 'Make,' but Even Easier to 'Break,' According to a Recent Poll Conducted by T.G.I. Friday's Restaurants and Ipsos-Insight

Thursday January 13, 2:00 pm ET -- T.G.I. Friday's(R) Restaurants Announce the Launch of Their 'Make It or Break It' Menu That Tempts Guests to Choose 'Guilt-Free Choices' or 'Indulgent Favorites'

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 13, 2005-- Americans are divided on many issues, including sticking to their New Year's resolutions. While 41 percent of people stuck to their diet-related New Year's resolutions in 2004, 58 percent did not, according to a recent survey conducted by T.G.I. Friday's restaurants and Ipsos-Insight. Beginning January 11, 2005 T.G.I. Friday's(R) restaurants are making it easier for everyone to enjoy dining out with the introduction of their 3-course 'Make it or Break it' menu, playfully enticing people to either 'make' or 'break' their New Year's resolutions. The new menu offers fun and tasty dishes, including new 'Guilt-Free Choices' and 'Indulgent Favorites.'

As healthy eating continues to diversify, T.G.I. Friday's restaurants understand that people have different nutritional desires. Leading the pack as the top two diet lifestyles Americans followed as part of their 2004 New Year's resolutions were low-carb (15 percent) and low calorie/fat (13 percent) according to the poll. Friday's restaurants recognized this by expanding its successful partnership with Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. and is introducing three new Atkins(R) -approved low-carb options, as well as three new 'better for you' choices, which are low in fat and calories. Also featured as part of the 'Make it or Break it' menu are several of Friday's 'Indulgent Favorites' that acknowledge the popularity of Friday's classic items. These 'Indulgent Favorites' are ideal for the nearly 80 percent of Americans surveyed who were not planning to make diet-related New Year's resolutions for 2005.

"At Friday's, we pride ourselves on offering great tasting menu items for our guests, as well as catering to individual diet preferences," said Richard Snead, president and CEO of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, parent company of T.G.I. Friday's restaurants. "In 2003 we were proud to introduce the first-of-its-kind partnership with the leader of controlled carbohydrate nutrition, Atkins, and we are excited to continue the successful relationship with three new Atkins-approved items on the 'Make it or Break it' menu. On top of that, our new low-fat and low-calorie items are fantastic and are expected to be as popular as the Atkins-approved menu offerings." Snead continued, "It's important to provide choices for our guests, and these new additions to our menu are doing just that."

"We worked closely with the Atkins culinary team to develop unique dishes that fit the low-carb lifestyles of many Americans," said Terri Snyder, senior vice president of marketing and R&D for T.G.I. Friday's USA. "In addition, we challenged ourselves to create delicious, 'better for you' options that would appeal to everyone who made resolutions to focus on weight management and better health, as well as 'Indulgent Favorites' for those who didn't." Snyder added, "With these new items on our 'Make it or Break it' menu, we succeed in providing the variety and great taste that our guests expect."

The new 'Make it or Break it' menu includes nine 'Guilt-Free' items along with the 'Indulgent Favorites'. Of the 'Guilt-Free' choices, brand-new items include Atkins friendly appetizers - Cajun Chicken Quesadillas with 10 net carbs and Green Salad with 7 net carbs, and a new entree addition - Chicken Verde Enchilada Combo with 16 net carbs. Other Atkins-approved menu items are the Key West Grouper with 12 net carbs, the Sizzling Chicken with Broccoli at 17 net carbs and the New York Cheesecake with 8 net carbs. Also included on the 'Guilt-Free' menu are new healthy-lifestyle entrees Bruschetta Grouper, Santa Fe Chicken Salad, and Barbecue Jack Chicken which contain 10g of fat or less and 500 calories or less.

On the 'Indulgent Favorites' side, the tempting items include nine favorites including the famous Loaded Potato Skins, the Southwest Jalapeno Burger, Cajun-Fried Chicken Salad, Bruschetta Chicken, and Sizzling Chicken and Cheese.

"We received a tremendous response to last year's debut of the Atkins items on our menu, and made sure that these new items hold up to our high standard of great taste, innovation, and value that Friday's guests expect," said Mike Archer, EVP and COO for T.G.I. Friday's USA. "With the addition of 'better for you' options we show our commitment to staying fresh by expanding our offerings even more."

The 'Make it or Break It' promotion will run for a limited time at T.G.I. Friday's restaurants nationwide from January 11 through February 24, 2005, where guests have the option of choosing any three courses for the price of $12.99 from a menu divided into 'Guilt-Free Choices' and 'Indulgent Favorites'. Guests who partake in the 'Make it or Break it' menu have the chance to win an assortment of prizes ranging from a free appetizer at any participating T.G.I. Friday's restaurant to $25,000 in cash by choosing to scratch off either a 'Make it' or 'Break it' area on a game card.

About T.G.I. Friday's Restaurants
Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc., the parent company of TGI Friday's Inc., is a privately held company owned by Minneapolis-based Carlson Companies, a world leader in the hospitality, travel and marketing industries. As of October 2004, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide operates, franchises and licenses more than 830 restaurants in 54 countries in three divisions - T.G.I. Friday's U.S.A. (T.G.I. Friday's(R), Friday's Front Row(R) Sports Grill and Friday's American Bar(R)); International (T.G.I. Friday's, Front Row(R) Sports Grill, Friday's American Bar); and Pick Up Stix. For more information on the Friday's brands, visit www.Fridays.com.

About Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.
Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. ("ANI") was founded by Dr. Robert C. Atkins in 1989 as Complementary Formulations and changed to ANI in 1998. Today, ANI is a fast-growing, multimillion dollar enterprise, providing a broad range of convenience foods, supplements, baked goods, snacks, condiments and information products designed to serve the millions of Americans who have adopted the controlled-carbohydrate lifestyle. ANI's mission is stated as follows: To help people enjoy healthier lives, Atkins will be the pioneer and leader in providing innovative nutritional and information products based on controlled-carbohydrate nutritional science and rooted in the Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM). The Atkins Nutritional Approach(TM) consists of four phases: Induction, Ongoing Weight Loss, Pre-Maintenance and Lifetime Maintenance. It focuses on controlling carbohydrate intake while consuming nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods and incorporating supplements and exercise into one's lifestyle.

About Ipsos-Insight
Ipsos-Insight, the flagship marketing research division of Ipsos in the U.S., has industry specialists serving companies in the following categories: financial services; technology and communications; health and pharmaceutical; cable, media and entertainment; agrifood; energy and utilities; consumer products; and lottery and gaming.

Ipsos-Insight provides custom and tracking research services to domestic clients, as well as U.S.-based multinationals. It offers concept and product testing, package testing, attitude and usage studies, omnibuses, tracking systems, brand equity, price optimization and segmentation, marketing models, advanced analytics, and global research. Ipsos-Insight is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group. To learn more, visit: www.ipsos-insight.com.
Contact:

Deutsch Public Relations
Stacy Dixson/Lauren D'Elia
212.981.7703/212.981.8048
Stacy_Dixson@Deutschinc.com
Lauren_Delia@Deutschinc.com
or
Carlson Restaurants Worldwide
Amy Freshwater, 972.662.5549
afreshwater@crww.com

Source: T.G.I. Friday's Restaurants