Panda Express Spices up Fall with Kung Pao Kick Promotion; Shrimp, Chicken Breast and Beef Dishes to Be Featured During Eight-Week Period

Business Wire, Oct 1, 2003

Feature/Lifestyle Editors & Restaurant Writers

ROSEMEAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 1, 2003

Panda Express, the nation's leader in Chinese quick service restaurants, plans to launch a new Kung Pao Kick promotion Oct. 5 that will last through Nov. 29. This will be the first time the restaurant has pulled all of their Kung Pao favorites together and featured them at the same time. Spicy, kicky new Kung Pao recipes will be offered featuring succulent shrimp, tasty chicken or tender beef, wokked fresh with crisp veggies and sauteed in Panda's distinctive sauces.

Kung Pao Shrimp will be a featured entree throughout the promotion. From Oct. 5 through Nov. 1 it will be paired with Kung Pao Cashew Chicken Breast, and from Nov. 2-29 it will be served alongside Kung Pao Beef. Kung Pao Chicken, a Panda favorite, will be made available throughout the year.

Entree descriptions are as follows:

-- Kung Pao Shrimp--Succulent shrimp sauteed with red bell

peppers, celery and peanuts, all flavored with green onion,

ginger and garlic in a spicy chili pepper sauce.

-- Kung Pao Chicken--A Szechwan classic of diced chicken

stir-fried with peanuts, red bell peppers and chili peppers.

-- Kung Pao Beef--Tender sliced sirloin stir-fried with zucchini,

red bell peppers and peanuts in a spicy chili pepper sauce.

-- Kung Pao Cashew Chicken Breast--Golden brown cashews paired

with tender chicken breast, diced string beans, red bell

peppers and button mushrooms, all lightly seasoned with

ginger, garlic and a pinch of chili pepper.

"We're always striving to offer our guests great tastes and variety, and since we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of Panda Express in October this seemed like a perfect time to share the Kung Pao flavor in our restaurants," said Vicki Gelberg, vice president of marketing for Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. "Our chefs created -- and our guests love -- Kung Pao Chicken and Kung Pao Shrimp recipes. We're excited to add the newly created Kung Pao Beef entree."

The Kung Pao Kick entrees can be found hot, fresh and fast at your local Panda Express restaurant. They are also available on the catering menu, wokked for groups of any size and ready when you are.

Kung Pao Kick will be marketed with colorful in-store point-of-purchase materials in all markets. Radio and television advertising will run in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, and a direct mail piece and free standing insert will be presented for other key regions.

With almost 600 restaurant locations nationwide, the privately held Panda Restaurant Group (www.pandarg.com) operates a successful chain of restaurants, including Panda Express, Panda Inn and Hibachi-San. There are locations in 35 states and Puerto Rico, as well as two locations in Japan. The company also has a 40 percent ownership stake in FoodBrand, L.L.C., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mills Corporation, one of the nation's leading shopping center developers.

Media Note: For more information or photography, please contact Julie Reed of Morgan Marketing & Public Relations at 949-261-2216 or julie@mmpr.biz.