Cookie Time signs amazing star for US launch

Christchurch snack-food giant Cookie Time has teamed up with Kiwi television star Phil Keoghan to drive its multimillion-dollar expansion into the United States.

The Los Angeles-based Cantabrian, host of reality television series The Amazing Race, has signed on as the international face of the One Square Meal bar, soon to be stocked by a leading US health supplement chain.

The deal has already created 27 new jobs at Cookie Time's Templeton factory.

Keoghan's involvement was a major coup after initial discussions took place "over a beer in the Air New Zealand Koru Lounge" less than 12 months ago, Cookie Time general manager Lincoln Booth said.

International expansion had long been part of the company's plans, he said.

Booth said the $1 million deal with General Nutrition Centre, a chain of 6500 stores, could grow to $25m.

Further expansion was likely, but exporting other Cookie Time products was not.

Keoghan, already a fan of the iconic giant cookie, said One Square Meal was the "go-to food" during his rigorous filming schedule.

He first spotted the bar in Auckland three years ago and had been taking it home to Los Angeles by the suitcase-load.

He was excited about launching a New Zealand product in the US, as the Cookie Time success story was "uniquely Kiwi".

Booth hoped to keep production within New Zealand.

"We want to keep it Kiwi," he said.

Keoghan will launch One Square Meal, now part of his own No Opportunity Wasted brand, with a 42-day bike ride from Los Angeles to New York starting next month.

- © Fairfax NZ News