AeroGrow to Form Joint Venture to Pursue Multi-Level Marketing Sales of AeroGarden Products

AeroGrow International, Inc. (OTCBB: AERO) ("AeroGrow" or the "Company"), makers of the AeroGarden® line of indoor gardening products, announced that it has committed, subject to certain conditions being met, to form a joint venture with Cyrano Partners, LLC ("Cyrano") to expand distribution of AeroGrow-branded indoor gardens, seed kits, and accessories into the multi-level marketing ("MLM") sales channel.

"The MLM sales approach is a natural next step in our ongoing strategy to shift the sales effort closer to the consumer," said Mike Wolfe, CEO of AeroGrow. "The MLM business model has been proven time and again, creating countless success stories, including multi-billion dollar household names like Avon, Mary Kay, Tupperware, and The Pampered Chef (a Berkshire Hathaway company). We're excited to be partnering with Cyrano, and believe the new joint venture will be an ideal platform to accelerate growth for the AeroGarden product line."

Cyrano is a partnership between Steve Campbell, Melyn Campbell and Jack Peterson, each of whom are well-known and highly successful in the MLM industry. The Campbells have a 21-year track record of success in building multi-level sales teams. They have built independent distributor networks numbering more than 100,000 distributors, and have generated hundreds of millions of dollars in aggregate worldwide MLM sales. They have recently been listed in BusinessForHome.org as being among the top 50 MLM income earners in the world. Jack Peterson, who brings over 23 years of MLM experience to this new venture, was a long-time senior executive with Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc., a $1.5 billion MLM industry leader.

"We've been looking for the next big breakthrough product for the MLM industry, and we believe that AeroGardens provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to grow a business with unprecedented velocity," said Melyn Campbell, who will be the CEO of the new joint venture. "AeroGardens are real attention-grabbers that seem to appeal on a deep, emotional level to a wide range of people, regardless of age, gender or lifestyle. By combining this passionate response to the product with a potentially life-changing business opportunity, we believe we have a truly winning formula for success."

In late March, AeroGrow and Cyrano jointly hosted a kick-off meeting for industry-leading MLM distributors at the Company's headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. "We were truly overwhelmed by the positive response we received to the products, the business strategy, and the distributor business model," said Steve Campbell, who will be the master distributor for the new joint venture. "It appears we have tapped into an opportunity that truly resonates with experienced MLM professionals who are looking for a fresh new product category to sell."

"Over the last five years, AeroGrow has sold more than 1 million AeroGardens, more than 5 million seed kits, grow bulbs, and other accessories, and generated over $110 million in sales," added Mr. Wolfe. "It seems that everyone who sees an AeroGarden wants to try one. Person-to-person sales will allow people to see the AeroGarden in action -- a living, growing garden in someone's home -- and give them a compelling reason to buy. This direct sales approach is an ideal fit for our products and we believe it will translate into rapidly growing sales."

AeroGrow will provide assets, intellectual property and management to the new joint venture. Cyrano will bring MLM expertise, a substantial distributor network, management and an innovative and proprietary new distributor compensation plan. The formation and consummation of the joint venture is contingent on approvals from AeroGrow's shareholders and secured creditors, on closing of a capital raise to support the initial launch and anticipated growth of the new venture, and other conditions customary to transactions of this nature. As of the date of this announcement there are no agreements or commitments with respect to the capital necessary to complete the transaction. In the meantime, AeroGrow and Cyrano have entered into a Distributor and License Agreement to enable the parties to begin selling into the MLM channel in advance of the closing of the joint venture transaction. (marketwire.com)