Personalities - Leland C. Stanford

Like many folks, Leland C. Stanford of Leland Limited in South Plainfield enjoys an ice cold Coca-Cola from time to time.

But being a self-proclaimed "desk jockey" and working in an office during the week, he feels drinking too many sodas isn't healthy and can contribute to unwanted weight gain.

Luckily for Stanford, his company's latest invention – the Mr. Fizz Seltzer Bottle – enables him to quench his thirst in a healthier manner. This new product is expected to be available to the public in early March at area Bed, Bath & Beyond stores.

"This is the ultimate in seltzer bottles," says the 36-year-old Bedminster resident. "It enables consumers to use their own water system to make carbonated beverages. It's very light weight and by adding specific curves to the bottle, we've been able to make it more durable.

"What I've been doing my whole career is make it possible for everyone to create their own beverages at home without the high fructose corn syrup found in many soft drinks," he says.

According to Stanford, this is the fourth generation of a carbonated seltzer bottle produced by his family's business, started by his father and uncle in 1965 as Leland Industries.

Stanford, Leland Limited's president and CEO since February 1996, says that convincing plastic companies to manufacture the Mr. Fizz Seltzer Bottle wasn't easy. His product needed to be different in appearance from the plastic bottles used by major soda corporations, so extra effort was made for it to have a distinct shape and identifiable colors.

The result: an eggplant shaped, one liter bottle approximately 4 inches wide and 12 inches tall, which is available in transparent blue or frosted white. Making fresh seltzer is as easy as filling the bottle with cold water, "charging it" with a carbonation cylinder and shaking well.

A major feature of the Mr. Fizz Seltzer Bottle is its dispensing head. Once the seltzer is made, it is dispensed by pressing a lever that releases the carbonated water through a spout. As a result, the carbonated water never goes flat due to constant opening and closing of the bottle.

Leland Limited has created a superhero-type character to promote its new product and the health benefits of carbonated water over drinks high in sugar. There's also a website (www.mrfizz.com) for kids to post their favorite seltzer-based recipes and enter contests.

"Our primary goal is to promote health," Stanford says, "and with the website, we can do so in an interactive, educational and entertaining way.

South Plainfield, New Jersey--Leland Limited, Incorporated providing small disposable CO₂ cylinders / CO2 Cartridges and related accessories since 1965 introduces two new rechargeable seltzer bottle models made from recyclable PET plastic. Making pure sparkling seltzer water has never been easier with this new "FizzLite" 1.0 liter system.

Users simply fill the bottle with water, "charge it" with an economical CO₂ cylinder, chill and serve. The water becomes saturated with CO₂ thus the bubbles and that fizzy taste. The hidden beauty of the system is that the seltzer never goes flat due to the unique dispensing head.

A major portion of the company's multimedia ad campaign will be headed up by "Mr. Fizz," a healthy, All-American hero type bringing a message in cartoon character form about health and ways to get off of processed sugar.

"Most Americans do not realize how much sugar, salt, and cancer causing substitutes are contained in our daily beverages" says company spokeswoman Dawn Klinger. Some brand name colas have up to 19 teaspoons of sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in a single can. A very simple way off the sugar "buzz" is to take 100% juice and cut it by as much as 60% with sparkling seltzer water over ice.

The company has launched a new web site www.mrfizz.com featuring the happy and athletic Mr. Fizz to promote healthy, easy-to-follow recipes, contests, and other ways to get health information. Radio, magazine, and cable TV spots will air throughout the Spring, and well into the Summer. Although a natural gift item, the Mr. Fizz line will be sold at select gourmet-kitchen-housewares dealers throughout the entire U.S. Three supermarket chains are expected to carry the line by early Spring.

The FizzLite™ 1.0 liter bottle comes with 2 CO₂ cylinders, spare parts, and instructions. It is ready-to-use at only $21.95 MSRP, just add water and enjoy. Replacement CO₂ cylinders are readily available for about $4.50 for a box of ten. Each cylinder is used once to make 1 liter of seltzer.

This is Leland's 4^th generation of CO₂ seltzer bottles and cream whipping equipment. For more information, please contact: Leland, Box 466, South Plainfield, NJ 07080, E-mail:sales@lelandltd.com, Web: www.lelandltd.com.

Mr. Fizz Seltzer Bottles were featured in Parade Magazine – June 2001

Luckily for Stanford, his company's latest invention – the Mr. Fizz Seltzer Bottle – enables him to quench his thirst in a healthier manner. This new product is expected to be available to the public in early March at area Bed, Bath & Beyond stores.

"This is the ultimate in seltzer bottles," says the 36-year-old Bedminster resident. "It enables consumers to use their own water system to make carbonated beverages. It's very light weight and by adding specific curves to the bottle, we've been able to make it more durable.

According to Stanford, this is the fourth generation of a carbonated seltzer bottle produced by his family's business, started by his father and uncle in 1965 as Leland Industries.

A major feature of the Mr. Fizz Seltzer Bottle is its dispensing head. Once the seltzer is made, it is dispensed by pressing a lever that releases the carbonated water through a spout. As a result, the carbonated water never goes flat due to constant opening and closing of the bottle.