Twenty Small Businesses and Entrpreneurs Win at QVC's Washington Trade Show

Washington Products To Share National Spotlight on QVC

Seattle,WA (March 13, 1997) The risky road to entrepreneurial success just got easier for 20 of Washington's most promising small businesses and entrepreneurs when their products were chosen from 419 competitors at two statewide trade shows hosted by QVC and the Small Business Development Center, Washington State University. The trade shows were a part of the first phase in QVC's product competition for "The '97 Quest for America's Best - QVC's 50 in 50 Tour," a year-long nationwide search for the most innovative American-made merchandise. The items selected will be showcased on a live QVC television special from a scenic location in Washington, in June 1997.

Super Splatter Shield and a Handcrafted Apple Box Table Lamp are among 20 homegrown products chosen for national sale on QVC to be featured on one of 50 broadcasts from every state in the union. Selections were made from growing businesses and entrepreneurs whose products were displayed during the February trade shows in Seattle and Spokane.

"Quality products can become household names with national television exposure," said Bill Lane, QVC Vice President, New Markets. "Judging by the wide range of items we've seen here, some lucky Washington entrepreneurs could strike it rich."

Following is a complete list of Washington's 20 winners:

• Soap Free Professional Spot & Stain Remover; Plus Manufacturing, Spokane, WA
• Coffee Tamer Food Additive Acid Neutralizer; Tamer International, Seattle, WA
• Super Splatter Shield; Whipple Enterprises, Otis Orchards, WA
• Set of 4 Assorted English Scone Mixes; Sticky Fingers Bakeries, Spokane, WA
• Authentic Reproduction Apple Box T-Shirt; Great Grapes Sportswear, East Wenatchee, WA
• Lounge Headchair and Headshade; Beachead USA, Woodinville, WA
• Sterling Cafe Coffee Pot and Cup Pin; Jewelry Speciality Wholesalers, Bellevue, WA
• Set of 4 Assorted Flavoring Syrups; Richter Enterprises Ltd., Lynnwood, WA
• "Cougar Mountain" Gourmet Cookie Sampler; Cougar Mountain Baking Co., Seattle, WA
• Wonder Wipes Multi - Purpose Disposable Towels; Dynacco Inc., Monroe, WA
• Peapod Unisex Coffee Bean Slippers; Peapod Seattle, Seattle, WA
• Carry All Beach Towel w/ Pockets and Pillow; Fashion Fatale, Lynnwood, WA
• Handcrafted Apple Box Table Lamp; The Creation Station, Spokane, WA
• Choice of Handpainted Frog Doll; Wachlin Folk Art, Bothell, WA
• Space Needle Pen; Space Needle Corporation, Seattle, WA
• Home and Garden Preservation Kit; GreenStreet Company, Cashmere, WA
• Earps Western Steak Sauce; Earps Western Foods, Lynnwood, WA
• "Snuggle" Quilt Kit with Batting; Cameron Acres Farms, Lynnwood, WA
• Introduction to the World of Barbie Video; Swell Dolls, Seattle, WA
• Barbeque Fruit Salsas; Buffalo Head Foods Inc., Everett, WA

Alternates:

• Bottle Coddle; Down Home Washington, Everett, WA
• "Smudgy" Window Wiper & Dashboard Duster; Smudgy, Inc., Sultan, WA
• Set of 4 Soap Sampler; Brookside Soaps, Seattle, WA ·
• "Apple A Day" Pasta, Spread & Mixes; Canterbury Cuisine, Redmond, WA

QVC will crisscross the nation in search of the top 1,000 products -- 20 per state -- inviting entrepreneurs to sell their creations on 50 back-to-back TV specials, concluding in California in December of '97. QVC will broadcast to some 62 million households from The QVC Local, the world's first self-contained mobile television studio equipped with state-of-the-art technology including two satellite dishes, eight cameras, a 44 input audio console and 60 video monitors.

The competition for U.S.-made products could mean solid gold for entrepreneurs as evidenced by the success of the tour in year one. Sixteen small businesses and entrepreneurs were transformed from weekend hobbyists and local ventures into million-dollar revenue winners, making them the first "Quest" members of QVC's "Million Dollar Club." To date, products discovered in the first year of the "Quest for America's Best - QVC's 50 in 50 Tour" have generated more than $100 million in sales.