To: From: Sent Tue 5/25/2004 8:37:03 PM ax April 12, 2004 Thomas J. Pritzker, Chairman and CEO of Hyatt Corporation 200 West Madison Street, Suite 3800, Chicago, IL 60606. Dear Mr. Pritzker: I am writing to bring Private Labeled Bottled Water to your attention. My company represents bottlers of Private Label Water products. One of these companies owns and operates FIVE bottling facilities that service the entire United States. In addition, they have invested in bottle blow-molding technology so that they can manufacture the bottle of your need in each plant. The plants are located in Illinois, Texas, Vermont, Pennsylvania and Florida. The US bottled water industry continues its strong growth. In 2003 it was poised to become the second most popular beverage in the US. As bottled water has grown soft drinks have declined. It is conceivable that within the next decade bottled water could close in on soft drinks as a very close second contender. The Private Label segment of bottled water is driving this growth, representing well over one- third of all volume in 2002. Growth is due to consumers demand for healthy refreshment and the entrance of branded products. Coke and Pepsi are driving sales through package proliferation, merchandising and strong trade deals. Nestle has used larger bonus packages, special incentives/contracts with retailers to drive business. In 2003, consumers made private label water a strong choice, ranking number two in sales in 2003. Brand ranking is as follows: Brand Rank Aquafina 14.9 Private Label 13.6 Dasani 10.8 Poland Spring 6.7 Arrowhead 5.9 Dannon 4.7 Source: AC Nielsen 12-03 Private label have shown the largest growth rates in the industry, growing about 46% to 50% in 2003. As a result, the national brands dropped prices and offered many deals in 2003. This has EFTA_R1_0 1279264 EFTA02332953