• Aitana Bonmatí, FC Barcelona soccer player and Spanish National Soccer Team member, will be the global brand ambassador for BIMBO®️.
  
• This agreement aims to promote female talent, equity, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles, in addition to supporting young talent in the context of BIMBO®️'s commitment as a Global Partner of FC Barcelona and as the Main Partner of Female FC Barcelona.
  

HORSHAM, Pa., Dec. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grupo Bimbo, the leading global bakery and current Global Partner of FC Barcelona and Main Partner of Female FC Barcelona, announced the addition of Spanish soccer player Aitana Bonmatí as a brand ambassador. Bonmatí, a midfielder for FC Barcelona and the Spanish National Soccer Team, has been named the UEFA Women's Player of the Year and Player of the Season for the 2022-2023 Champions League. She also won the Golden Ball and was named Best Player of the 2023 Women's World Cup, signaling her status as this year's top player. In addition to these individual titles, Bonmatí’s team accomplishments in 2023 include securing the Women’s Champions League title, the Women’s World Cup, the F League title, and the Spanish Super Cup, collectively.

The agreement between Grupo Bimbo and Aitana Bonmatí builds upon and strengthens Grupo Bimbo and FC Barcelona’s partnership, launched in 2022, to promote gender equality and empower women through sports while highlighting the importance of healthy living and nutrition.

In her role as brand ambassador, FC Barcelona’s number 14 will team up with Grupo Bimbo to ensure women’s sports have the support and visibility needed to succeed. Her work will also encourage children worldwide to nurture their dreams in pursuit of an increasingly diverse and inclusive sports world.

Aitana carries her mother's surname to give women an equal role in the family. Her values have been prominent both on and off the field, and she has worked to advocate for equality by volunteering in different organizations and dedicating a portion of her free time to empowering and promoting the love of soccer among children.

"I have always said that, as a collective sport, the individual achievements obtained in soccer result from teamwork. I am happy to join Grupo Bimbo, a company known globally that has accompanied us throughout our lives at different times. I am excited to become an ambassador and contribute to making sport and nutrition part of the daily routine of current and future generations," said Bonmati.

A winning alliance: FC Barcelona and Grupo Bimbo

For a year, Grupo Bimbo has been a Global Partner of FC Barcelona and the Main Partner of Female FC Barcelona. This partnership has enabled GB to promote key aspects of our sustainability strategy globally, including a focus on equity, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles.

Women's Barça has shown that sport can change the world. The team’s values, along with its level and style of play, have dismantled many prejudices, allowing its athletes to become inspirational role models for children worldwide. 

To date, GB’s partnership with FC Barcelona has prompted several successful initiatives, including the launch of the "Campeonas de Sueños" program in January 2023. Part of GB’s Good Neighbor program, this project has supported more than 1,100 girls from 17 soccer schools and 180 instructors in nine Central American countries. It has also provided official team uniforms and donated 368 footballs, 372 cones, 280 goals, and more than 1,000 uniforms to facilitate athletes’ training. Additionally, the "El Sueño Bimbo" project allows a select group of talented young female soccer players from Argentina to live and train with members of FC Barcelona in pursuit of their dream of becoming professional soccer players.

With initiatives like these, Grupo Bimbo continues to promote actions that allow us to nourish a better world.

About Grupo Bimbo

Grupo Bimbo is the world’s leading company in the baking industry, as well as a relevant player in the snack category. It has 216 bakeries and plants and over 1,500 sales centers strategically located in 34 countries in America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Its main product lines include mainstream bread, salty and sweet baked goods, cookies, cream-filled cakes, toast, English muffins, bagels, tortillas, flatbread, salty snacks, and more. Grupo Bimbo manufactures more than 9,000 products and has one of the largest distribution networks in the world, with over 3.5 point of sale, 56,000 routes, and 145,000 associates. Its shares are traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) under the ticker BIMBO and in the U.S. over-the-counter market through a Level 1 ADR program, under the ticker BMBOY.

About Bimbo Bakeries USA
Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU) is a leader in the baking industry, known for its category leading brands, innovative products, freshness and quality. Our team of 20,000 U.S. associates operates 60 manufacturing locations in the United States. Over 11,000 distribution routes deliver our leading brands such as Arnold®, Artesano®, Ball Park®, Bimbo®, Boboli®, Brownberry®, Entenmann's®, Little Bites®, Marinela®, Mrs Bairds®, Oroweat®, Sara Lee®, Stroehmann®, and Thomas'®. Bimbo Bakeries USA is owned by Mexico's Grupo Bimbo, S.A.B de C.V., the world's largest baking company with operations in 34 countries.

Contact:
John Reynolds
john.reynolds@buchananpr.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e7d5d48a-8c26-4d00-8995-2b85ce7146f4