Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza joins EAT (RED) SAVE LIVES 2017

LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - May 30, 2017) - Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza today announced it has teamed up with (RED) during the month of June to support the fight against AIDS. As part of the month-long EAT (RED) SAVE LIVES campaign, the company will rebrand its popular Red Vine pizza as the '(RED) Vine' in each of the company's nearly 200 restaurants throughout the country. Blaze will donate $1 each time a guest enjoys a signature (RED) Vine pizza and cold drink, contributing up to $50,000 to (RED)'s fight against AIDS. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will generously match Blaze's donation, meaning that the total funds raised could provide 300,000 days of life-saving HIV/AIDS medication.

"We're proud to partner with (RED), standing alongside the Gates Foundation and so many legendary and influential brands as we work together to support this critical fight," said Jim Mizes, CEO & President of Blaze Pizza. "It's a perfect alignment, both in terms of the name of our (RED) Vine pizza, and in a larger sense, how we strive to 'change the game' when it comes to making an impact."

Every June, (RED) teams up with the culinary world for EAT (RED) SAVE LIVES. The campaign, led by Chef Mario Batali, began in 2014 and has enlisted leading (RED) chef ambassadors, restaurants and culinary brands to create food and social experiences that raise money and awareness to fight AIDS.

"We believe that each of us can benefit from making smarter decisions about what's in our food, how we treat each other and how we protect this wonderful planet we all share," said Executive Chef Bradford Kent. "At Blaze, we're committed to doing our part, and are proud to align ourselves with a partner like (RED), who clearly shares our philosophy of creating positive change."

About Blaze Pizza
The first Blaze Pizza^® restaurant opened on Aug. 6, 2012, in Irvine, Calif., and quickly gained attention for its chef-driven recipes, thoughtful interior design, and a service culture that celebrates individuality. Now ranked as the leading fast-casual pizza chain in the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, Blaze Pizza is building momentum and developing a cult following as it expands across the country. The company currently operates 196 restaurants in 32 states and Canada, including the major metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Washington D.C. Founded by Elise and Rick Wetzel (co-founder of Wetzel's Pretzels), the concept is backed by investors including LeBron James, Maria Shriver, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Boston Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner and movie producer John Davis. For more information, please visit blazepizza.com and facebook.com/blazepizza or click here to view a company video.

ABOUT (RED)®
(RED) was founded in 2006 to engage businesses and people in the fight against AIDS. (RED) partners with the world's most iconic brands that contribute up to 50% of profits from (RED)-branded goods and services to the Global Fund. (RED) Proud Partners include: Apple, Bank of America, Beats by Dr. Dre, Belvedere, Claro, The Coca-Cola Company, GAP, MCM, Salesforce, SAP, Starbucks, Telcel. (RED) Special Edition partners include: aden+anais, Alessi, ALEX AND ANI, Andaz, Fatboy USA, Fully, Girl Skateboards, Le Creuset, Mophie, S'well and Vespa.

To date, (RED) has generated more than $465 million for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to support HIV/AIDS grants in Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia. 100 percent of that money goes to work on the ground -- no overhead is taken. Global Fund grants that (RED) supports have impacted more than 90 million people with prevention, treatment, counseling, HIV testing and care services.

Blaze Pizza®, Fast-Fire'd®, the horizontal logo design, and the proprietary names "Pizzasmith", "Intelligent Choices For Our Pizzas, People & Planet" and related trademarks are the property of Blaze Pizza LLC.