MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Skinny Nutritional, distributor of Skinny Water, signed a distribution and promotional partnership with Freedom Valu Centers, a privately held, family-owned convenience store chain, for its stores here, reported Drinks Business Review.

"Freedom is very selective in the products we bring into our stores. Only one in 100 products makes it through our scrutiny," Darren Forbes, vice president of merchandise for Freedom, said in a statement. "We chose Skinny Water because of its unique weight-loss and appetite-suppressing functionality; it tastes great and we believe it's a real solution for our average busy customer."

All Freedom stores in the market will offer the five Skinny Water flavors under the agreement.

"Our distribution deal with Freedom allows us to generate sales and brand awareness of Skinny Water in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market," Don McDonald, president of Skinny Nutritional, said in a statement. "With the availability in all of the stores we will be able to expand into this region which includes Minnesota and Wisconsin."