NEWS RELEASE

Leading Brands, Inc. Announces Sponsorship Deal with Trek Bicycle Company


VANCOUVER, British Columbia--Feb 18, 2003-- LEADING BRANDS, INC. LBIX (TSX:LBI), Canada’s largest independent, fully integrated premium beverage company, announces that its subsidiary, Kert Technologies, Inc. - owner of the TREK® Optimized Performance Beverage™ line - has agreed to become the exclusive drink sponsor of the Trek Mountain Bike and Road teams. These teams include the Trek Pro Mountain Bike Team, Trek Volkswagen Regional Mountain Bike Teams, Trek Volkswagen Regional Road Teams, and Trek Volkswagen National All Stars.

“Trek® Bikes has many of the best cyclists in the world on their teams and we are proud to see all of them drinking TREK® Optimized Performance Beverage™ and displaying our logo on their jerseys”, says Ralph McRae, Chairman and CEO of Leading Brands, Inc.

The scope of the TREK® OPB™ sponsorship program is enormous, with over two hundred athletes competing in over three hundred events all over the United States and Canada during the spring and summer of 2003 alone. TREK® OPB™ will be showcased and sampled at small local races as well as large, world-class events.

“This is a perfect fit for TREK® OPB™ given that the beverages are for recreational athletes all the way up to the world pro’s”, says Joanne Petak, VP of marketing for Leading Brands. She adds, “TREK® OPB™ is a sports performance drink that works. This program enables people all over North America to test it out for themselves”.

In addition to the team sponsorships, TREK® OPB™ will be part of the Trek® Demo team that travels to many parts of the country to festivals and charity events. “This is a great way to support these events and deliver great tasting beverages to thousands of participants and spectators,” says Ralph McRae.

Dick Moran, Director of Marketing for Trek Bicycle Corporation added, “The sponsorship ties between Trek® Bicycle and TREK® OPB™ make a lot of sense because both companies are working towards a common goal: to supply athletes with top quality products to help them reach their ultimate performance goals.”

We Build Brands™
About Leading Brands, Inc.

Leading Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:LBIX, TSX:LBI) is the largest independent, fully integrated premium beverage company in Canada. The Company’s unique Integrated Distribution System (IDS) ™ offers turnkey, one-stop shopping to food and beverage brand owners, including manufacturing, distribution, sales/marketing and licensing. In addition, Leading Brands produces their own line of beverages such as TREK™, Pez® 100% Juices™, Johnny’s Roadside® Iced Tea and Lemonade, Country Harvest® Juices, Caesar’s® Bloody Caesar Cocktail, and Cool Canadian® Water. Leading Brands recently undertook a major expansion into the United States, with its US headquarters located in Stamford, CT.

Statements in this news release that are not historical are to be regarded as forward-looking statements which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such risks and uncertainties with respect to the Company's business include general economic conditions, weather conditions, changing beverage consumption trends, pricing, and the availability of raw materials and economic uncertainties, including currency.

####