COFFEE HOLDING CO INC 10-K/A

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS An investment in our common stock is subject to risks inherent in our business. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all of the other information included in this report. In addition to the risks and uncertainties described below, other risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. The value or market price of our common stock could decline due to any of these identified or other risks, and you could lose all of your investment. Risks affecting our Company Because our business is highly dependent upon a single commodity, coffee, any decrease in demand for coffee could materially adversely affect our revenues and profitability. Our business is centered on essentially one commodity: coffee. Our operations have primarily focused on the following areas of the coffee industry: ● the roasting, blending, packaging and distribution of private label coffee; ● the roasting, blending, packaging and distribution of proprietary branded coffee; and ● the sale of wholesale specialty green coffee. Demand for our products is affected by: ● consumer tastes and preferences; ● global economic conditions; ● demographic trends; and ● the type, number and location of competing products. Because we rely on a single commodity, any decrease in demand for coffee would harm our business more than if we had more diversified product offerings and could materially adversely affect our revenues and operating results. 9 The COVID-19 pandemic has, and may continue to have, an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), first identified in Wuhan, China, a pandemic in March 2020. Our business, financial condition and results of operations have been and are expected to continue to be adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly all regions of the world, and preventative measures taken to contain or mitigate the outbreak have caused, and are continuing to cause, business slowdown or shutdown in affected areas. This has and could continue to negatively affect the global economy, including reduced consumer spending and disruption of global supply chains. We cannot predict the degree to which our business, financial condition and results of operations will be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the effects could be material. In addition to the factors above, the COVID-19 pandemic has subjected our business to additional risk, including, but not limited to: ● Disruption to our green coffee supplier partners and vendors, including through the effects of facility closures, reductions in operating hours, labor shortages, and changes in operating procedures; ● Disruption to our own distribution and general office facilities and operations, including through the effects of facility closures, reductions in operating hours, labor shortages, and changes in operating procedures, including for additional cleaning and disinfection procedures; ● Closure or reduced operations of cafes, restaurants and food service stores and reductions in consumer traffic, which may adversely affects our Private Label Coffee and Branded Coffee channels; ● Lower performance of customers in our wholesale channel, which may result in reduction or cancellation of future orders; ● Reductions in consumer spending due to macroeconomic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including decreased disposable income and increased unemployment, which may result in decreased sales in all of our channels. At this time, we cannot assess the ultimate economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, operations or financial performance, which will be determined by, among other things, the duration, severity and magnitude of such circumstances and governmental responses and requirements relating to the pandemic, nor can we predict the long-term effects of governmental and public responses to changing conditions. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will impact our operations, liquidity or financial results in subsequent periods is uncertain, but such impact could be material. If the COVID-19 pandemic becomes prolonged, and/or more severe, it could exacerbate the negative impacts on our business and results of operations and may also heighten many of the other risks described in this section entitled “Risk Factors.” If we are unable to geographically expand our branded and private label products, our growth will be impeded which could result in reduced sales and profitability. Our business strategy emphasizes, among other things, geographic expansion of our branded and private label products as opportunities arise. We may not be able to implement successfully this portion of our business strategy. Our ability to implement this portion of our business strategy is dependent on our ability to: ● market our products on a national scale; ● increase our brand recognition on a national scale; ● enter into distribution and other strategic arrangements with third party retailers; and ● manage growth in administrative overhead and distribution costs likely to result from the planned expansion of our distribution channels. Our sales and profitability may be adversely affected if we fail to successfully expand the geographic distribution of our branded and private label products. In addition, our expenses could increase and our profits could decrease as we implement our growth strategy. 10 If our hedging policy is not effective, we may not be able to control our coffee costs, we may be forced to pay greater than market value for green coffee and our profitability may be reduced. The supply and price of coffee beans are subject to volatility and are influenced by numerous factors which are beyond our control. We have used and expect to continue to use to a lesser extent short-term coffee futures and options contracts for the purpose of hedging the effects of changing green coffee prices. In addition, we have acquired and expect to continue to acquire to a lesser extent futures contracts with longer terms, generally three to four months, for the purpose of guaranteeing an adequate supply of green coffee. Realized and unrealized gains or losses on options and futures contracts are reflected in our cost of sales. Gains on options and futures contracts reduce our cost of sales and losses on options and futures contracts increase our cost of sales. The use of these derivative financial instruments has generally enabled us to mitigate the effect of changing prices. However, no strategy can entirely eliminate pricing risks and we generally remain exposed to losses on futures contracts when prices decline significantly in a short period of time, and we would generally remain exposed to supply risk in the event of non-performance by the counterparties in any one of our physical contracts. Historically, we generally have been able to pass green coffee price increases through to customers, thereby maintaining our gross profits, however, we may not be able to pass price increases through to our customers in the future. Failure to properly design and implement an effective hedging strategy may materially adversely affect our business and operating results. If the hedges that we enter do not adequately offset the risks of coffee bean price volatility or our hedging results in losses, our cost of sales may increase, resulting in a decrease in profitability or an increase in losses. Although we have had net gains on options and futures contracts in the past, we have incurred losses on options and futures contracts during some reporting periods. In these cases, our cost of sales has increased, resulting in a decrease in our profitability or an increase in losses. Such losses have and could in the future materially increase our cost of sales and materially decrease our profitability or increase losses and adversely affect our stock price. 11 Any inability to successfully implement our strategy of growth through selective acquisitions, licensing arrangements and other strategic alliances, including joint ventures, could materially affect our revenues and profitability. Part of our growth strategy utilizes the selective acquisition of coffee companies, the selective acquisition or licensing of additional coffee brands and other strategic alliances including joint ventures, presents risks that could result in increased expenditures and could materially adversely affect our revenues and profitability, including: ● such acquisitions, licensing arrangements or other strategic alliances may divert our management’s attention from our existing operations; ● we may not be able to successfully integrate any acquired coffee companies or new coffee brands into our existing business; ● we may not be able to manage the contingent risks associated with the past operations of, and other unanticipated problems arising in, any acquired coffee company; and ● we may not be able to control unanticipated costs associated with such acquisitions, licensing arrangements or strategic alliances. In addition, any such acquisitions, licensing arrangements or strategic alliances may result in: ● potentially dilutive issuances of our equity securities; ● the incurrence of additional debt ● restructuring charges; and ● the recognition of significant charges for depreciation and amortization related to intangible assets. As has been our practice in the past, we will continuously evaluate any such acquisitions, licensing opportunities or strategic alliances as they arise. However, we have not reached any new agreements or arrangements with respect to any such acquisition, licensing opportunity or strategic alliance (other than those described herein) at this time and we may not be able to consummate any acquisitions, licensing arrangements or strategic alliances on terms favorable to us or at all. The failure to consummate any such acquisitions, licensing arrangements or strategic alliances may reduce our growth and expansion. In addition, if these acquisitions, licensing opportunities or strategic alliances are not successful, our earnings could be materially adversely affected by increased expenses and decreased revenues. Our revenues and profitability could be adversely affected if our joint ventures or acquisitions are not successful. We have historically utilized joint ventures and acquisitions to grow our business and we intend to continue to seek opportunities for new joint ventures and acquisitions that will be complimentary to our business. While we believe that our joint ventures will be successful, losses in our joint ventures or any future joint ventures would hurt our profitability. In addition, we generally will not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding our joint ventures. Investments in joint ventures may under certain circumstances, involve risks not present when a third party is not involved, including the possibility that joint venture partners might become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of the required capital contributions. Joint venture partners may have business interests, strategies or goals that are inconsistent with our business interests, strategies or goals and may be, in cases where we have a minority interest, in a position to take actions contrary to our policies, strategies or objectives. Any disputes that may arise between us and our joint venture partners may result in litigation or arbitration that could increase our expenses and could prevent our officers and/or directors from focusing their time and effort exclusively on our business strategies. In addition, we may in certain circumstances be liable for the actions of our third-party joint venture partners. 12 Acquisitions including strategic investments or alliances entail numerous risks, which may include: ● difficulties in integrating acquired operations or products, including the loss of key employees from, or customers of, acquired businesses; ● diversion of management’s attention from our existing businesses; ● adverse effects on existing business relationships with suppliers and customers; ● adverse impacts of margin and product cost structures different from those of our current mix of business; and ● risks of entering distribution channels, categories or markets in which we have limited or no prior experience. Our failure to successfully complete the integration of any acquired business, and any adverse consequences associated with our acquisition activities, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. The loss of any of our key customers, could negatively affect our revenues and decrease our earnings. No one customer accounted for greater than 10% of our net sales during our 2020 fiscal year. We generally do not enter long-term contracts with most of our customers, but we do enter into one and two year agreements with most our key customers on our private label business. Accordingly, some of our customers can stop purchasing our products at any time without penalty and are free to purchase products from our competitors. The loss of, or reduction in sales to any of our other customers to which we sell a significant amount of our products or any material adverse change in the financial condition of such customers would negatively affect our revenues and decrease our earnings. If we lose our key personnel, including Andrew Gordon and David Gordon, our revenues and profitability could suffer. Our success depends to a large degree upon the services of Andrew Gordon, our President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, and David Gordon, our Executive Vice President – Operations and Secretary. We also depend to a large degree on the expertise of our coffee roasters. We do not have employment contracts with our coffee roasters. Our ability to source and purchase a sufficient supply of high quality coffee beans and to roast coffee beans consistent with our quality standards could suffer if we lose the services of any of these individuals. As a result, our business and operating results would be adversely affected. We may not be successful in obtaining and retaining a replacement for either Andrew Gordon or David Gordon if they elect to stop working for us. In addition, we do not have key-person insurance on the lives of Andrew Gordon or David Gordon. 13 Our indebtedness may adversely affect our ability to obtain additional funds and may increase our vulnerability to economic or business downturns. From time to time, we utilize borrowings under our credit facility in connection with operations. Outstanding debt could have important negative consequences to the holders of our securities, including the following: ● general domestic and global economic conditions; ● a portion of our cash flow from operations will be needed to pay debt service and will not be available to fund future operations; ● we have increased vulnerability to adverse general economic and coffee industry conditions; ● we may be vulnerable to higher interest rates because interest expense on borrowings under our revolving line of credit is based on variable rates; and ● we may be subject to covenants that could restrict our operations. Our ability to make payments on our indebtedness and to fund our operations depends on our ability to generate cash in the future. Our future operating performance is subject to market conditions and business factors that are beyond our control. If we are unable to make payments on our debt, we may have to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our debt. Our credit facility contains covenants that place annual restrictions on our operations, including covenants relating to debt restrictions, capital expenditures, minimum deposit restrictions, tangible net worth, net profit, leverage, employee loan restrictions, distribution restrictions (common stock and preferred stock), dividend restrictions and restrictions on intercompany transactions. The credit facility also requires that we maintain a minimum working capital at all times. There can be no assurance that we will be in compliance with all covenants in the future or that we will be able to modify the terms of the credit facility should that become necessary. Failure to comply with any of these covenants and restrictions would result in an event of default under the loan agreement. We received a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program of the CARES Act, and all or a portion of the loan may not be forgivable. In July, 2020, we received a $634,400 loan (the “PPP Loan”) pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program of the CARES Act. The receipt of the funds, and the forgiveness of the PPP Loan is dependent on us having initially qualified for the loan and qualifying for the forgiveness of such loan based on our adherence to the forgiveness criteria. In June 2020, the United States Congress passed the Payroll Protection Program Flexibility Act that made several significant changes to PPP Loan provisions, including providing greater flexibility for loan forgiveness. We are using the proceeds from the PPP Loan to fund payroll costs in accordance with the relevant terms and conditions of the CARES Act. We are following the government guidelines and tracking costs to insure 100% forgiveness of the PPP Loan. To the extent the PPP Loan is not forgiven, we will be required to repay that portion at an interest rate of 1% over a period of two years. If the conditions outlined in the loan program are adhered to by us, all or part of such loan could be forgiven. However, we cannot provide any assurance that we will be eligible for loan forgiveness or that any amount of the PPP Loan will ultimately be forgiven. If we fail to promote, enhance and maintain our brands, the value of our brands could decrease and our revenues and profitability could be adversely affected. We believe that promoting and enhancing our brands is critical to our success. If our brand-building strategy is unsuccessful, these expenses may never be recovered, and we may be unable to increase awareness of our brands or protect the value of our brands. If we are unable to achieve these goals, our revenues and ability to implement our business strategy could be adversely affected. Our success in promoting and enhancing our brands will also depend on our ability to provide customers with high quality products and service. Although we take measures to ensure that we sell only fresh roasted coffee, we have no control over our roasted coffee products once they are purchased by our customers. Accordingly, wholesale customers may store our coffee for longer periods of time or resell our coffee without our consent, in each case, potentially affecting the quality of the coffee prepared from our products. Although we believe we are less susceptible to quality control problems than many of our competitors because our products are processed in-house under strict quality control guidelines which have been in place for more than 40 years, if consumers do not perceive our products and service to be of high quality, then the value of our brands may be diminished and, consequently, our operating results and ability to implement our business strategy may be adversely affected. 14 Our roasting methods are not proprietary, so competitors may be able to duplicate them, which could harm our competitive position. If our competitive position is weakened, our revenues and profitability could be materially adversely affected . We consider our roasting methods essential to the flavor and richness of our roasted coffee and, therefore, essential to our brands of coffee. Because we do not hold any patents for our roasting methods, it may be difficult for us to prevent competitors from copying our roasting methods if such methods become known. If our competitors copy our roasting methods, the value of our coffee brands may be diminished, and we may lose customers to our competitors. In addition, competitors may be able to develop roasting methods that are more advanced than our roasting methods, which may also harm our competitive position. The success of our brand also depends in part on our intellectual property. We rely on a combination of trademarks, copyrights, service marks, trade secrets and similar rights to protect our intellectual property. The success of our growth strategy depends on our continued ability to use our existing trademarks and service marks in order to increase brand awareness and further develop our brand in both domestic and international markets. If our efforts to protect our intellectual property are not adequate, or if any third party misappropriates or infringes on our intellectual property, the value of our brand may be harmed, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. We may become engaged in litigation to protect our intellectual property, which could result in substantial costs to us as well as diversion of management attention. Since we rely heavily on common carriers to ship our coffee on a daily basis, any disruption in their services or increase in shipping costs could adversely affect our relationship with our customers, which could result in reduced revenues, increased operating expenses, a loss of customers or reduced profitability. We rely on a number of common carriers to deliver coffee to our customers and to deliver coffee beans to us. We have no control over these common carriers and the services provided by them may be interrupted as a result of labor shortages, contract disputes and other factors. If we experience an interruption in these services, we may be unable to ship our coffee in a timely manner, which could reduce our revenues and adversely affect our relationship with our customers. In addition, a delay in shipping could require us to contract with alternative, and possibly more expensive, common carriers and could cause orders to be cancelled or receipt of goods to be refused. Any significant increase in shipping costs could lower our profit margins or force us to raise prices, which could cause our revenue and profits to suffer. If there was a significant interruption in the operation of our Colorado, Ohio or Massachusetts facilities, we may not have the capacity to service all of our customers and we may not be able to service our customers in a timely manner, thereby reducing our revenues and earnings. We are dependent on the continued operations of our Colorado, Ohio and Massachusetts coffee roasting and distribution facilities. Our ability to maintain our computer and telecommunications equipment in effective working order and to protect against damage from fire, natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications failure or similar events. In addition, growth of our customer base may strain or exceed the capacity of our systems and lead to degradations in performance or systems failure. Although we continually review and consider upgrades to our order fulfillment infrastructure and provide for system redundancies to limit the likelihood of systems overload or failure, substantial damage to our systems or a systems failure that causes interruptions for a number of days could adversely affect our business. Additionally, if we are unsuccessful in updating and expanding our order fulfillment infrastructure, our ability to grow may be constrained. As a result, our revenues and earnings could be materially adversely affected. There may be limitations on the effectiveness of our internal controls, and a failure of our control systems to prevent error or fraud may materially harm our company. We are required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by our management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment includes disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. As of October 31, 2020, we have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for stock-based compensation awards and an overstatement in inventory levels and the valuation of inventory at one of our subsidiaries. If our steps are insufficient to successfully remediate these material weaknesses and otherwise maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, the reliability of our financial reporting, investor confidence in us and the value of our common stock could be adversely affected. Further, as described under “Explanatory Note” above, in January 2023, we determined that we made certain errors in the presentation of net sales and cost of sales in our consolidated statements of operations in our financial statements during the fiscal years ended October 31, 2020 and 2019. The effect of these errors was to overstate net sales and cost of sales for the reported period. We therefore found it necessary to restate our previously filed annual financial statements for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2020 and 2019. The errors and the required restatement had no effect on our net income (loss) or earnings (loss) per share or other items in the consolidated statement of operations as of any reporting date and had no impact on our consolidated balance sheets, consolidated statements of changes in stockholders’ equity, or consolidated statements of cash flows. As a result, we determined that there was an overstatement of net sales and cost of sales in the consolidated statement of operations of approximately $8.3 million and $9.9 million in our financial statements during the fiscal years ended October 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. This was due to inadequate design and implementation of controls to evaluate and monitor the presentation and compliance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America related to the statement of operations. Accordingly, management has determined that this control deficiency constituted a material weakness and, as a result, as part of the restatement, management concluded that, as of October 31, 2020, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective. Effective internal control over financial reporting is necessary for us to provide reliable and timely financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to reasonably detect and prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation. Moreover, we do not expect that disclosure controls or internal control over financial reporting will prevent all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been detected. Failure of our control systems to detect or prevent error or fraud could materially adversely impact us. Our remediation efforts may not enable us to avoid a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. Any of the foregoing occurrences, should they come to pass, could negatively impact the public perception of our company, which could have a negative impact on our stock price. The failure of our suppliers or customers to adhere to the quality standards that we set for our products could lead to investigations, litigation, write-offs, recalls or boycotts of our products, which could damage our reputation and our brand, increase our costs, and otherwise adversely affect our business. Unfavorable allegations, government investigations and legal actions surrounding our products and/or our business could harm our reputation, impair our ability to grow or sustain our business, and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. We do not control the operations of our suppliers or customers and we cannot guarantee that our suppliers or customers will comply with applicable laws and regulations or operate in a legal, ethical and responsible manner. Additionally, it is possible that we may not be able to identify noncompliance by our suppliers or customers notwithstanding any precautionary measures we implement. Violation of applicable laws and regulations by our suppliers or customers, or their failure to operate in a legal, ethical or responsible manner, could expose us to legal risks, cause us to violate laws and regulations and reduce demand for our products if, as a result of such violation or failure, we attract negative publicity. In addition, the failure of our suppliers and customers to adhere to the quality standards that we set for our products could lead to government investigations, litigation, write-offs and recalls, which could damage our reputation and our brand, increase our costs, and otherwise adversely affect our business. We rely on our reputation for offering great value, superior service and a broad assortment of high-quality, safe products. If we become subject to unfavorable allegations, government investigations or legal actions involving our products or us, such circumstances could harm our reputation and our brand and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. If this negative impact is significant, our ability to grow or sustain our business could be jeopardized. As disclosed further herein, we have been named as a defendant in one class action lawsuit, and we have agreed to indemnify a client named in another class action lawsuit, alleging that our products were mislabeled and thus violate consumer protection and false advertising statutes, among others. These lawsuits, which generally allege that our coffee products do not make the number of servings as stated on the label, are affecting the entire coffee industry and numerous similar lawsuits have been filed against numerous private label coffee manufacturers and retailers. Negative publicity surrounding product matters, including publicity about other retailers, may harm our reputation and affect the demand for our products. In addition, if more stringent laws or regulations are adopted in the future, we may have difficulty complying with the new requirements imposed by such laws and regulations, and in turn, our business, financial condition, and operating results could be adversely affected. Moreover, regardless of whether any such changes are adopted, we may become subject to claims or governmental investigations alleging violations of applicable laws and regulations. Any such matter may subject us to fines, penalties, and/or litigation. Any one of these results could negatively affect our business, financial condition, and operating results and impair our ability to grow or sustain our business. Risks related to the coffee industry Increases in the cost of high quality Arabica or Robusta coffee beans could reduce our gross margin and profit. Green coffee is our largest single cost of sales. Coffee is a traded commodity and, in general, its price can fluctuate depending on: ● outside speculative influences such as indexed and algorithmic commodity funds; ● weather patterns in coffee-producing countries; ● economic and political conditions affecting coffee-producing countries, including acts of terrorism in such countries; ● foreign currency fluctuations; and ● trade regulations and restrictions between coffee-producing countries and the United States. 15 If the cost of wholesale green coffee increases due to any of these factors, our margins could decrease and our profitability could suffer accordingly. It is expected that coffee prices will remain volatile in the coming years. Although we have historically attempted to raise the selling prices of our products in response to increases in the price of wholesale green coffee, when wholesale green coffee prices increase rapidly or to significantly higher than normal levels, we are not always able to pass the price increases through to our customers on a timely basis, if at all, which adversely affects our operating margins and cash flow. We may not be able to recover any future increases in the cost of wholesale green coffee. Even if we are able to recover future increases, our operating margins and results of operations may still be materially and adversely affected by time delays in the implementation of price increases. Disruptions in the supply of green coffee could result in a deterioration of our relationship with our customers, decreased revenues or could impair our ability to grow our business. Green coffee is a commodity and its supply is subject to volatility beyond our control. Supply is affected by many factors in the coffee growing countries including weather, pest damage, economic conditions, acts of terrorism, as well as efforts by coffee growers to expand or form cartels or associations. In addition, the political situation in many of the Arabica coffee growing regions, including Africa, Indonesia, and Central and South America, can be unstable, and such instability could affect our ability to purchase coffee from those regions. If Arabica coffee beans from a region become unavailable or prohibitively expensive, we could be forced to discontinue particular coffee types and blends or substitute coffee beans from other regions in our blends. Frequent substitutions and changes in our coffee product lines could lead to cost increases, customer alienation and fluctuations in our gross margins. Some of the Arabica coffee beans of the quality we purchase do not trade directly on the commodity markets. Rather, we purchase the high-end Arabica coffee beans that we use on a negotiated basis. We depend on our relationships with coffee brokers, exporters and growers for the supply of our primary raw material, high quality Arabica coffee beans. If any of our relationships with coffee brokers, exporters or growers deteriorate, we may be unable to procure a sufficient quantity of high quality coffee beans at prices acceptable to us or at all. In such case, we may not be able to fulfill the demand of our existing customers, supply new retail stores or expand other channels of distribution. A raw material shortage could result in a deterioration of our relationship with our customers, decreased revenues or could impair our ability to expand our business. The coffee industry is highly competitive and if we cannot compete successfully, we may lose our customers or experience reduced sales and profitability. The coffee markets in which we do business are highly competitive and competition in these markets could become increasingly more intense due to the increasing popularity and growth of the coffee industry. The industry in which we compete is particularly sensitive to price pressure, as well as quality, reputation and viability for wholesale and brand loyalty for retail. To the extent that one or more of our competitors becomes more successful with respect to any key competitive factor, our ability to attract and retain customers could be materially adversely affected. Our private label and branded coffee products compete with other manufacturers of private label coffee and branded coffees. These competitors, such as Kraft Foods, Inc. (owner of the Maxwell House brand), and J.M. Smucker Co. (owner of the Folgers and Café Bustelo brands), have much greater financial, marketing, distribution, management and other resources than we do for marketing, promotions and geographic and market expansion. In addition, there are a growing number of specialty coffee companies who provide specialty green coffee and roasted coffee for retail sale. If we are unable to compete successfully against existing and new competitors, we may lose our customers or experience reduced sales and profitability. Besides coffee, we face exposure to other commodity cost fluctuations, which could impair our profitability. In addition to the increase in coffee costs discussed in the risk factor above, we are exposed to cost fluctuation in other commodities, including, in particular, steel, natural gas and gasoline. In addition, an increase in the cost of fuel could indirectly lead to higher electricity costs, transportation costs and other commodity costs. Much like coffee costs, the costs of these commodities depend on various factors beyond our control, including economic and political conditions, foreign currency fluctuations, and global weather patterns. To the extent we are unable to pass along such costs to our customers through price increases, our margins and profitability will decrease. Adverse public or medical opinion about caffeine may harm our business. Coffee contains caffeine and other active compounds, the health effects of some of which are not fully understood. A number of research studies conclude or suggest that excessive consumption of caffeine may lead to increased heart rate, nausea and vomiting, restlessness and anxiety, depression, headaches, tremors, sleeplessness and other adverse health effects. An unfavorable report on the health effects of caffeine or other compounds present in coffee could significantly reduce the demand for coffee, which could harm our business and reduce our sales and profits. In addition, we could become subject to litigation relating to the existence of such compounds in our coffee; litigation that could be costly and could divert management attention. 16 Risks related to our common stock Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our results of operations difficult to predict and could cause our results of operations to fall short of expectations. Our operating results may fluctuate from quarter to quarter and year to year as a result of a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control. These fluctuations could be caused by a number of factors including: ● fluctuations in purchase prices and supply of green coffee; ● fluctuations in the selling prices of our products; ● the level of marketing and pricing competition from existing or new competitors in the coffee industry; ● the success of our hedging strategy; ● our ability to retain existing customers and attract new customers; and ● our ability to manage inventory and fulfillment operations and maintain gross margins. As a result of the foregoing, period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not necessarily be meaningful and those comparisons should not be relied upon as indicators of future performance. Accordingly, our operating results in future quarters may be below market expectations. In this event, the price of our common stock may decline. The Gordon family has the ability to influence action requiring stockholder approval. Members of the Gordon family, including Andrew Gordon, our President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, and David Gordon, our Executive Vice President and Secretary, own, in the aggregate, approximately 15.3% of our outstanding shares of common stock. As a result, the Gordon family is able to influence the actions that require stockholder approval, including: ● the election of a majority of our directors; ● the amendment of our charter documents; and ● the approval of mergers, sales of assets or other corporate transactions or matters submitted for stockholder approval. As a result, our other stockholders may have reduced influence over matters submitted for stockholder approval. In addition, the Gordon family’s influence could preclude any unsolicited acquisition of us and consequently materially adversely affect the price of our common stock. The market price of our common stock has been volatile over the year and may continue to be volatile. The market price and trading volume of our common stock has been volatile over the past year and it may continue to be volatile. Over the past year, our common stock has traded as low as $1.76 and as high as $5.37 per share. We cannot predict the price at which our common stock will trade in the future and it may decline. The price at which our common stock trades may fluctuate significantly and may be influenced by many factors, including our financial results, developments generally affecting the coffee industry, general economic, industry and market conditions, the depth and liquidity of the market for our common stock, fluctuations in coffee prices, investor perceptions of our business, reports by industry analysts, negative announcements by our customers, competitors or suppliers regarding their own performances, and the impact of other “Risk Factors” discussed in this Annual Report. 17 Provisions in our articles of incorporation, bylaws and of Nevada law have anti-takeover effects that could prevent a change in control that could be beneficial to our stockholders, which could depress the market price of shares of our common stock. Our articles of incorporation, bylaws and Nevada corporate law contain provisions that could delay, defer or prevent a change in control of us or our management that could be beneficial to our stockholders. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for our stockholders to elect directors and take other corporate actions. These provisions might also discourage a potential acquisition proposal or tender offer, even if the acquisition proposal or tender offer is at a price above the then current market price for shares of our common stock. These provisions: ● provide that directors may only be removed upon a vote of at least eighty percent of the shares outstanding; ● establish advance notice requirements for nominating directors and proposing matters to be voted on by shareholders at shareholder meetings; ● limit the right of our stockholders to call a special meeting of stockholders; ● authorize our board of directors to issue preferred stock and to determine the rights and preferences of those shares, which would be senior to our common stock, without prior stockholder approval; ● require amendments to our articles of incorporation to be approved by the holders of at least eighty percent of our outstanding shares of common stock; ● a classified board of directors with three-year staggered terms, which may delay the ability of stockholders to change the membership of a majority of our board of directors; and ● provide a prohibition on stockholder action by written consent, thereby only permitting stockholder action to be taken at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders. We are also subject to certain anti-takeover provisions under Nevada law. Under Nevada law, a corporation may not, in general, engage in a business combination with any “interested stockholder” for two (2) years after the date the person first became an interested stockholder, unless the combination meets all of the requirements of our articles of incorporation and (i) the purchase of shares by the interested stockholder is approved by our board of directors before that date or (ii) the combination is approved by our board of directors and, at or after that time, the combination is approved at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of the holders of stock representing at least sixty percent (60%) of our outstanding voting power not beneficially owned by the interested stockholder or the affiliates or associates of the interested stockholder. ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS Not applicable.