Mama's Creations, Inc. 10-K

Item 1. Business. Our History MamaMancini’s Holdings, Inc. (formerly Mascot Properties, Inc.) was incorporated in the State of Nevada on July 22, 2009. Mascot Properties, Inc.’s (“Mascot”) activities since its inception consisted of trying to locate real estate properties to manage, primarily related to student housing, and services which included general property management, maintenance and activities coordination for residents. Mascot did not have any significant development of such business and did not derive any revenue. Due to the lack of results in its attempt to implement its original business plan, management determined it was in the best interests of the shareholders to look for other potential business opportunities. On February 22, 2010, MamaMancini’s LLC was formed as a limited liability company under the laws of the state of New Jersey in order to commercialize our initial products. On March 5, 2012, the members of MamaMancini’s, LLC, holders of 4,700 units (the “Units”) of MamaMancini’s LLC, exchanged the Units for 15,000,000 shares of common stock and those certain options to purchase an additional 223,404 shares of MamaMancini’s Inc. (the “Exchange”). Upon consummation of the Exchange, MamaMancini’s LLC ceased to exist and all further business has been and continues to be conducted by MamaMancini’s Inc. On January 24, 2013, Mascot, Mascot Properties Acquisition Corp, a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“Merger Sub”), MamaMancini’s Inc., a privately-held Delaware Corporation headquartered in New Jersey (“Mama’s”) and David Dreslin, an individual (the “Majority Shareholder”), entered into an Acquisition Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Agreement”) pursuant to which the Merger Sub was merged with and into Mama’s, with Mama’s surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (the “Merger”). The transaction (the “Closing”) took place on January 24, 2013 (the “Closing Date”). Mascot acquired, through a reverse triangular merger, all of the outstanding capital stock of Mama’s in exchange for issuing Mama’s shareholders (the “Mama’s Shareholders”), pro-rata, a total of 20,054,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. As a result of the Merger, the Mama’s Shareholders became the majority shareholders of Mascot. Immediately following the Closing of the Agreement, Mascot changed its business plan to that of Mama’s. On March 8, 2013, Mascot received notice from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) that its application to change its name and symbol had been approved and effective Monday, March 11, 2013, Mascot began trading under its new name, “MamaMancini’s Holdings, Inc.” (“MamaMancini’s” or the “Company”) and under its new symbol, “MMMB”. 3 On November 1, 2017, MamaMancini’s, Joseph Epstein Food Enterprises, Inc., a New Jersey corporation (“JEFE”), and MMMB Acquisition, Inc., a Nevada corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of MamaMancini’s (“Merger Sub”), completed a merger transaction whereby JEFE merged with and into Merger Sub, with Merger Sub continuing as the surviving entity and a wholly owned subsidiary of MamaMancini’s. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement and in connection with the merger, the Company acquired all assets of JEFE. The consideration for the transaction was (a) the extinguishment of the Inter-Company Loan between the parties, (b) the assumption by the Company of all JEFE accounts payable and accrued expenses (c) assumption by the Company of certain third-party loans to JEFE totaling approximately $782,000 and (d) indemnification of Carl Wolf with respect to his collateralization of a bank loan to JEFE in the amount of approximately $250,000. As a result of the transaction, (i) the Company became the sole shareholder of JEFE, which became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company . No cash or stock was exchanged in connection with the transaction. On December 23, 2021, the Company announced the signing of definitive agreements for two acquisitions – T&L Creative Salads, Inc. (“T&L”) and Olive Branch, LLC (“OB”), which are related gourmet food manufacturers based in New York. The Closing of these transactions occurred and the transactions were completed on December 29, 2021. The Company acquired T&L and OB for a combined purchase price of $14.0 million, including $11 million in cash at closing and $3 million in a promissory note. The promissory note requires annual principal payments of $750,000 payable on each anniversary of the closing, together with accrued interest at a rate of three and one-half (3.5%) per annum. The maker of the Note is T&L Acquisition Corp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and it is guaranteed by the Company. The maker has a right of set-off against the balance due for any matters which are the subject of an indemnification under the transaction agreements. The cash payment was funded through cash on hand and a $7.5 million acquisition loan from M&T Bank (see below). Anthony Morello, Jr. will remain as CEO of T&L Acquisition Corp. On December 29, 2021, the Company entered into a Multiple Disbursement Term Loan (“Loan”) with M&T Bank for the original principal amount of $7,500,000 payable in monthly installments over a 60-month amortization period. The Maturity Date of the Loan is January 17, 2027. Interest is payable the unpaid Principal Amount of the Loan at a variable rate per annum based on the Company’s Senior Funded Debt/EBITDA Ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement between Borrower and Bank) established with respect to the Borrower as of the date of any advance under the Loan as follows: if the Senior Funded Debt/EBITDA ratio is: (i) greater than 2.00 but less than or equal to 2.50, 4.12 percentage point(s) above one-day (i.e., overnight) SOFR (as defined); (ii) greater than 1.50 but less than or equal to 2.00, 3.62 percentage points above one-day SOFR; or (iii) 1.50 or less, 3.12 percentage points above one-day SOFR. In all events set forth at subsections (i) through (iii) in the preceding sentence, if SOFR shall at any time be less than 0.25%, one-day SOFR shall be deemed to be 0.25% and the foregoing margins shall be applied to the SOFR Index Floor. All of the proceeds of the Loan were utilized to fund the acquisition of T&L and OB. Our Company MamaMancini’s roots go back to our founder Dan Dougherty, whose grandmother Anna “Mama” Mancini emigrated from Bari, Italy to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn in 1921. Our products were developed using her old-world Italian recipes that were handed down to her grandson, Dan Dougherty. Today we market a line of all-natural specialty prepared, frozen and refrigerated foods for sale in retailers around the country. Our primary products include beef and turkey meatballs, meat loaf, chicken, sausage-related products and pasta entrees, all with slow cooked Italian Sauce. Our products are all natural, contain a minimum number of ingredients and are generally derived from the original recipes of Anna “Mama” Mancini. Our products appeal to health-conscious consumers who seek to avoid artificial flavors, synthetic colors and preservatives that are used in many conventional packaged foods. The United States Department of Agriculture (the “USDA”) defines all natural as a product that contains no artificial ingredients, coloring ingredients or chemical preservatives and is minimally processed. The Company’s products were submitted to the USDA and approved as all natural. The Food and Safety and Inspection Service (“FSIS”) Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book (2003) requires meat and poultry labels to include a brief statement directly beneath or beside the “natural” Label claim that “explains what is meant by the term natural i.e., that the product is a natural food because it contains no artificial ingredients and is only minimally processed”. The term “natural” may be used on a meat label or poultry label if the product does not contain any artificial flavor or flavoring, coloring ingredient, chemical preservative, or any other artificial or synthetic ingredient. Additionally, the term “all natural” can be used if the FSIS approves your product and label claims. The Company’s product and label claims have been approved by the FSIS to contain the all-natural label. Additionally, the Company has recently commenced marketing of certain “meatless” versions of its product line under a Trademark Licensing Agreement with Beyond Meat, Inc. Our products are principally sold to supermarkets and mass-market retailers. We currently have 29 different product offerings which are packaged in different sized retail and bulk packages. Our products are principally sold in multiple sections of the supermarket, including hot bars, salad bars, prepared foods (meals), sandwich, as well as cold deli and foods-to-go sections. Our products are also sold in the frozen food and fresh meat sections. We sell directly to both food retailers and food distributors. Finally, we also sell our products on QVC through live on-air offerings, auto ship programs and for everyday purchases on their web site. QVC is the world’s largest direct to consumer marketer. On December 29, 2021 MamaMancini’s made two acquisitions which expand the company’s core product lines, and access to specific markets. T &L Creative Salads, Inc. (“T&L”) and Olive Branch, LLC, are related premier gourmet food manufacturers based in New York. T&L offers a full line of foods for retail food chains and club stores, delis, bagel stores, caterers and provision distributors. T&L uses high-quality meats, seafood and vegetables, prepared to meet the standards set forth by the USDA and the FDA. T&L sales are spearheaded by a line of chicken products, including grilled and breaded chicken breasts, chicken strips as well as a kosher salad line. T&L’s SQF level 2 state-of-the-art USDA facility in Farmingdale, New York has positioned it to expand its operations nationally into MamaMancini’s network of retailers and Club Stores. T&L actively sells its salads and prepared products to over 250 delis, bagel shops, smaller retail accounts and food distributors in the New York metropolitan area, representing over 35% of T&L’s current sales volume. Olive Branch started operations six years ago as a separate company to concentrate on selling olives, olive mixes, and savory products to a limited number of large retail customers, primarily in pre-packaged containers. Olive Branch products are manufactured at the same facility as T&L in Farmingdale, NY. Industry Overview Our products are considered specialty prepared foods, in that they are all natural, taste great, are authentic and are made with high quality ingredients. The market for specialty and prepared foods spans several sections of the supermarket, including frozen, deli- prepared foods, and the specialty meat segment of the meat department. 4 Our Strengths We believe that the following strengths differentiate our products and our brand: ● Authentic recipes and great taste. Our MamaMancini’s products are founded upon Anna “Mama” Mancini’s old-world Italian recipes. We believe the authenticity of our products has enabled us to build and maintain loyalty and trust among our current customers and will help us attract new customers. Additionally, we continuously receive positive customer testimonials regarding the great taste and quality of our products. ● Healthy and convenient. Our products are made only from high quality natural ingredients, including domestic inspected beef, whole Italian tomatoes, genuine imported Pecorino Romano, real eggs, natural breadcrumbs, olive oil and other herbs and spices. Our products are also simple to prepare. Virtually every product we offer is ready-to-serve within 12 minutes, thereby providing quick and easy meal solutions for our customers. By including the sauce and utilizing a tray with our packaging, our meatballs can be prepared quickly and easily. ● Great value. We strive to provide our customers with a great tasting product using all-natural ingredients at an affordable price. Typical retail prices for 16 oz. packages ranges from $4.99 to $7.99, and $5.99 to $9.99 for bulk products sold in delis or hot bars. We believe the sizes of our product offerings represent a great value for the price. ● New products and innovation . Since our inception, we have continued to introduce new and innovative products. While we pride on ourselves on our traditional beef and turkey meatballs and meat loaf, we have continuously made efforts to grow and diversify our line of products while maintaining our high standards for all natural, healthy ingredients and great taste. FY22 introductions of Meal-For-One ready to eat home meals and our Meatballs-in-a-Cup snack are examples of continued product innovation. Our new lines of chicken cutlets, breaded chicken products and gourmet pasta salads and savory olive products will be a natural extension to our national customers and club stores. ● Key Market Concentration. Through the acquisition of T&L Creative Salads, MamaMancini’s is deeply established in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tristate metro market with strong new distribution to deli’s, independent end retailers, bagel shops and provision distributors. MamaMancini’s products will fit well into the needs of this market extending our brand. Customers/Management ● Strong consumer loyalty. Many of our consumers are loyal and enthusiastic brand advocates. Our consumers trust us to deliver great-tasting products made with all-natural ingredients. Consumers have actively communicated with us through our website and/or social media channels. We believe that this consumer interaction has generated interest in our products and has inspired enthusiasm for our brand. We also believe that enthusiasm for our products has led and will continue to lead to repeat purchases and new consumers trying our products. ● Experienced leadership. We have a proven and experienced senior management team. Our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Carl Wolf, has been with us since inception and has over 35 years of experience in the management and operations of food companies. Mr. Wolf was the founder, majority shareholder, Chairman of the Board, and CEO of Alpine Lace Brands, Inc., a public company engaged in the development, marketing and distribution of cheese, deli meats and other specialty food products, which was sold to Land O’Lakes, Inc. In addition, the other members of our board of directors also have significant experience in the food industry. Our Growth Strategy We are actively executing a strategy to build our brand’s reputation, grow sales and improve our product and operating margins by pursuing the following growth initiatives: ● Increase product placements in the perimeter within retail locations . We strive for product placements in the perishable departments of retail locations. We believe adding shelf placements within the supermarkets that carry our products will increase customer awareness, leading to more consumers purchasing our products and expanding our market share. ● Increase Sales in “Fresh” Section . Increase sales in the “Fresh” section (in the perimeter of the retainer), where there is significant sales growth and higher margins, over products in the “Frozen” section which are showing zero to negative growth. 5 ● Increase retail locations . We intend to increase sales by expanding the number of retail stores that sell our products in the mainstream grocery and mass merchandiser channels. ● Increase Overall Sales . We have an experienced sales staff and now employ one full time Vice President of Sales as well as our Co-Founder Dan Dougherty, Carl Wolf, our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, and Matthew Brown, our President, each of whom is involved with selling to, and managing sales with, major supermarket chains. In addition, the Company has contracted with an independent consultant to manage sales opportunities in the food service area as well as an independent person to solicit sales in colleges and universities and independent delicatessens. ● Grow through Acquisition. We will continue to look for opportunities to acquire companies with complementary quality products which can enhance our product line and customer diversification and be immediately accretive to earnings. ● Expand food brokerage network . We currently work with retail food brokers nationwide and intend to add additional food brokers to increase our geographical coverage in the United States to approximately 90%. ● Enhance awareness through marketing . We have increased our social media activity with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. We also engage with consumers through newsletter mailings, blogs, and special projects, including a bank of recipe videos and contests and giveaways. Targeted consumer merchandising activity, including virtual couponing, on-pack couponing, mail-in rebates, product demonstrations, and co-op retail advertising will continue into the future in order to increase sales and generate new customers. ● Adding new products . Our market research and consumer testing enable us to identify attractive new product opportunities. We intend to continue to introduce new products in both existing and new product lines that appeal to a wide range of consumers. ● Maintain a Strong Relationship with QVC . The Company currently offers various lines through QVC and intends to increase its product line offerings offered through QVC. ● Increase Media Exposure . Increase the visibility of Dan Dougherty (Mancini) in the media as a product spokesman. ● “Club Stores”. The Company is aggressively pursuing sales to “Club Stores”. ● The Company is actively pursuing sales to Canada through a designated agent who is handling all necessary compliance issues. ● Selected acquisitions of complementary companies in the specialty food industry. Pricing Our pricing strategy focuses on being competitively priced with other premium brands. Since our products are positioned in the authentic premium prepared food category, we maintain prices competitive with those of similar products and prices slightly higher than those in the commodity prepared foods section. This pricing strategy also provides greater long-term flexibility as we grow our product line through the growth curve of our products. Current typical retail prices for 16 oz. packages range from $5.99 to $8.99, and $6.99 to $10.99 per pound for prepared food products sold to delis or hot bars. Increases in raw material costs, among other factors, may lead us to consider price increases in the future. Suppliers/Manufacturers As of January 31, 2022, approximately 90% of our products are internally produced by the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, Joseph Epstein Food Enterprises, Inc. (“JEFE”), T&L Creative Salads, Inc. (“T&L”) and Olive Branch, LLC (“OB”). Approximately 10% are manufactured on an outsourced basis. None of our raw materials or ingredients are directly grown or produced by us. From time-to-time we negotiate with other manufacturers to supplement the Company’s manufacturing capability. We currently purchase modest quantities from other manufacturers. All of the raw materials and ingredients in our products are readily available and are readily ascertainable by our suppliers. We have not experienced any material shortages of ingredients or other products necessary to our operations and do not anticipate such shortages in the foreseeable future. 6 Sales/Brokers Our products are sold primarily through a commission broker network. We sell to large retail chains who direct our products to their own warehouses or to large food distributors. The Company increased its sales management efforts with the result that the Company is now actively soliciting business with almost every major retail supermarket chain in the country. MamaMancini’s products are currently sold nationwide, with its greatest concentration in the Northeast and Southeast. Marketing The majority of our marketing activity has been generated through promotional discounts, consumer trial, consumer product tastings and demonstrations, in-store merchandising and signage, couponing, word of mouth, consumer public relations, social media, special merchandising events with retailers and consumer advertising. Based on the Company’s metrics for determining brand awareness, which includes market studies and analysis of consumer recognition of the MamaMancini’s brand, the Company believes that brand awareness for MamaMancini’s has grown in the past 12 months. Competition The gourmet and specialty pre-packaged and frozen food industry has many large competitors specializing in various types of cuisine from all over the world. Our product lines are currently concentrated on Italian specialty foods. While it is our contention that our competition is much more limited than the entire frozen and pre-packaged food industry based on our products’ niche market, there can be no assurances that we do not compete with the entire frozen and pre-packaged food industry. We believe our principal competitors include Quaker Maid, Hormel, Rosina Company, Inc., Casa Di Bertacchi, Inc., Farm Rich, Inc., Mama Lucia, Buona Vita, Inc., Taylor Farms, Kings Command, DeLallo Foods, and Gourmet Boutique. Intellectual Property Our current intellectual property consists of trade secret recipes and cooking processes for our products and four trademarks for “MamaMancini’s”, “Mac N’ Mamas”, “Sunday Dinner”, “The Original Meatball in a Cup”, “The Meatball Lovers Meatball”, “T&L Creative Salads” and “Olive Branch Savory Products”. The recipes and use of the trademarks have been assigned in perpetuity to the Company. We rely on a combination of trademark, copyright and trade secret laws to establish and protect our proprietary rights. We will also use technical measures to protect our proprietary rights. 7 Royalty Agreement In accordance with a Development and License Agreement (the “Development and License Agreement”) entered into on January 1, 2009 with Dan Dougherty relating to the use of his grandmother’s recipes for the products to be created by MamaMancini’s, Mr. Dougherty granted us a 50-year exclusive license (subject to certain minimum payments being made), with a 25-year extension option, to use and commercialize the licensed items. Under the terms of the Development and License Agreement, Mr. Dougherty shall develop a line of beef meatballs with sauce, turkey meatballs with sauce and other similar meats and sauces for commercial manufacture, distribution and sale (each a “Licensor Product” and collectively the “Licensor Products”). Mr. Dougherty shall work with us to develop Licensor Products that are acceptable to us. Upon acceptance of a Licensor Product by us, Mr. Dougherty’s trade secret recipes, formulas methods and ingredients for the preparation and production of such Licensor Products shall be subject to the Development and License Agreement. In connection with the Development and License Agreement, we pay Mr. Dougherty a royalty fee on net sales. USDA approval / Regulations Our food products, which are manufactured both in our own manufacturing facilities and in third-party facilities, are subject to various federal, state and local regulations and inspection, and to extensive regulations and inspections, regarding sanitation, quality, packaging and labeling. In order to distribute and sell our products outside the State of New Jersey, the third-party food processing facilities must meet the standards promulgated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the “USDA”). Our manufacturing processing facilities and products are subject to periodic inspection by federal, state, and local authorities. In January 2011, the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act was signed into law. The law will increase the number of inspections at food facilities in the U.S. in an effort to enhance the detection of food borne illness outbreaks and order recalls of tainted food products. The facilities in which our products are manufactured are inspected regularly and comply with all the requirements of the FDA and USDA. We are subject to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and regulations promulgated thereunder by the FDA. This comprehensive regulatory program governs, among other things, the manufacturing, composition and ingredients, packaging, and safety of food. Under this program, the FDA regulates manufacturing practices for foods through, among other things, its current “good manufacturing practices” regulations, or GMP’s, and specifies the recipes for certain foods. Specifically, the USDA defines “all natural” as a product that contains no artificial ingredients, coloring ingredients or chemical preservatives and is minimally processed. The Company’s products were submitted to the USDA and approved as “all natural”. However, should the USDA change their definition of “all natural” at some point in the future, or should MamaMancini’s change their existing recipes to include ingredients that do not meet the USDA’s definition of “all natural”, our results of operations could be adversely affected. The FTC and other authorities regulate how we market and advertise our products, and we are currently in compliance with all regulations related thereto, although we could be the target of claims relating to alleged false or deceptive advertising under federal and state laws and regulations. Changes in these laws or regulations or the introduction of new laws or regulations could increase the costs of doing business for us or our customers or suppliers or restrict our actions, causing our results of operations to be adversely affected. Quality Assurance We take precautions designed to ensure the quality and safety of our products. In addition to routine third-party inspections of our manufacturing facilities, we have instituted regular audits to address topics such as allergen control, ingredient, packaging and product specifications and sanitation. Under the FDA Food Modernization Act, both our own manufacturing facilities and each of our contract manufacturers are required to have a hazard analysis critical control points plan that identifies critical pathways for contaminants and mandates control measures that must be used to prevent, eliminate or reduce relevant food-borne hazards. Our manufacturing facility is certified in the Safe Quality Food Program. These standards are integrated food safety and quality management protocols designed specifically for the food sector and offer a comprehensive methodology to manage food safety and quality simultaneously. Certification provides an independent and external validation that a product, process or service complies with applicable regulations and standards. We work with suppliers who assure the quality and safety of their ingredients. These assurances are supported by our purchasing contracts or quality assurance specification packets, including affidavits, certificates of analysis and analytical testing, where required. The quality assurance staff within our manufacturing facility and within our contract manufacturers conduct periodic on-site routine audits of critical ingredient suppliers. 8 Where You Can Find More Information The public may read and copy any materials the Company files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0030. The SEC maintains an Internet website (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.