Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Readers should carefully consider the factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, cash flows or future results. Other than the risk included below that has been amended and restated, there have been no material changes in our risk factors included in our Annual Report. The risks described in our Annual Report are not the only risks facing our Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial may also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or future results.
Ingredient and packaging costs are volatile and may rise significantly for a variety of reasons, many of which are outside of our control, which may negatively affect the profitability of our business.
We source ingredients and packaging from a variety of vendors and suppliers, including domestic and international sources. We negotiate the prices for large quantities of core ingredients, such as nuts, protein, fiber and packaging materials. Several ingredients are farmed or manufactured outside of the United States. Costs of ingredients and packaging are volatile and can fluctuate due to conditions difficult to predict, including global competition for resources, fluctuations in currency and exchange rates, weather conditions, the effects of climate change, natural or man-made disasters, consumer demand, geopolitical events, and changes in governmental trade, including the imposition of tariffs in the United States, and agricultural programs and environmental regulations affecting the production or manufacturing of ingredients and packaging. Volatility in the prices of the core ingredients and other supplies we purchase increased in recent fiscal years and, while these price increases have begun to moderate for some core ingredients and other supplies, we anticipate increases in the cost of certain core ingredients and supplies during fiscal year 2025.
Trade policies of the U.S. presidential administration, including tariffs, and potential related actions by other countries are all outside of our control and may affect our financial condition or results of operations. Recently, the U.S. presidential administration announced significant tariffs on imports from a broad range of countries, including the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and China, which may cause inflationary pressures and higher costs on certain of our ingredients and packaging and imports from the affected countries. If maintained, the announced tariffs, as well as related measures that could be taken by other countries and the potential escalation of trade disputes, could pose a risk to our business and results of operations. The extent and duration of the tariffs and the resulting effect on general economic conditions and on our business as a result of increases in prices for ingredients and packaging we import or our suppliers and vendors purchase to produce these items that we acquire through our supply chain are uncertain and depend on various factors, such as negotiations between the United States and affected countries, the responses of other countries or regions, exemptions or exclusions that may be granted, availability and cost of alternative sources of supply, and demand for our products.
Our attempts to potentially offset these pressures through increases in the selling prices of some of our products or cost savings initiatives may not be successful and may result in reductions in sales volume or profitability. To the extent that price increases or cost savings initiatives are not sufficient to offset increased costs, and/or if they result in the significant decreases in sales volume or profitability, our business, financial condition, or operating results may be adversely affected.
We do not use hedges for availability of any core ingredients or packaging. Any material upward movement in core ingredient or packaging pricing could negatively affect our margins if we cannot find efficiencies or pass these costs on to our consumers. If we are unsuccessful in managing our ingredient and packaging costs, if we cannot increase our prices to cover increased costs, or if such price increases reduce our sales volumes, then such increases in costs will materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Certain of our core ingredient contracts have minimum volume commitments that could require purchases without matching revenue during weaker sales periods. Future core ingredient and packaging prices may be affected by new laws or regulations, tariffs, suppliers’ allocations to other purchases, interruptions in production by suppliers, natural disasters, volatility in the price of crude oil and related petrochemical products and changes in exchange rates.
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Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
None.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not Applicable.
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