Item 1A. Risk Factors
Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The following is a description of the known factors that may materially affect our business, results of operations or financial condition. You should carefully consider the following risk factors, as well as the other information in this Annual Report. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected. In this case, the trading price of our common stock would likely decline. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Summary of Selected Risks Associated with Our Business
Our business faces significant risks and uncertainties. If any of the following risks are realized, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. These risks include, among others, the following:
Our recent, rapid growth may not be indicative of our future growth, and if we continue to grow rapidly, we may not be able to effectively manage our growth or evaluate our future prospects. If we fail to effectively manage our growth or evaluate our future prospects, our business could be adversely affected.
We may not be able to maintain or increase our profitability in the future.
Sales of shell eggs constitute the vast majority of our revenue, and a reduction in these sales would have an adverse effect on our financial condition.
Failure to introduce successful new products, successfully enter new product categories or successfully pursue growth by other means may adversely affect our ability to continue to grow.
If we fail to effectively expand our processing, manufacturing and production capacity as we continue to grow and scale our business, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
If our forecasts of future supply capacity or customer and consumer demand are inaccurate, our business and operating results could be harmed.
A substantial amount of our shell egg processing occurs at our Egg Central Station egg washing and packing facility in Missouri. Any damage or disruption at this facility, any disruption in the availability of resources utilized at this facility or any constraints related to acquiring, maintaining and operating the processing equipment for our shell eggs, may harm our business.
Our planned Vital Crossroads egg washing and packing facility with onsite cold storage in Indiana or other future expansions of our processing capacity may not provide us with the benefits we expect to receive.
We are dependent on the market for shell eggs, and fluctuations in this market, including the decline of commodity shell egg prices relative to the price of our shell eggs, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we fail to effectively maintain relationships within our existing farm network or further expand our farm network, our business, operating results and brand reputation could be adversely affected.
If our development and operation of accelerator farms do not result in the benefits we anticipate, our business and financial results may be adversely affected.
Outbreaks of agricultural diseases, including avian influenza and egg drop syndrome, the perception that outbreaks may occur or regulatory or market responses to outbreaks could reduce supply or demand for our products and harm our business.
If we fail to effectively price our products or effectively implement price increases, our financial condition may be adversely affected.
Increased transportation and freight costs or failure by our transportation providers to pick up raw materials or deliver our products on time, in compliance with applicable governmental regulations or at all, have adversely impacted and are expected to continue to adversely impact our operating results.
Our future business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by reduced or limited availability of eggs, cream for our butter and other raw materials that meet our standards.
We may not be able to compete successfully in our highly competitive market.
We currently have a limited number of third-party co-manufacturers and cold storage providers. The loss of one or more of our co-manufacturers or cold storage providers or our failure to timely identify and establish new relationships could harm our business and impede our growth.
We must expend resources to maintain consumer awareness of our brand, build brand loyalty and generate interest in our products. Our marketing strategies and channels will evolve, and our programs may or may not be successful.
We could be adversely affected by a change in consumer preferences, perception and spending habits in the natural food industry generally and with respect to animal-based products in particular. Any failure to develop or enrich our product offerings or gain market acceptance of our new products could have a negative effect on our business.
A limited number of distributors represent a substantial portion of our sales, and disruptions affecting our significant distributors or our relationships with such distributors may adversely affect our results of operations.
We are dependent on hatcheries and pullet farms to supply our network of family farms with laying hens. Any disruption in that supply chain could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Fluctuations in commodity prices and in the availability of feed grains could negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Consolidation of retail customers or the loss of a significant retail customer could negatively impact our sales and profitability.
Elevated interest rates could adversely affect our business and the ability of our family farmers to access capital.
We source substantially all of our shell egg cartons from a sole source supplier, and any disruptions may impact our ability to sell our eggs.
Our brand and reputation may be diminished due to real or perceived quality or food safety issues with our products, which could have an adverse effect on our business, reputation, operating results and financial condition.
If we fail to retain and motivate members of our management team or other key crew members or fail to attract, train, develop and retain additional qualified crew members to support our operations, our business and future growth prospects may be harmed.
If we cannot maintain our company culture or focus on our purpose as we grow, our business and competitive position may be harmed.
Disruptions in the worldwide economy may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Food safety and food-borne illness incidents or advertising or product mislabeling may materially and adversely affect our business by exposing us to lawsuits, product recalls or regulatory enforcement actions, increasing our operating costs and reducing demand for our product offerings.
Our operations are subject to FDA and USDA federal regulations, as well as other federal, state and local regulations, and there is no assurance that we will be in compliance with all applicable regulations.
We and the third parties with whom we work are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. and foreign laws, regulations, and rules, contractual obligations, industry standards, policies and other obligations related to data privacy and security. Our or such third parties’ actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to regulatory investigations or actions, litigation (including class claims) and mass arbitration demands, fines and penalties, disruption of our business operations, reputational harm, loss of revenue or profits and other adverse consequences.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting in the future, we may not be able to accurately report our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our common stock.
Risks Related to Our Growth and Capital Requirements
Our recent, rapid growth may not be indicative of our future growth, and if we continue to grow rapidly, we may not be able to effectively manage our growth or evaluate our future prospects. If we fail to effectively manage our growth or evaluate our future prospects, our business could be adversely affected.
We have grown rapidly since inception and anticipate further growth. For example, our net revenue increased from $471.9 million in fiscal 2023 to $606.3 million in fiscal 2024 to $759.4 million in fiscal 2025. This growth has placed significant demands on
our management, financial, operational, technological and other resources. The growth and expansion of our business depends on a number of factors, including our continued ability to:
increase awareness of our brand and successfully compete with other companies;
price our products effectively to attract new consumers and customers and expand sales to our existing consumers and customers;
expand distribution with new and existing customers;
innovate and expand our product offerings;
expand our supplier, co-manufacturing, co-packing, cold storage, processing and distribution capacities;
invest in and effectively implement information technology systems and related improvements to our processes and procedures; and
maintain quality control over our product offerings.
Our growth has placed, and will continue to place, significant demands on our management and operations teams and will continue to require significant additional resources, financial and otherwise, to meet our needs, resources that may not be available in a cost-effective manner or at all. We expect to continue to expend substantial resources on our current and future processing facilities, our sales and marketing efforts, product innovation and development and general administration associated with being a public company.
These investments may not result in the continued growth of our business. Even if these investments do result in the growth of our business, if we do not effectively manage our growth, we may not be able to execute on our business plan, respond to competitive pressures, take advantage of market opportunities, satisfy customer requirements or maintain high-quality product offerings, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may not be able to maintain or increase our profitability in the future.
Our ability to maintain or increase our profitability is subject to various factors, many of which are beyond our control. As we continue to expand our operations, we anticipate that our operating expenses and capital expenditures will continue to increase in the foreseeable future as we invest to increase our household penetration, customer base, supplier network, marketing channels and product portfolio, as we expand and enhance our processing, manufacturing and distribution facilities, and as we hire additional crew members. Our ongoing efforts to grow and develop our supply chain may prove more expensive than we anticipate (including as a result of increases in input costs or disruptions in our supply chain relating to outbreaks of agricultural diseases, trade wars, tariff regimes, domestic or geopolitical tensions, public health pandemics, inflation or other factors), and we may not succeed in increasing our net revenue and margins sufficiently to offset higher expenses. We have incurred significant expenses in connection with investing in and expanding our processing capacity, developing our co-manufacturing and co-packing relationships and obtaining and storing raw materials, and we will continue to incur significant expenses in developing and marketing products. In addition, many of our expenses, including the costs associated with our existing and future processing facilities, may be fixed. We expect that we will continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses as we grow and mature as a public company. If we to grow our revenue at a rate than our costs and expenses, we may be to maintain or increase our and may incur in the future.
Sales of shell eggs constitute the vast majority of our net revenue, and a reduction in these sales would have an adverse effect on our financial condition.
Shell eggs accounted for approximately 95% of our net revenue in fiscal 2023, 93% of our net revenue in fiscal 2024 and 93% of our net revenue in fiscal 2025. Shell eggs are our flagship product and have been the focal point of our sales and marketing efforts. We believe that sales of shell eggs will continue to constitute a significant portion of our net revenue, net income and cash flow for the foreseeable future. We cannot be certain that we will be able to continue to expand sales, processing and distribution of shell eggs, or that consumer and customer demand for our other existing and future products will expand to allow such products to represent a larger percentage of our revenue than they do currently. Furthermore, we could experience a decrease in sales of shell eggs due to one or more factors. For example, widespread outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, could impact supply of and demand for shell eggs and negatively impact our business. For additional details surrounding risks related to agricultural disease, see elsewhere in the Risk Factors, including “—Outbreaks of agricultural diseases, including avian influenza and egg drop syndrome, the perception that outbreaks may occur or regulatory or market responses to outbreaks could reduce supply or demand for our products and harm our business.” Any factor adversely affecting sales of our shell eggs (including consumers’ election to purchase lower-priced
private-label or other economy brands during times of economic uncertainty or as a result of supply fluctuations) could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure to introduce successful new products, successfully enter into new product categories or successfully pursue growth by other means may adversely affect our ability to continue to grow.
One element of our growth strategy involves the development and marketing of new products that meet our standards for quality and appeal to consumer preferences. The success of our innovation and product development efforts is affected by our ability to anticipate changes in consumer preferences, the technical capability of our crew members in developing and testing product prototypes, our ability to comply with applicable governmental regulations, and the success of our management, sales and marketing teams in introducing and marketing new products in current or new product categories. There can be no assurance that we will successfully develop and market new products or successfully introduce products in current or new categories. The development and introduction of new products requires substantial marketing expenditures, which we may be unable to recoup if new products do not gain widespread market acceptance. If we introduce new or improved products that ultimately do not meet our objectives, it could impact our growth, sales and profitability. Any to develop, market and launch future products or enter into new product categories may lead to decreased growth, sales and .
Further risks are presented if we elect to pursue continued growth or enter new product categories by means other than new product introductions, including by acquisitions or investments in businesses or technologies that we believe could offer growth opportunities. The pursuit of such opportunities may divert the attention of management and may cause us to incur various expenses in identifying, investigating and pursuing such transactions, regardless of whether such opportunities are realized. Such transactions may also result in potentially dilutive equity issuances, the incurrence of debt or contingent liabilities or challenges with integration, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We estimate market opportunity and forecast market growth that may prove to be inaccurate, and even if the markets in which we compete achieve the forecasted growth, our business could fail to grow at similar rates, if at all.
Our estimates of market opportunity and growth forecasts included in this Annual Report and elsewhere, including in connection with our earnings guidance and long-term financial goals, are subject to significant uncertainty and are based on assumptions and estimates that may not prove to be accurate, particularly in light of economic uncertainties. The variables that go into the calculation of our market opportunity are subject to change over time, and there is no guarantee that any particular number or percentage of customers covered by our market opportunity estimates will purchase our products at all or generate any particular level of revenue for us. Any expansion in our market depends on a number of factors, including the cost and perceived value associated with our products and those of our competitors. Even if a market in which we compete meets our size estimates and growth forecasts, our business could fail to grow at the rate we anticipate, if at all. Our growth is subject to many factors, including our success in implementing our business strategy, which is subject to many risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, our forecasts of market growth should not be taken as indicative of our future growth.
We may require additional financing to achieve our goals, and the failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, may force us to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product manufacturing and development, and other operations.
We have funded our operations since inception primarily through equity financings, draws on our credit facilities and sales of our products. We have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant expenses related to the expansion of our processing capacity. We believe that we will continue to expend substantial resources for the foreseeable future as we consider additional markets we may choose to pursue and other growth opportunities.
We expect that our existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, together with cash provided by our operating activities and available borrowings under our syndicated credit facility with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., or the Credit Facility, will be sufficient to fund our planned operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through at least the next 12 months. However, our operating plan may change because of factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned, through public or private equity or debt financings or other sources. We may seek financing in connection with potential new product introductions, capital expenditures to expand our supply chain and process capabilities, acquisitions or investments in businesses or technologies that we believe could offer growth opportunities, share repurchases or other uses of capital. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. Such financings may result in dilution to stockholders, imposition of debt covenants and repayment obligations, or other restrictions that may adversely affect our business.
Our ability to access additional capital may further be affected by adverse or uncertain economic conditions. Weakness and volatility in the capital markets and the economy in general could make it more difficult to access the capital markets and could increase our cost of borrowing.
The agreements governing our credit facility require us to meet certain covenants, which could restrict our operational and financial flexibility.
The Credit Facility provides for a revolving line of credit with a maximum borrowing capacity of $60.0 million. The Credit Facility contains certain restrictive covenants, in each case subject to certain exceptions. The restrictive covenants in the Credit Facility limit our ability to incur or guarantee additional indebtedness, incur liens, make distributions, pay dividends, make investments, enter into fundamental changes such as mergers or consolidations, engage in transactions with our affiliates, change our fiscal year or substantially change the nature of our business. The Credit Facility also requires us to maintain two financial covenants: (i) a fixed charge coverage ratio and (ii) a net leverage ratio. These provisions may affect our ability to pursue business opportunities we find attractive or to maintain flexibility in reacting to changes in business conditions.
Our failure to comply with the covenants in the Credit Facility or other terms of any present or future indebtedness could result in an event of default under such indebtedness, which, if not cured or waived, could result in the lender or lenders under such indebtedness declaring all obligations, together with accrued and unpaid interest, immediately due and payable and taking control of any collateral securing such indebtedness. This may require us to amend or refinance our indebtedness on less favorable terms.
If we are forced to amend or refinance the Credit Facility on less favorable terms or are unable to do so at all, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected. In any such case, we may be unable to borrow under the Credit Facility or other indebtedness and may not be able to repay the amounts due thereunder. This could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Risks Related to Our Business, Our Brand, Our Products and Our Industry
If we fail to effectively expand our processing, manufacturing and production capacity as we continue to grow and scale our business, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.
While our current supply, processing and manufacturing capabilities are sufficient to meet our present business needs, we are in the process of expanding these capabilities as we continue to grow and scale our business. In 2025, we broke ground on Vital Crossroads, our second egg washing and packing facility with onsite cold storage in Seymour, Indiana, and we continue to pursue growth in our farm network in order to ensure adequate supply. There is risk in our ability to effectively continue to scale production and processing and manage our supply chain requirements, and failure to do so could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our forecasts of future supply capacity or customer and consumer demand are inaccurate, our business and operating results could be adversely affected .
We must accurately forecast demand for our products in order to ensure we have adequate processing and manufacturing capacity to effectively allocate product supply across our stock keeping units. Demand varies quarterly due to seasonal and cyclical purchasing patterns and the timing of large customer orders, which can lead to challenges in accuracy of our forecasts. Our forecasts are based on multiple assumptions that, if inaccurate, may affect our ability to maintain adequate processing and manufacturing and storage capacities (or co-processing and co-manufacturing capacity) in order to meet the demand for our products. These assumptions are based in part on third-party published scanner data about us and other food companies. These metrics are proprietary to the provider, and may not accurately reflect the actual levels of purchase orders, revenue, or consumer purchases of our products. There is a possibility that third parties could change their methodologies for calculating these metrics in the future. If we fail to meet demand for our products, consumers who have previously purchased our products may buy other brands and retail customers may allocate shelf space to other brands, each of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
On the other hand, if we overestimate our demand or overbuild our capacity or our supply of eggs, we may have significantly underutilized supply or other assets. This may result in reduced margins associated with selling excess product at reduced prices, and we may incur costs associated with storing or donating excess product or selling it at reduced prices. If we do not accurately align our processing and manufacturing capabilities with demand, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
A substantial amount of our shell egg processing occurs at our Egg Central Station egg washing and packing facility in Missouri. Any damage or disruption at this facility, any disruption in the availability of resources utilized at this facility or any constraints related to acquiring, maintaining and operating the processing equipment for our shell eggs, may harm our business.
A substantial amount of our shell egg processing occurs at our Egg Central Station egg washing and packing facility in Missouri. Any shutdown or period of reduced production at this facility, which may be caused by regulatory noncompliance or other issues, as well as factors beyond our control, such as natural disaster, extreme weather events, fire, power or other utility interruption, work stoppage, disease outbreaks or pandemics, equipment failure or maintenance or delay in raw materials delivery, could significantly disrupt our ability to deliver our products in a timely manner, meet our contractual obligations and operate our business.
Furthermore, the prices for and availability of energy resources supplied by third parties, including electricity, natural gas, water and other resources may be subject to volatile market conditions. For example, at the end of fiscal year 2024 and continuing into early fiscal year 2025, we experienced a series of leaks that led to more water usage than usual and higher utility costs. Any reduction or curtailment of these energy resources or disruptions in the supply of such resources, including due to factors beyond our control, or increased expenses from unintended use, could impair our ability to operate our business.
Further, the processing equipment used for our shell eggs is costly to maintain, replace and repair, in part because certain of such equipment is sourced internationally. We have at times seen pricing and capacity constraints related to internationally sourced equipment, and our supply chains may be further disrupted in connection with public health pandemics, domestic or geopolitical tensions, wars, inflation, trade wars, tariff regimes, or other factors. If any material amount of our machinery were damaged, we could be unable to predict when, if at all, we could replace or repair such machinery or find co-manufacturers with suitable alternative machinery, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. The property and business disruption insurance we maintain may not be sufficient to cover all of our potential losses and may not continue to be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
Our planned Vital Crossroads egg washing and packing facility with onsite cold storage in Indiana or other future expansions of our processing capacity may not provide us with the benefits we expect to receive.
In 2025, we broke ground on Vital Crossroads, our second egg washing and packing facility with onsite cold storage in Seymour, Indiana, which we expect to be fully operational in early 2027. Constructing and opening this facility will require significant capital expenditures and the efforts and attention of our management and other crew members, which may divert resources from our existing business or operations. In addition, we will need to hire and retain more skilled crew members to operate the new facility, and we will need to recruit and retain additional family farms to supply the new facility. If we are unable to effectively staff and supply this facility, it may not meet our operational and financial expectations. Even if the new facility is brought up to full processing capacity, it may not provide us with all of the operational and financial benefits we expect to receive.
We are dependent on the market for shell eggs, and fluctuations in this market, including the decline of commodity shell egg prices relative to the price of our shell eggs, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We contract with family farms to purchase all of their egg production for the duration of our contracts. We are contractually obligated to purchase these eggs irrespective of our ability to sell such eggs. Periodically in our industry, and at times during fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025, there have been supply shortages in the egg industry, with supply impacted by, among other things, avian influenza, increased demand for eggs and increases in feed and other input costs. Such supply shortages, together with price increases we or others in the industry have implemented or may choose to implement in the future, could result in declining consumer demand for shell eggs or inability to fulfill customer or consumer demand, each of which could have a material impact on our financial condition and results and operations. Conversely, there has periodically in prior periods been an oversupply of eggs, which caused egg prices to contract, sometimes substantially so, and as a result we have sold or donated our excess supply at reduced prices or no cost. If we are unable to sell our eggs on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, our gross margins, business, financial condition and operating results may be adversely affected.
We sell shell eggs to consumers at a premium price point, and when prices for commodity shell eggs fall relative to the price of our shell eggs (including due to price increases we may implement or supply expansions in the market for commodity shell eggs), price-sensitive consumers may choose to purchase commodity shell eggs offered by our competitors at a greater velocity than, or instead of, our shell eggs. As a result, low commodity shell egg prices relative to the price of our shell eggs may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We also sell a small percentage of our shell eggs to wholesalers and egg breaking plants at commodity shell egg prices, which fluctuate widely and are outside our control. Small increases in production or small decreases in demand can have a large adverse effect on the prices at which these eggs are sold.
If we fail to effectively maintain relationships within our contracted farm network or further expand our farm network, our business, operating results and brand reputation could be harmed.
We source our eggs primarily from our network of family farms, which is the foundation of our supply chain. The cream for our butter is sourced from a network of family farms contracted by our butter supplier. If we are unable to maintain and expand this supply chain because of actions taken by our contracted farmers or other events outside of our control (including the failure of our butter supplier to maintain or expand its contracted farm network), we may be unable to timely supply distributors and customers with our products, which could lead to cancellation of purchase orders, damage to our commercial relationships and impairment of our brand. For example, we require our contracted egg farmers to build and equip their farms to certain specifications, which requires a significant upfront capital investment, and any inability of farmers to obtain adequate financing on acceptable terms, including due to elevated interest rates, would impair their ability to contract with us. These and other factors, including economic uncertainty, may make it more difficult for us to recruit and attract new farmers to our network in a number sufficient to meet product demand.
There are a number of factors that could impair our relationship with farmers, many of which are outside of our control. While we strive to operate our business in a manner that drives long-term and sustainable benefits for our stakeholders, including our farmers, we may make strategic decisions that our farmers disagree with and which could cause farmers to terminate their relationships with us. Reputational harm resulting from impairment of our relationship with existing farmers may also make it more difficult to attract new farmers to expand our network. Furthermore, we compete with other companies for the recruitment and retention of farmers, and these companies may attempt to incentivize our contracted farmers to terminate (or decline to renew) their contracts with us. If our relationship with our existing or future farmers is disrupted due to these or other factors, we may not be able to sustain the supply necessary to meet customer and consumer demand for our products, which would impact our operating results.
If our development and operation of accelerator farms do not result in the benefits we anticipate, our business and financial results may be adversely affected.
In fiscal 2025, we placed laying hens at the first of our company-owned accelerator farms, and we have begun to source eggs from our accelerator farms. We have plans for further development of accelerator farms in the geographic region we refer to as the Pasture Belt, the U.S. region where the weather is conducive to hens being outside as much as possible. We may not be able to adequately build, develop or staff such accelerator farms as planned, and they may not result in the benefits we anticipate. We may not be successful in operating accelerator farms, and we may not be able to realize the anticipated benefits of the research and development conducted on such farms. If we elect to sell one or more accelerator farms to interested farmers, market conditions may prevent us from doing so on acceptable terms, and if we are unable to adequately develop and operate farms on previously purchased farmland, we may be required to sell such farmland or other assets purchased in connection with the development and operation of such farms, potentially at a loss. The purchase, development, operation and potential sale of these farms has required and will continue to require significant capital expenditures and the efforts and attention of our management and other crew members, which may resources from our existing business or operations. Any to maintain or expand our farm network would affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Outbreaks of agricultural diseases, including avian influenza and egg drop syndrome, the perception that outbreaks may occur or regulatory or market responses to outbreaks could reduce supply or demand for our products and harm our business.
Our business activities are subject to a variety of agricultural risks, including pests and diseases such as HPAI and egg drop syndrome, or EDS, the occurrence of which can materially and adversely affect the quality and quantity of products, including shell eggs, that we distribute.
Since the initial outbreak of HPAI in early 2022, we have been closely following the progression of the virus. In 2024 and continuing into 2025, HPAI has been detected in the United States in dairy cattle, wild birds, mammals and farm workers directly exposed to the infected dairy or poultry. In fiscal 2024, we experienced an outbreak of HPAI at one of our farms.
In October 2024, we were informed of the outbreak of EDS, on certain of our farms in Missouri. A total of nine of our farms experienced outbreaks of EDS in fiscal 2024 and 12 of our farms experienced outbreaks of EDS in fiscal 2025. We have been closely working with our farmers, veterinarians, government health officials and animal welfare auditors to follow protocol and ensure that
our flocks are kept as safe as possible, including the procurement and implementation of newly available vaccinations for EDS. However, we may not be able to obtain enough vaccinations to treat all of the flocks in our network.
While we have not experienced material disruptions to our egg supply due to such agricultural disease outbreaks, if a substantial portion of our farms or production facilities were affected by an outbreak of HPAI, EDS or a similar disease, this could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Such outbreaks are difficult to forecast and are influenced by a number of factors, including seasonal bird migration patterns. Additionally, outbreaks of HPAI, EDS or similar diseases could limit our ability to utilize co-packers for our shell eggs due to increased biosecurity measures that may be implemented by such co-packers in the event of an outbreak.
Even if our farms and production facilities were not directly impacted by avian disease, we may nevertheless be negatively affected by its impact on the egg industry as a whole. In fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2025, HPAI-related disruptions in the supply of conventional eggs resulted at times in increased demand for premium egg products such as ours, which occasionally resulted in shortages of these eggs on shelves at our retail customers. Additionally, existing or new outbreaks of agricultural diseases could result in governmental restrictions on our operations and the sale and distribution of our products, as well as negative publicity and impacted consumer perceptions for our industry. Such impacts could result in decreased consumer demand for our products and impact our operating results.
Additionally, certain states in which our family farms and accelerator farms are located have at times recommended or required that farms keep hens indoors to help limit exposure to avian diseases. Prolonged requirements to keep our hens indoors could adversely impact consumer perception of our egg products in comparison to those of our competitors, which could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition and operating results. These impacts could be exacerbated in the event of widespread transmission of HPAI or other agricultural diseases to humans. EDS is not known to be transmittable to humans, and while human cases of HPAI are rare and U.S. public health officials consider the risk of human infection with HPAI to be low, significant changes or increases to the circulation or transmission of HPAI or other agricultural diseases could adversely impact our business, including our ability to recruit and retain farmers.
If we fail to effectively price our products or effectively implement price increases, our financial condition may be adversely affected.
The prices of our products are driven by a number of factors, including supply fluctuations, customer and consumer demand, inflation, input costs and market conditions. In response to such conditions, we have periodically increased prices on certain of our products. While we have not yet seen significant decreases in sales volume due to such price increases, if we further increase prices, we could experience declining demand for our products, decreased ability to attract new customers and lower sales volumes. If price increases result in a greater spread between the price of our products and the price of conventional or private-label products, consumers may be less willing to pay a premium for our products, particularly in times of economic uncertainty. For example, we have at times seen our retail customers choose not to accept such price increases or require price increases to occur after a specified period of time. If we cannot effectively price our products or carry out price increases, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.
Increased transportation and freight costs or failure by our transportation providers to pick up raw materials or deliver our products on time, in compliance with applicable governmental regulations or at all, have adversely impact and are expected to continue to adversely impact our operating results.
We rely upon third-party transportation providers for a significant portion of our raw material transportation and product shipments. Our utilization of pickup and delivery services for shipments is subject to risks, including increases in fuel prices, driver shortages, trucking capacity limitations due to increases in freight demand, employee and contractor strikes or unavailability or inclement weather, any of which could increase our transportation and freight costs. For example, due in part to increased labor costs and rising fuel costs due to geopolitical tensions and wars, we have seen at times during recent periods increased transportation and freight costs. Further increases in transportation and freight costs could have an adverse effect on our ability to increase or to maintain production on a profitable basis and could therefore adversely affect our operating results. We may not be able to price our products in a manner that sufficiently offsets increased transportation costs due to consumer price sensitivity or the pricing postures of our competitors, and we have at times seen our retail customers choose not to accept a price increase or require price increases to occur after a specified period of time has elapsed. In addition, if we increase prices to offset higher transportation and freight costs, we could experience lower demand for our products, decreased ability to attract new customers and lower sales volumes.
In addition, we may experience theft or misappropriation of our products while they are at our processing facilities, in cold storage or during the course of their shipment to our customers. We maintain insurance to cover losses resulting from theft.
Nevertheless, if our security measures fail, losses exceed our insurance coverage, or we are not able to maintain insurance at a reasonable cost, we could incur significant losses from damage, loss or theft, any of which could substantially harm our business and results of operations.
Furthermore, noncompliance by our third-party transportation providers with applicable regulatory requirements may impact the ability of providers to provide delivery services that adequately meet our shipping needs. Due to increased costs or noncompliance by our transportation providers with applicable regulatory requirements, we may change shipping companies, and we could face logistical difficulties with any such change that could adversely affect deliveries. In addition, we could incur costs and expend resources in connection with such change. Moreover, we may not be able to obtain terms as favorable as those we receive from the third-party transportation providers that we currently use, which in turn would increase our costs and adversely affect our operating results.
Our future business, results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by reduced or limited availability of eggs, cream for our butter and other raw materials that meet our standards.
Our ability to ensure a continued supply of eggs, cream for our butter and other raw materials for our products at competitive prices depends on many factors beyond our control. In particular, we rely on the farms that supply us with eggs and cream to implement controls and procedures to manage the risk of exposing animals to harmful diseases, including confining hens when appropriate, but outbreaks may occur despite their efforts. An outbreak of disease could result in increased government restriction on the sale and distribution of our products, and negative publicity could impact customer and consumer perception of our products, even if an outbreak does not directly impact the animals from which we source our products. The farm network for our shell eggs is located in the Pasture Belt. The dairy farms that supply our cream are located primarily in Ireland. The occurrence of a natural disaster or extreme weather event in any of these regions could have a significant negative impact on us, the farmers and our supply chain. Additionally, the animals from which our products are sourced, the crops on which we rely for feed and the pastures on which these animals are raised are to weather conditions and natural , such as floods, , frosts, earthquakes, hurricanes and pestilence. Disease, weather conditions and natural can impact pasture quantity and quality, to reduced yields and quality, which in turn could reduce the available supply of, or increase the price of, our raw materials. If we raise prices for our products to account for this increase, we could experience decreased demand for our products and lower sales volumes, which would affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We compete with other food companies for the procurement of eggs and cream, and this competition may increase in the future if consumer demand increases for these items or products containing them or if competitors increasingly offer products in these market sectors. If supplies of eggs and cream that meet our quality standards are reduced or are in greater demand, we may not be able to obtain sufficient supply to meet our needs on favorable terms or at all.
Our supply may also be affected by the number and size of farms that raise hens and cows in a manner that meets our standards, changes in U.S. and global economic conditions and our ability to accurately forecast our raw materials requirements. For example, in order to meet our standards, we require our contracted egg farmers to invest in infrastructure at the outset of our relationship. The typical upfront investment for each of the farms is significant, and many farmers seek financing assistance from local and regional banks as well as federal government loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, Farm Service Agency. Changes in U.S. and global economic conditions, elevated interest rates, government shutdowns, changes to certain government policies and assistance programs, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, federal staffing reductions or the limitation or elimination of sources of U.S. government loan assistance could significantly affect the loans available to farmers. Many of these farmers have alternative income opportunities, including opportunities to raise animals for competing companies, and the relative financial performance of raising hens in accordance with our standards as compared to other potentially more profitable opportunities could affect their interest in working with us. Any of these factors could impact our ability to supply our products to distributors and customers and may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may not be able to compete successfully in our highly competitive market.
We compete with large egg companies such as Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. and large international food companies such as Ornua Co-operative Limited (Kerrygold). Our competitors also include local and regional egg and dairy companies, as well as private-label products processed by other egg and dairy companies. We compete with such companies for new and existing consumers, for shelf space at our retail customers and for the services of family farmers. Furthermore, if additional competitors elected to list their stock on the public markets, investor interest in our common stock could decline as a result. Our competitors may have substantially greater financial and other resources than us, and some of our competitors’ products are well accepted in the marketplace today. Such competitors may also have lower operational costs, and as a result may be able to offer comparable or substitute products to customers at lower costs. This could put pressure on us to lower our prices, resulting in lower profitability or, in the alternative, cause us to lose market share if we fail to reduce prices. Conversely, if we were to increase prices, including as a result of fluctuations in the shell egg
market, increased commodity or raw material costs, increased packaging or transportation costs or otherwise, any resulting decline in consumer demand for our products may be exacerbated by the competitiveness of our market.
Generally, the food industry is dominated by multinational corporations with substantially greater resources and operations than we have. We cannot be certain that we will successfully compete with larger competitors that have greater financial, sales and technical resources. Conventional food companies may acquire our competitors or launch their own egg and butter products, and they may be able to use their resources and scale to respond to competitive pressures and changes in consumer preferences by introducing new products, reducing prices or increasing promotional activities, among other things. Retailers also market competitive products under their own private labels, which are generally sold at lower prices, and may change the merchandising of our products so they have less favorable placement. Larger competitors may also be less affected by economic disruption and uncertainty, including with respect to inflation, global economic conditions or agricultural diseases such as avian influenza, than we are. In recent years, there has been increasing market consolidation among local, regional and national specialty egg and dairy companies. These competitive pressures could cause us to lose market share, which may require us to lower prices, increase marketing and advertising expenditures or increase the use of discounting or promotional campaigns, each of which could affect our margins and could result in a decrease in our operating results and .
Failure to leverage our brand value propositions to compete against private-label products, especially during an economic downturn, may adversely affect our profitability.
We compete not only with other well-advertised nationally branded products, but also with private-label products. Such private-label products generally are sold at lower prices than our products. Consumers are more likely to purchase our products if they believe that our products provide higher quality and greater value than less expensive alternatives. If the difference in perceived value between our brands and private-label products narrows, or if there is a perception of such a narrowing, consumers may choose not to buy our products at prices that are profitable for us. In periods of economic uncertainty or periods when there is an oversupply of commodity shell eggs, consumers may purchase more often from lower-priced private-label or other economy brands. To the extent this occurs, we could experience a decrease in the sales volume of our higher margin products or a shift in our product mix to lower margin offerings. In addition, our foodservice product sales will be reduced if consumers reduce the amount of food that they consume away from home at our foodservice customers due to economic uncertainty or otherwise.
We currently have a limited number of third-party co-manufacturers and cold storage providers. The loss of one or more of our co-manufacturers or cold storage providers or our failure to timely identify and establish new relationships with new co-manufacturers or cold storage providers could harm our business and impede our growth.
A significant amount of our revenue is derived from products manufactured at facilities owned and operated by our co-manufacturers. We currently rely on one co-manufacturer for hard-boiled eggs, one co-manufacturer for bulk butter production, one co-manufacturer for stick butter, one co-manufacturer for liquid eggs and two co-packers for certain shell egg processing. While we currently have written manufacturing contracts with our co-manufacturers for bulk butter production, stick butter and hard-boiled eggs, we do not currently have written manufacturing contracts with our other co-manufacturer for liquid eggs or with our co-packers for certain shell egg processing. Due to the absence of written contracts with certain of our co-manufacturers and co-packers, these parties can generally seek to alter or terminate their relationships with us at any time, resulting in periods during which we may have limited or no ability to manufacture or pack certain of our products.
Additionally, our leased cold storage facility in Missouri represents a significant portion of our cold storage capacity, and we have in recent periods shifted certain functions, including finished goods storage and order fulfillment, to this facility. Our financial performance depends in large part on our ability to obtain adequate cold storage facility services in a timely manner.
Due to our limited number of co-manufacturers and cold storage providers, any interruption in, or the loss of operations at, one or more of our co-manufacturing or cold storage facilities, which may be caused by work stoppages, regulatory issues or noncompliance, disease outbreaks or global health pandemics, war, terrorism, fire, earthquakes, flooding or other extreme weather events or natural disasters, could delay, postpone or reduce production or distribution of our products, which could have an adverse
effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations until such time as the interruption is resolved or an alternate source of production or distribution is secured, especially in times of low inventory.
We must expend resources to maintain consumer awareness of our brand, build brand loyalty and generate interest in our products. Our marketing strategies and channels will evolve, and our programs may or may not be successful.
In order to remain competitive and expand and keep shelf placement for our products, we have increased and may continue to increase our marketing and advertising spending to maintain and increase consumer awareness, protect and grow our existing market share or promote new products, which could impact our operating results. Further advertising and promotional expenditures may be required to maintain or improve our brand’s market position or to introduce new products to the market, and participants in our industry are increasingly engaging with non-traditional media, including consumer outreach through social media and web-based channels, which may not prove successful.
Increases in our marketing and advertising efforts may not maintain our current reputation or lead to increased brand awareness. Certain of our marketing and advertising occurs on social media platforms, and such platforms frequently change the algorithms that determine the ranking and display of results of a user’s search and may make other changes to the way results are displayed, or may increase the costs of such advertising, which can negatively affect the placement of our links and, therefore, reduce the number of visits to our website and social media channels or make such marketing cost prohibitive. Social media platforms typically require compliance with their policies and procedures, which may be subject to change or new interpretation with limited ability to negotiate, which could negatively impact our marketing capabilities. Further, we at times utilize partnerships with third parties (including social media influencers) to market our products. We may be unable to fully control the actions of such third parties, and they may engage in behavior or use their platforms in a manner that reflects poorly on our business. If we are unable to maintain and promote a favorable perception of our brand and products on a cost- basis, due to the actions of social media platforms, third-party partners or otherwise, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be affected.
In addition, we have at times been the subject of, and we could in the future be the subject of, negative social media campaigns beyond our control. Such campaigns, even if they are inaccurate or misleading, could adversely affect the perception of our brand. We are dependent upon consumers’ perception of the safety, quality, sustainability and efficacy of our products. Negative consumer perception may arise from media reports, social media posts or comments, product liability claims, regulatory investigations or recalls affecting our products or our industry, any of which may reduce demand or could damage our reputation and adversely affect our business.
We could be adversely affected by a change in consumer preferences, perception and spending habits in the natural food industry generally and with respect to animal-based products, in particular. Any failure to develop or enrich our product offerings or gain market acceptance of our new products could have a negative effect on our business.
We have positioned our brand to capitalize on growing consumer interest in natural, clean-label, traceable, ethically produced, great-tasting and nutritious foods. The market in which we operate is subject to changes in consumer preference, perception and spending habits. Our performance depends significantly on factors that may affect the level and pattern of consumer spending in these markets. Such factors include consumer preference, consumer confidence, consumer income, consumer perception of the safety and quality of our products and shifts in the perceived value for our products relative to alternatives. Media coverage or social media scrutiny regarding the safety or quality of, or diet or health issues relating to, our products or the raw materials, ingredients or processes involved in their production may damage consumer confidence in our products. We have at times been the subject of negative social media campaigns employing misinformation or disinformation about our products and standards. A general decline in the consumption of our products could occur at any time as a result of changes in consumer preference, perception, confidence and spending habits, including an unwillingness to pay a premium or an to purchase our products due to financial or increased price sensitivity, which may be by economic uncertainty and general inflationary trends. For example, we and many of our customers face pressure from animal rights groups to require all companies that supply food products to operate their business in a manner that treats animals in conformity with certain standards developed or approved by these animal rights groups. If consumer preferences shift away from animal-based products for these reasons, because of a preference for plant-based products or otherwise, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be affected.
The success of our products depends on a number of factors, including our ability to accurately anticipate changes in market demand and consumer preferences, our ability to differentiate the quality of our products from those of our competitors, and the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising campaigns for our products. We may not be successful in identifying trends in consumer preferences and developing products that address such trends in a timely manner. We also may not be able to effectively promote our products through our marketing and advertising campaigns and gain market acceptance. If our products fail to gain market acceptance, are restricted by regulatory requirements or have quality problems, we may not be able to fully recover costs and expenses incurred in our operation, and our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
A limited number of distributors represent a substantial portion of our sales, and disruptions affecting our significant distributors or our relationships with such distributors may adversely affect our results of operations.
Our products are distributed through a broker-distributor-retailer network whereby brokers represent our products to distributors and retailers who in turn sell our products to consumers. We serve the majority of natural channel customers through food distributors, such as United Natural Foods, Inc., or UNFI, which purchase, store, sell and deliver our products to retailer customers.
In fiscal years 2023, 2024 and 2025, UNFI (the primary distributor for Whole Foods) accounted for approximately 25%, 24% and 22% of our net revenue, respectively. Since distributors act as intermediaries between us and the retail grocers or foodservice providers, who generally select the distributors, we do not have short-term or long-term commitments or minimum purchase volumes in our contracts with distributors that ensure future sales of our products. These distributors are able to decide on the products carried, and they may limit the products available for our retail customers to purchase. We expect that a substantial portion of our sales will be made through a core number of distributors for the foreseeable future. The loss of one or more of our significant distributor relationships that cannot be replaced in a timely manner, under similar terms and conditions or at all could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Fluctuations in commodity prices and in the availability of feed grains could negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition.
The price we pay to purchase shell eggs from contracted farmers fluctuates based on pallet weight and is also adjusted quarterly for changes in feed cost, which may cause our agreed-upon pricing under these contracts to fluctuate on a quarterly basis. Therefore, our results of operations and financial condition, including our gross margin and profitability, fluctuate based on the cost and supply of commodities, including corn, soybean meal and other feed ingredients.
Although feed ingredients are available from a number of sources, we have limited control over the prices of these ingredients, which are affected by weather, speculators, tariffs and other international trade restrictions, various supply and demand factors, geopolitical tensions, inflation, transportation and storage costs, and agricultural and energy policies in the United States and internationally. We have at times seen increased prices for conventional and organic corn and soybean crops on a global basis, including increased prices resulting from geopolitical tensions and measures taken in response thereto, inflation and supply chain shortages. We have entered into commodity derivative instrument contracts related to conventional feed ingredients. If we are unable to successfully conduct this program to reduce the impact of commodity price fluctuations, our financial condition and results of operations may be impacted.
We may not be able to increase our product prices enough or in a timely manner to sufficiently offset increased commodity costs due to consumer price sensitivity or the pricing postures of our competitors and we have at times seen our retail customers choose not to accept a price increase or require price increases to occur after a specified period of time elapses. Over time, if we are unable to price our products to cover increased costs, are unable to offset operating cost increases with continuous improvement savings or are unsuccessful in our current or any future commodity derivative instrument or similar program, then commodity price volatility or increases could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are dependent on hatcheries and pullet farms to supply our network of contracted family farms and accelerator farms with laying hens. Any disruption in that supply chain could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Under our agreements with our network of contracted family farms, while we do not own laying hens on those family farms, we are responsible for coordinating the acquisition and delivery of laying hens to the farmers. Additionally, we own and are responsible for the laying hens placed on our accelerator farms. In order to supply laying hens to our contracted family farms and accelerator farms, we place orders for chicks directly with hatcheries intended to supply a future year’s production of eggs at least a year in
advance. Once the chicks are hatched, they are delivered to a network of pullet farms, who rear the chicks to approximately 16 to 18 weeks of age, at which time they are delivered to our network of family farms to begin laying eggs.
We work with several pullet hatcheries that deliver chicks to a network of independent pullet farms. We do not have long-term supply contracts with these suppliers, and if a substantial portion of our current hatcheries or pullet farms were to cease doing business with us for any reason, we may have a difficult time finding and contracting with alternate hatcheries or pullet farms in sufficient scale to meet our needs, if at all. Pullet farms may also be subject to capacity constraints, and if we are unable to find independent pullet farms with sufficient capacity to receive chicks from our hatcheries, we may be unable to fulfill our customer commitments. We are exploring plans to supply pullets to our accelerator farms. Any disruption in the supply of laying hens for any reason, including agricultural disease such as avian influenza, natural disaster, extreme weather event, fire, power or other utility interruption, work stoppage or other calamity, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations if we cannot replace these providers in a timely manner on acceptable terms or at all.
Consolidation of retail customers or the loss of a significant retail customer could negatively impact our sales and profitability.
Our retail customers include natural channel and mainstream channel stores, which have been undergoing consolidation in recent years. This consolidation has produced larger, more sophisticated organizations with increased negotiating and buying power that are able to resist price increases, operate with lower inventories, decrease the number of brands that they carry and increase their emphasis on private-label products, all of which could negatively impact our business.
With certain of our retail customers, like Whole Foods, we sell our products through distributors. We are not able to precisely attribute our net revenue to a specific retailer for products sold through distributors. We rely on third-party data to calculate the portion of retail sales attributable to retailers, but this data is inherently imprecise because it is based on gross sales generated by our products sold at retailers, without accounting for price concessions, promotional activities or chargebacks in the ordinary course of business, and because it measures retail sales for only the portion of our retailers serviced through distributors. Based on this third-party data and internal analysis, Whole Foods accounted for approximately 23%, 23% and 20% of our retail sales for the fiscal years ended 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. Kroger accounted for approximately 11%, 12% and 11% of our retail sales for the fiscal years ended 2023, 2024 and 2025, respectively. The loss of Whole Foods, Kroger or any other large retail customer, or the reduction of purchasing levels or the cancellation of any business from any such customer for an extended length of time, could negatively impact our sales and profitability.
A retailer may take actions that affect us for reasons that we cannot always anticipate or control, such as their financial condition, changes in their business strategy or operations, the introduction of competing products or the perceived quality of our products. Despite operating in different channel segments, our retail customers sometimes compete for the same consumers. Because of actual or perceived conflicts resulting from this competition, retailers may take actions that negatively affect us. Consequently, our financial results may fluctuate significantly from period to period based on the actions of one or more significant retailers.
Elevated interest rates could adversely affect our business and the ability of our family farmers to access capital.
Our business and operating results could be harmed by factors such as the availability of credit and the terms of and increases in interest rates. These changes could cause our cost of doing business to increase and limit our ability to pursue growth opportunities. Disruptions and volatility in the global financial markets may lead to a contraction in credit availability, impacting our ability to finance our operations. A significant reduction in cash flows from operations or reduction in the availability of credit could materially and adversely affect our ability to achieve planned growth and operating results.
Elevated interest rates may also adversely impact the ability of our family farmers to access capital. We require our contracted egg farmers to build and equip their farms to certain specifications, which requires a significant upfront capital investment, and the inability of farmers to obtain adequate financing on acceptable terms for any reason, including as a result of elevated interest rates, would impair their ability to partner with us. If our ability to contract with family farmers is significantly disrupted because of farmers’ inability to obtain adequate financing, we may not be able to fully meet customer and consumer demand, which would negatively impact our operating results.
We source substantially all of our shell egg cartons from a sole source supplier, and any disruptions may impact our ability to sell our eggs.
We obtain substantially all of the packaging for our shell eggs from a sole source supplier. Any disruption in the supply of our shell egg cartons, including due to interruptions to global shipping, could delay our production and hinder our ability to meet our commitments to customers. Certain components of this packaging are imported from international markets, and any import duties,
tariffs or restrictions on international trade could affect its cost or availability. If we are unable to obtain a sufficient quantity of our packaging on commercially reasonable terms or in a timely manner, or if we are unable to obtain alternative sources, sales of our products could be delayed or we may be required to redesign our products. For example, in connection with increased demand for shell eggs in 2020 in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, the supplier of substantially all of our shell egg cartons began to prioritize packaging for core egg products (such as 12-count packages), and we separately experienced certain quality issues with our 18-count egg cartons. As a result of these events, and in order to otherwise meet demand for our products, we began using recycled plastic packaging for certain of our shell egg products. While this change in packaging did not materially impact our operations, there is no guarantee that we will not experience similar packaging issues in the future, or that any such packaging issues will not impact our ability to meet product demand for our shell eggs. For example, consumers may be less likely to accept products packaged using certain materials, or modified packaging may make it more difficult for consumers to locate our products in stores. Any of these events could result in lost sales, price increases, reduced gross margins or to our customer or consumer relationships, which would have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our brand and reputation may be diminished due to real or perceived quality or food safety issues with our products, which could have an adverse effect on our business, reputation, operating results and financial condition.
We believe our consumers rely on us to provide them with high-quality products. Therefore, real or perceived quality or food safety concerns or failure to comply with applicable food regulations and requirements, whether or not ultimately based on fact and whether or not involving us (such as incidents involving our competitors), could cause negative publicity and reduced confidence in our company, brand or products, which could in turn harm our reputation and sales, and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our products may be subject to contamination by foreign materials or disease-producing organisms or pathogens, such as salmonella and E. coli. These organisms and pathogens are found generally in the environment and there is a risk that one or more could be present in our products, either as a result of food processing or as an inherent risk based on the nature of our products. These organisms and pathogens also can be introduced to our products as a result of improper handling at the further-processing, foodservice or consumer level. These risks may be controlled, but may not be eliminated, by adherence to current good manufacturing practices, or cGMPs, and finished product testing. Shipment of contaminated products, even if inadvertent, could result in a violation of law and lead to increased risk of exposure to product liability claims, product recalls, increased scrutiny by federal and state regulatory agencies, penalties and adverse publicity. In addition, products purchased from other producers, including co-manufacturers, could contain contaminants that we might redistribute.
If our products become contaminated, or if there is a potential health risk associated with our products, we or our co-manufacturers might decide or need to recall a product. Any product recall could result in a loss of consumer confidence in our products and adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential customers. For example, in December 2019, our co-manufacturer for hard-boiled eggs conducted a voluntary Class I recall of all hard-boiled eggs produced at its facility, including ours, due to potential listeria contamination at the production facility. In connection with the recall, our co-manufacturer elected to permanently close the affected production facility and move all production to a different facility. As a result, we were unable to supply customers with hard-boiled eggs for a period of time in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, which led to the loss of certain customer accounts for this product, the revenues from which were immaterial in the aggregate.
We also have no control over our products once purchased by consumers. For example, consumers may store our products under conditions and for periods of time inconsistent with USDA, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and other governmental guidelines, which may adversely affect the quality and safety of our products.
If consumers do not perceive our products to be of high quality or safe, then the value of our brand would be diminished, and our business, results of operations and financial condition would be adversely affected. Any loss of confidence on the part of consumers in the quality and safety of our products would be difficult and costly to overcome. Any such adverse effect could be exacerbated by our market positioning as a socially conscious purveyor of high-quality products and may significantly reduce our brand value. Issues regarding the quality, health or safety of any of our products, regardless of the cause, may have an adverse effect on our brand, reputation and operating results. The use of social and digital media by us, our consumers and third parties increases the speed and extent that information or misinformation and opinions can be shared, and we have at times been the subject of negative social media campaigns employing or disinformation about our products and standards. Many social media platforms immediately publish the content their users post, often without filters or checks on the accuracy of the content. or information concerning us may be posted on such platforms at any time, and such posts can be amplified quickly, potentially
our reputation, performance, prospects or business. If we do not maintain a favorable perception of our brand, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
If we fail to develop and maintain our brand, our business could suffer.
We have developed a strong and trusted brand that has contributed significantly to the success of our business, and we believe our continued success depends on our ability to maintain and grow the value of the Vital Farms brand. Maintaining, promoting and positioning our brand and reputation will depend on, among other factors, the success of our product offerings, food safety, quality assurance, marketing and merchandising efforts, our continued focus on animal welfare, the environment and sustainability and our ability to provide a consistent, high-quality consumer and customer experience. Any negative publicity, regardless of its accuracy, could have an adverse effect on our business. Brand value is based on perceptions of subjective qualities, and any incident that erodes the loyalty of our consumers, customers, farmers, suppliers or co-manufacturers, including changes to our products or packaging, adverse publicity, negative social media campaigns or a governmental investigation, or regulatory enforcement action, could significantly reduce the value of our brand and significantly our business.
If we fail to cost-effectively attract new consumers and customers or retain our existing consumers and customer relationships, our business could be adversely affected.
Our success and our ability to increase revenue and operate profitably depend in part on our ability to cost-effectively attract new consumers, retain existing consumers and keep existing consumers engaged so that they continue to purchase our products. While we intend to continue to invest significantly in sales and marketing to educate consumers about our brand, our values and our products, there is no assurance that these efforts will generate further demand for our products or expand our consumer base.
Our ability to attract new consumers and retain our existing consumers depends on the perceived value and quality of our products, consumers’ desire to purchase ethically produced products at a premium, offerings of our competitors, our ability to offer new and relevant products and the effectiveness of our marketing efforts, among other items. For example, because our shell eggs are sold to consumers at a premium price point, when prices for commodity shell eggs fall relative to the price of our shell eggs, we may be unable to entice price-sensitive consumers to try our products. We may also lose loyal consumers to our competitors if we are unable to meet consumer demand in a timely manner, including as a result of supply constraints or heightened consumer demand. If we are unable to cost-effectively attract new consumers, retain existing consumers and keep existing consumers engaged, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.
The continued growth of our business depends on our ability to increase our household penetration, to expand the number of products sold through existing retail customers and to strengthen our product offerings through innovation in both new and existing categories. Any growth in distribution channels may also affect our existing customer relationships and present additional challenges, including related to pricing strategies and other trade activities. Any failure to attract new customers, or expand our business with existing customers, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
If we fail to retain and motivate members of our management team or other key crew members or fail to attract, train, develop and retain additional qualified crew members to support our operations, our business and future growth prospects may be harmed.
Our success and future growth depend largely upon the continued services of our executive officers as well as our other key crew members. These executives and key crew members are primarily responsible for determining the strategic direction of our business and for executing our growth strategy and are integral to our brand, culture and the reputation we enjoy with farmers, suppliers, co-manufacturers, distributors, customers and consumers.
From time to time, there may be changes in our senior leadership team or other key crew members resulting from the hiring or departure of these personnel. The loss of one or more of our executive officers, the failure by our senior leadership team to effectively work with our crew members and lead our company or our failure to establish appropriate succession plans for our executive officers and other key crew members could harm our business.
In addition, our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, train, develop and retain a sufficient number of crew members who understand and appreciate our culture and can represent our brand effectively and establish credibility with our business partners and consumers. If we are unable to win in a competitive market for top talent capable of meeting our business needs and expectations, our business and brand image may be impaired. For example, our planned Vital Crossroads facility in Seymour, Indiana will require the recruitment, training and retention of a significant number of new crew members, and, due to market conditions or otherwise, we may be unable to attract and retain crew members for this facility with the skills we require. Additionally, substantially all of our crew members outside of our Egg Central Station facility are working remotely on a permanent basis. Although we believe
we manage our operations to handle remote working conditions efficiently, it is possible that such remote work arrangements could adversely impact crew member cohesiveness, efficiency, professional development, operational agility and retention. Any failure to meet our staffing needs or any material increase in turnover rates of our crew members may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If we cannot maintain our company culture or focus on our purpose as we grow, our business and competitive position may be harmed.
We believe our culture and our purpose have been key contributors to our success to date and that the critical nature of the platform that we provide promotes a sense of greater purpose and fulfillment in our crew members. Any failure to preserve our culture or focus on our purpose could negatively affect our ability to retain and recruit personnel, which is critical to our growth, and to effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives. As we continue to grow and develop the infrastructure of a public company and expand our workforce into new markets (including in connection with our planned Vital Crossroads facility), we may find it difficult to maintain these important values. We may also have difficulty maintaining our company culture as substantially all of our crew members outside of our Egg Central Station facility are working remotely on a permanent basis. If we fail to maintain our company culture or focus on our purpose, our business and competitive position may be harmed.
Our operations are geographically consolidated. A major tornado or other natural disaster or extreme weather event within the regions in which we operate could seriously disrupt our entire business.
Our Egg Central Station shell egg processing facility is located in Springfield, Missouri, and our contracted cold storage facilities are located in close proximity to Egg Central Station. These facilities, together with our network of contracted family farms and accelerator farms supporting our shell egg business and our planned Vital Crossroads facility in Indiana, are concentrated in the midwestern portion of the Pasture Belt. The majority of the cream for our butter is sourced from farms in Ireland. The impact of natural disasters such as tornadoes, drought or flood or extreme weather events such as severe storms, increased precipitation, heat waves or other weather-related obstacles within these areas is difficult to predict, particularly given the potential of climate change to increase the frequency and intensity of such natural disasters and extreme weather events. A natural disaster or extreme weather event could impair our ability to deliver our products in a timely manner, meet our contractual obligations or otherwise disrupt our business. For example, in early 2025 a snowstorm impacted the ability of our Egg Central Station crew to commute to work safely. As a result, we were not to run our production lines at maximum capacity for a period of time. Our insurance may not cover our and expenses in the event of a natural . As a result, natural within these areas could lead to substantial .
Packaging costs are volatile, have recently increased and may continue to increase, which may negatively impact our profitability, and reduced availability of packaging supplies may otherwise impact our business.
Costs of packaging are volatile and can fluctuate due to conditions that are difficult to predict, including global competition for resources, weather conditions, consumer demand and changes in governmental trade. We have seen higher packaging costs in prior fiscal periods, which continued into fiscal 2025. Volatility in the prices of supplies we and our co-manufacturers purchase could increase our cost of sales and reduce our profitability. Moreover, although we have not seen significant decreases in volume due to previous price increases, we may not be able to implement further price increases for our products to cover any increased costs, and any price increases we do implement may result in lower consumer demand, decreased ability to attract new customers and lower sales volumes.
Additionally, if the availability of certain packaging supplies is limited due to factors beyond our control, or if packaging supplies do not meet our standards, we may make changes to our product packaging, which could negatively impact the perception of our brand. If we are not successful in managing our packaging costs or the supply of packaging that meets our standards to use for our products, if we are unable to increase our prices to cover increased costs or if such price increases reduce our sales volumes, any of these factors could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our net revenue and earnings may fluctuate as a result of price actions, promotional activities and chargebacks.
Retailers may require price concessions in the ordinary course of business that would negatively impact our margins and our profitability. Alternatively, we may increase our prices to offset commodity inflation and potentially impact our margins and volume. In addition, we periodically offer sales incentives through various programs to customers and consumers, including customer rebates, temporary price reductions, off-invoice discounts, retailer advertisements, product coupons and other trade activities.
Additionally, while we continue to work to optimize supply chain logistics, we are occasionally charged fees and/or fines by retailers for various delivery and order discrepancies. While we challenge and vet these charges, we may be subject to such charges that could be detrimental to our performance, particularly when combined with the effects of increased freight costs or the other risks outlined in this section. The cost associated with promotions and chargebacks is estimated and recorded as a reduction in net revenue. These price concessions, promotional activities and chargebacks could adversely impact our net revenue and changes in such activities could adversely impact period-over-period results. If we are not correct in predicting the performance of promotions, or if we are not correct in estimating chargebacks, our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected.
We rely on independent certification for a number of our products.
We obtain independent third-party certifications for certain of our products, including Certified Humane certification for our shell eggs, USDA organic certification for our organic shell eggs and certification from Regenified for our Restorative egg product. We must comply with the requirements of independent organizations or certification authorities in order to maintain these certifications. The loss of any independent certifications (due to actions or omissions by us, our suppliers or a third-party certifier) could adversely affect our brand reputation and market position , which could harm our business. Additionally, if any of our third-party certifiers are subject to compliance or legal issues or negative publicity, our reputation and business could be harmed by our association with such entity.
Our inability to maintain our GFSI and SQF Select Site certifications may negatively affect our reputation.
The Safe Quality Food Institute administers the SQF Program, which is a third-party auditing program that examines and certifies food producers with respect to certain aspects of the producer’s business, including food safety, quality control and social, environmental and occupational health and safety management systems. The SQF Select Site certification is one of a number of available SQF certifications and involves both auditing for food safety issues and unannounced inspections by SQF personnel on an annual basis.
The Global Food Safety Initiative, or GFSI, is a private organization established and managed by The Consumer Goods Forum, an international trade association. GFSI operates a benchmarking scheme whereby certification bodies, such as the SQF Program, are “recognized” as meeting certain criteria maintained by GFSI. GFSI itself does not certify or accredit entities in the food industry.
SQF Select Site certification and the GFSI recognition of the SQF Program do not themselves have any independent legal significance and do not necessarily signal regulatory compliance. As a practice matter, however, certain retailers, including some of our largest customers, require SQF certification or certification by another GFSI-recognized program as a condition for doing business. Loss of SQF Select Site certification could impair our ability to do business with these customers, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Risks Related to Socioeconomic, Political and Environmental Factors
Disruptions in the worldwide economy may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Adverse and uncertain economic conditions, including uncertainty related to inflation, tariff regimes, market volatility, outbreaks of contagious disease or pandemics, domestic or geopolitical tensions and wars, or disruption in global financial and credit markets may impact distributor, retailer, foodservice and consumer demand for our products. In addition, our ability to manage normal commercial relationships with our farmers, suppliers, co-manufacturers, distributors, retailers, foodservice consumers, service providers and creditors may suffer. Consumers may shift purchases to lower-priced or other perceived value offerings, including private-label products, during economic downturns, and an economic downturn may cause customers to be less receptive to price increases on our products.
Adverse economic conditions may also affect our farmers. For example, inflationary pressures and elevated interest rates have resulted in increased costs for our farmers to build, equip and operate their farms. If our relationship with our existing farmers, or our ability to attract new farmers, is disrupted due to economic conditions or otherwise, our operating results may be adversely affected. Further, our foodservice product sales will be reduced if consumers reduce the amount of food they consume away from home at our foodservice customers, including as a result of inflationary concerns or other economic uncertainties. Distributors and customers may become more conservative in response to these conditions and seek to reduce their inventories. Our results of operations depend upon, among other things, our ability to maintain and increase sales volume with our existing distributors, retail and foodservice customers, our ability to attract new consumers, the financial condition of our consumers and our ability to provide products that appeal to consumers at the right price. Prolonged unfavorable economic conditions may have an adverse effect on our sales and profitability.
In addition, historically, our deposit accounts have held deposits in excess of the amounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. In the event of a bank failure at any of the institutions where we maintain deposits, there can be no assurance that regulators will agree to guarantee such deposits above and beyond amounts insured by the FDIC.
Disruptions in international trade, including disruptions due to global health pandemics, third-party labor disputes or geopolitical tensions, may have a material adverse impact on us, our suppliers and our network of farms, including our ability to expand our operations as planned.
Global health pandemics, labor disputes or work stoppages, and other geopolitical tensions have at times disrupted international trade, resulting in increased shipping costs and delays in the import and export of goods to and from the United States and other countries. Specifically, increased demand for international shipping has resulted in shortages of shipping containers and delays at international ports. Currently, we import butter from a supplier in Ireland, and as a result, we may experience increased costs or shipment delays due to disruptions in the international trade markets and increased exposure to potential import restrictions, increased duties or tariffs or other factors described below. Additionally, we, our suppliers and our network of family farms are dependent on equipment and other supplies imported from Europe and other locations, including equipment and other supplies used in connection with the development of our planned egg washing and packing facility with onsite cold storage in Indiana. To the extent that import restrictions, duties, tariffs, and the uncertainty around such tariffs, or other disruptions to global shipping impact our, our suppliers’ or our network of family farms’ ability to access necessary goods, we may not be to expand our operations as planned, and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be materially and affected.
We and certain of our vendors use overseas sourcing to varying degrees to produce certain of the products we sell. Any event causing a sudden disruption of manufacturing or imports from such foreign countries, including changes in the Unites States’ foreign trade policies resulting in the imposition of additional import restrictions, withdrawal from or material modifications to, international trade agreements, unanticipated political changes, increased customs duties or tariffs, labor disputes, health epidemics, adverse weather conditions, crop failure, acts of war or terrorism, legal or economic restrictions on overseas suppliers’ ability to produce and deliver products and natural disasters, could increase our costs and materially harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our business is also subject to a variety of other risks generally associated with indirectly sourcing goods from abroad, such as political instability, disruption of imports by labor disputes, currency fluctuations and local business practices. In addition, requirements imposed by the FDA compel importers to verify that food products and ingredients produced by a foreign supplier comply with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements enforced by the FDA, which could result in certain products being deemed for import. In addition, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security may at times prevent the importation or customs clearance of certain products and ingredients for reasons unrelated to food safety.
International trade policies, including tariffs, sanctions and trade barriers, and ongoing changes and uncertainty in the tariff regime, may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Recent judicial and executive actions relating to tariffs imposed by the U.S. government have created a dynamic and unpredictable trade landscape, which may adversely impact our business. Certain of our products and elements of our supply chain, including our butter products and certain processing equipment and packaging, are imported from international markets, and we saw increased expenses associated with these products and supply chain elements as a result of new tariffs implemented in fiscal 2025.
Current or future tariffs or other restrictive trade measures may further raise the costs of raw materials, components or our products, which may adversely impact both our product offerings and our operational expenses. Such cost increases may reduce our margins and require us to increase prices, which could harm our competitive position, reduce customer demand and damage customer relationships. Our suppliers and distribution channels are also affected by the current trade environment, and we may experience supply chain disruptions or risks to key vendors as a result of increased costs and uncertainty, which may impact our ability to meet customer demand or efficiently manage inventory. Tariffs and other trade-related cost pressures and supply chain disruptions may lead to reputational harm if we are unable to deliver products on expected timelines. In addition, many of our distributors and customers operate businesses that may be impacted by trade policies, which may result in decreased demand for our products or extended sales cycles as customers assess the impact of evolving trade policies on their operations and face increased costs or decreased revenue due to such policies.
In February 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States, or SCOTUS, invalidated certain tariffs imposed by the U.S. government under emergency statutory authority in 2025. Shortly thereafter, the President signed an executive order implementing a new 10% global tariff pursuant to an alternative statutory authority, which may be raised up to 15%. It remains unclear whether and to what extent duties previously collected under the invalidated tariffs will be refunded, whether refunds will be subject to administrative or judicial processes, or whether offsets or alternative measures may be imposed. This evolving legal and policy landscape has contributed to continued volatility in the trade environment.
While we continue to monitor trade developments, the ultimate impact of these risks remains uncertain and any prolonged economic downturn, escalation in trade tensions, or deterioration in international perception of U.S.-based companies could materially
and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. In addition, tariffs and other trade developments have and may continue to heighten the risks related to the other risk factors described elsewhere in this report.
A U.S. federal government shutdown or other limitation or elimination of U.S. government assistance programs could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.
Federal government shutdowns have at times impacted our ability to receive governmental approvals for products and labeling of new products, our farmers’ ability to obtain organic certifications, and FDA inspections of our farms. Additionally, many of our farmers seek federal government loans from the USDA or other forms of government assistance. Any current or future U.S. federal government shutdown, federal staffing reduction or other limitation or elimination of sources of U.S. government assistance could adversely impact our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Climate change, or legal, regulatory or market efforts to address climate change, may negatively affect our business and operations.
There is scientific consensus that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emissions have had, and will continue to have, an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather conditions, and the frequency and severity of natural disasters. If climate change has a negative effect on agricultural productivity, we may be subject to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for certain raw materials that are necessary for our products, including corn, soybean meal and other feed ingredients. We may further be subject to unpredictable water availability due to the impact of climate change, and the lack of available water may adversely affect our business and operations.
Additionally, extreme weather and natural disasters exacerbated by climate change may impact our business. The egg farms in our network are all geographically located in a region that provides an environment conducive to year-round raising of hens. However, if climate change negatively impacts the year-round habitability of this region for hens, we may be subject to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for our eggs. Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, including those caused or exacerbated by climate change, can adversely impact pasture conditions, leading to reduced yields and quality. For example, elevated summer temperatures in the Pasture Belt have at times contributed to lower-than-normal shell egg yield at certain of our contracted family farms. Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters may also impact the habitability and pasture conditions of the farms where we source the cream for our butter products. Further, we may incur increased transportation, storage and processing costs if we are to source products within a certain distance from our processing and co-manufacturing facilities due to the effects of climate change.
Governmental and market concern about climate change and its effects may result in additional legal or regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases or water usage. Such laws or regulations, to the extent applicable to us or our farmers, suppliers, co-manufacturers or service providers, may result in significant increases to our costs of operation, particularly the supply chain and distribution costs associated with our products.
Failure to adequately respond to stakeholder scrutiny related to environmental, social and governance issues or failure to achieve our stated Impact Goals could adversely impact our reputation and brand.
Our business faces scrutiny related to environmental, social and governance, or ESG, issues, including sustainable development, product packaging, renewable resources, environmental stewardship, supply chain management, climate change, crew impact, workplace conduct, human rights, philanthropy and support for local communities. We maintain a series of goals, which we refer to as our Impact Goals, related to our impact strategy of building a resilient food system, fostering a people-first culture and driving engaged and accountable oversight. There is no assurance that we will be able to achieve these goals. Failure to achieve our Impact Goals could damage our reputation and brand image, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely impacted. Furthermore, there exists negative sentiment toward ESG measures among certain individuals and government institutions, and several states have enacted or proposed “anti-ESG” legislation. As we continue to pursue our Impact Goals and related initiatives, we could face a negative reaction from government institutions (such as legislative treatment) or consumers (such as or publicity campaigns) that could impact our business.
Implementation of our environmental and sustainability initiatives, including in connection with our Impact Goals, biennial Impact Report and periodic Impact Updates, may require certain financial expenditures and crew member resources, and if we are unable to meet our goals or otherwise fail to meet stakeholder standards or expectations with respect to ESG issues or our Impact Goals, this could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and brand and negatively impact our relationship with our investors, crew members, farmers, suppliers, customers and consumers. There has also been a recent increase in litigation and investor activism surrounding ESG practices and related disclosures. For example, there has been recent focus by regulators, investors and other stakeholders on greenwashing and sustainability-related claims. There can be no assurance that we will not be subject to allegations or claims with respect to ESG issues or our Impact Goals.
Risks Related to Legal and Government Regulation
Food safety and food-borne illness incidents or advertising or product mislabeling may materially and adversely affect our business by exposing us to lawsuits, product recalls or regulatory enforcement actions, increasing our operating costs and reducing demand for our product offerings.
Selling food for human consumption involves inherent legal and other risks, and there is increasing governmental scrutiny of and public awareness regarding food safety. Illness, injury or death related to allergens, food-borne illnesses, foreign material contamination or other food safety incidents caused by our products, or involving our farmers or other suppliers, could result in the disruption or discontinuance of sales of these products or our relationships with such farmers or suppliers, or otherwise result in increased operating costs, regulatory enforcement actions or harm to our reputation.
Shipment of adulterated or misbranded products, even if inadvertent, can result in criminal or civil liability. Such incidents could also expose us to product liability, negligence or other lawsuits, including consumer class action lawsuits. Any claims brought against us may exceed or be outside the scope of our existing or future insurance policy coverage or limits. Any judgment against us that is more than our policy limits or not covered by our insurance policies would have to be paid from our cash reserves, which would reduce our capital resources.
The occurrence of food-borne illnesses or other food safety incidents could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected raw materials, resulting in higher costs, disruptions in supply and a reduction in our sales. Furthermore, any instances of food contamination or regulatory noncompliance, whether or not caused by our actions, could compel us to conduct a recall in coordination with our farms or suppliers, our distributors or our customers, depending on the circumstances, in accordance with FDA or USDA regulations and policies or comparable state laws. Food recalls could result in significant losses due to their costs, the destruction of product inventory, lost sales due to the unavailability of the product for a period of time and potential loss of existing distributors or customers and a potential negative impact on our ability to attract new customers due to consumer experiences or because of an impact on our brand and reputation. The costs of a could be outside the scope of our existing or future insurance policy coverage or limits.
In addition, food companies have been subject to targeted, large-scale tampering as well as to opportunistic, individual product tampering (i.e., international adulteration) and we, like any food company, could be a target for product tampering. Forms of tampering could include the introduction of foreign material, chemical contaminants and pathological organisms into food products, as well as product substitution. Governmental regulations require companies like us to analyze, prepare and implement mitigation strategies specifically to address tampering designed to inflict widespread public health harm. If we do not adequately address the possibility, or any actual instance, of product tampering, we could face possible seizure or recall of our products and the imposition of civil or criminal sanctions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our operations are subject to FDA and USDA federal regulations, as well as other state and local regulations, and there is no assurance that we will be in compliance with all applicable regulations.
Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA, the USDA and other federal, state and local authorities. With respect to eggs in particular, the FDA and the USDA split jurisdiction depending on the type of product involved. While the FDA has primary responsibility for the regulation of shell eggs, the USDA has primary responsibility for the regulation of dried, frozen or liquid eggs and other “egg products,” subject to certain exceptions. Specifically, our shell eggs, butter and hard-boiled egg products are subject to the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended, including by the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011, or FSMA, and regulations promulgated thereunder by the FDA. This comprehensive regulatory program governs, among other things, the manufacturing, composition and ingredients, packaging, labeling and safety of most food products. The FDA requires that facilities that manufacture food products comply with a range of requirements, including but not limited to hazard analysis and preventive controls regulations, cGMPs and supplier verification requirements. Our shell egg operations are further subject to FDA regulatory requirements governing the production, storage and transportation of shell eggs for the control of salmonella enteritidis. FDA-inspected processing facilities are subject to periodic and “for cause” inspection by federal, state and local authorities. We are subject to requirements under FSMA’s foreign supplier verification program and import tariffs, bond and other requirements imposed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for our butter products, which are imported from Ireland.
In addition, certain of our products, such as our liquid whole egg products, are subject to regulation by the USDA, including facility registration, inspection, manufacturing and labeling requirements. We do not control the manufacturing processes of, and rely upon, our co-manufacturers for compliance with cGMPs and other regulatory requirements for the manufacturing of our products that is conducted by our co-manufacturers. If we or our co-manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture products that conform to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA, the USDA or others, we or they may be subject to adverse inspectional findings or enforcement actions, which could materially impact our ability to market our products, result in our co-manufacturers’ inability to continue manufacturing for us, result in a recall of our products that have already been distributed and result in damage to our brand and reputation. We rely upon our co-manufacturers to maintain adequate quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. If the FDA, the USDA or another regulatory authority determines that we or these co-manufacturers have not complied with the applicable regulatory requirements, our business may be adversely impacted.
Our liquid whole eggs are subject to the requirements of the Egg Products Inspection Act, or EPIA, and regulations promulgated thereunder by the USDA. The USDA has comprehensive regulations in place that apply to establishments that break, dry and process shell eggs into liquid egg products. This regulatory scheme governs the manufacturing, processing, pasteurizations, packaging, labeling and safety of egg products. Under the EPIA and USDA regulations, establishments that manufacture egg products must comply with the USDA’s requirements for sanitation, temperature control, pasteurization and labeling. We are also subject to the USDA Egg Products Inspection Rule, which requires our co-manufacturers’ liquid whole egg establishment to implement Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plans and Sanitary Standard Operating Procedures. We do not control the manufacturing processes of, and rely upon, our co-manufacturers for compliance with USDA regulations for the manufacturing of our liquid whole egg products, which is conducted by our co-manufacturers. If we or our co-manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture products that conform to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the USDA or others, we or they may be subject to adverse inspectional findings or enforcement actions, which could materially impact our ability to market our products, could result in our co-manufacturers’ to continue manufacturing for us, or could result in a of our product that has already been distributed. In addition, we rely upon our co-manufacturers to maintain adequate quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. If the USDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority determines that we or these co-manufacturers have not complied with the applicable regulatory requirements, our business may be materially impacted.
Our products that are labeled as “organic” are subject to the requirements of the Organic Foods Production Act, or OFPA, and the USDA’s National Organic Program, or NOP, regulations. The OFPA is a comprehensive regulatory scheme that mandates certain practices and prohibits other practices pertaining to the raising of animals and handling and processing of food products. We, and our network of family farms and co-manufacturers, contract with NOP-accredited certifying agents to ensure that our organic products are produced in compliance with the OFPA and NOP regulations. We do not control the farms where our products are raised and rely on the farms for compliance with the on-farm requirements of the OFPA and NOP regulations. Similarly, we do not control the manufacturing processes of, and we rely upon, our co-manufacturers for compliance with requirements of the OFPA and NOP regulations with respect to organic products handled and manufactured by our co-manufacturers. If we, the farms or the co-manufacturers cannot successfully raise and manufacture products that meet the strict regulatory requirements of the OFPA and the NOP, we or they may be subject to adverse inspectional findings or enforcement actions, which could materially impact our ability to market our products as “organic,” could result in the farms or co-manufacturers’ inability to continue to raise farm products or manufacture food for us, or we, the farms, or the co-manufacturer could the right to market products as “organic,” and subject us, the farms, or co-manufacturers to civil monetary . If the USDA or a comparable foreign regulatory authority determines that we or these co-manufacturers have not complied with the applicable regulatory requirements, our business may be materially impacted.
We are also subject to state and local regulations, including product requirements, labeling requirements and import restrictions. If our products fail to meet such individual state standards or are restricted from being imported into a state by regulatory requirements, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
We seek to comply with applicable regulations through a combination of employing internal experience and expert personnel to ensure quality assurance compliance (i.e., assuring that our products are not adulterated or misbranded) and contracting with third-party experts and laboratories that conduct analyses of products to ensure compliance with nutrition labeling requirements and to identify any potential contaminants before distribution. Failure by us, the farms or the co-manufacturers to comply with applicable laws and regulations, pay any applicable fees or assessments or maintain permits, licenses or registrations relating to our or our co-manufacturers’ operations could subject us to civil remedies or penalties, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, warning letters, restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of products, or refusals to permit the import or export of products, as well as potential criminal sanctions, which could result in increased operating costs resulting in a material effect on our operating results and business. See the section titled “—Government Regulation” in Part I, Item 1, “Business,” of this Annual Report for further information on the regulations to which we are subject.
Changes in existing laws or regulations, or the adoption of new laws or regulations may increase our costs and otherwise adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.
The manufacture and marketing of food products is highly regulated. We, our farmers, our suppliers and our co-manufacturers are subject to a variety of laws and regulations. These laws and regulations apply to many aspects of our business, including the manufacture, packaging, labeling, distribution, advertising, sale, quality and safety of our products, as well as the health and safety of our crew members and the protection of the environment.
In the United States, we are subject to regulation by various government agencies, including the FDA, the USDA, the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as various state and local agencies. We are also regulated outside the United States by various international regulatory bodies. In addition, we are subject to certain standards, such as GFSI standards and review by voluntary organizations, such as the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ National Advertising Division. We could incur costs, including fines, penalties, assessments and third-party claims, because of any violations of, or liabilities under, such requirements, including any competitor or consumer challenges relating to compliance with such requirements. For example, in connection with the marketing and advertisement of our products, we could be the target of claims relating to false or deceptive advertising, including under the auspices of the FTC and the consumer protection statutes of some states.
The regulatory environment in which we operate could change significantly and adversely in the future. Any change in manufacturing, labeling or packaging requirements for our products may lead to an increase in costs or interruptions in production, either of which could adversely affect our operations and financial condition. Changes in marketing or labeling requirements, or changes to the standards or practices we employ related to our products, could require us to revise or discontinue making certain claims or utilizing certain branding elements, which may make our products less appealing to consumers. New or revised government laws and regulations could result in additional compliance costs and, in the event of non-compliance, civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, withdrawals, recalls or seizures and confiscations, as well as potential criminal sanctions, any of which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Failure by us, our network of small farms, suppliers of raw materials or co-manufacturers to comply with food safety, environmental or other laws and regulations, or with the specifications and requirements of our products, may disrupt our supply of products and adversely affect our business.
If we or any member of our network of small farms, suppliers or co-manufacturers fail to comply with food safety, environmental, health and safety or other laws and regulations, or face allegations of non-compliance, their operations may be disrupted and our reputation could be harmed. Additionally, our farmers and co-manufacturers are required to maintain the quality of our products and to comply with our standards and specifications. In the event of actual or alleged non-compliance, we might be forced to find alternative farms, suppliers or co-manufacturers and we may be subject to lawsuits and/or regulatory enforcement actions related to such non-compliance by the farmers, suppliers and co-manufacturers. As a result, our supply of eggs and other raw materials or finished inventory could be disrupted or our costs could increase, which would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The failure of any farmer, supplier or co-manufacturer to produce products that conform to our standards could affect our reputation in the marketplace and result in product , product liability , government or third-party actions and economic . Additionally, actions we may take to mitigate the impact of any or potential in our supply of eggs and other raw materials or finished inventory, including increasing inventory in anticipation of a potential supply or production , may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We are subject to stringent environmental regulation and potentially subject to environmental litigation, proceedings and investigations.
Our business operations and ownership and past and present operation of real property are subject to stringent federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations pertaining to the discharge of materials into the environment and natural resources. Violation of these laws and regulations could lead to substantial liabilities, fines, penalties and reputational damage, or to capital expenditures related to pollution control equipment that could have a material adverse effect on our business. We could also experience significant opposition from third parties with respect to our business, including non-governmental organizations, neighborhood groups and municipalities. Additionally, new matters or sites may be identified in the future, including in connection with our planned egg washing and packing facility with onsite cold storage in Indiana, future expansions of our processing capacity or development and operation of accelerator farms, that will require additional environmental investigation, assessment, or expenditures, which could cause additional capital expenditures. Future discovery of contamination of property underlying or in the vicinity of our present or future properties, facilities or waste disposal sites could require us to incur additional expenses, to our business and to our proposed construction. The occurrence of any of these events, the implementation of new laws and regulations, or stricter interpretation of existing laws or regulations could affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Legal claims, government investigations or other regulatory enforcement actions could subject us to civil and criminal penalties.
We operate in a highly regulated environment with constantly evolving legal and regulatory frameworks. Consequently, we are subject to a heightened risk of legal claims, government investigations or other regulatory enforcement actions. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with existing laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our crew members, consultants, independent contractors, farmers, suppliers, vendors, co-manufacturers or distributors will not violate our policies and procedures. Moreover, a failure to maintain effective control processes could lead to violations, unintentional or otherwise, of laws and regulations. Legal claims, government investigations or regulatory enforcement actions arising out of our failure or alleged failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject us to civil and criminal that could materially and affect our product sales, reputation, financial condition and operating results. In addition, the costs and other effects of potential and pending and administrative actions us may be to determine and could affect our financial condition and operating results.
Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and have a negative impact on our reputation or business.
We are not currently party to any material litigation. However, from time to time, we may be party to various claims and legal proceedings. We evaluate these claims and litigation proceedings to assess the likelihood of unfavorable outcomes and to estimate, if possible, the amount of potential losses. Based on these assessments and estimates, we may establish reserves, as appropriate. These assessments and estimates are based on the information available to management at the time and involve a significant amount of management judgment. Actual outcomes or losses may differ materially from any assessments and estimates we may make.
Even when not merited, the defense of claims and litigation proceedings may divert our management’s attention, and we may incur significant expenses in defending these lawsuits. The results of litigation and other legal proceedings are inherently uncertain, and adverse judgments or settlements in any of these legal disputes may result in adverse monetary damages, penalties or injunctive relief against us, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, cash flows or results of operations. Any claims or legal proceedings, even if fully indemnified or insured, could damage our reputation and make it more difficult to compete effectively or to obtain adequate insurance in the future.
Furthermore, while we maintain insurance for certain potential liabilities, such insurance does not cover all types and amounts of potential liabilities and is subject to various exclusions and caps on amounts recoverable. Even if we believe a claim is covered by insurance, insurers may dispute our entitlement to recovery for a variety of potential reasons, which may affect the timing and, if the insurers prevail, the amount of our recovery.
We and the third parties with whom we work are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. and foreign laws, regulations, rules, contractual obligations, industry standards, policies and other obligations related to data privacy and security. Our, or such third parties’ actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to regulatory investigations or actions, litigation (including class claims) and mass arbitration demands, fines and penalties, disruptions of our business operations, reputational harm, loss of revenue or profits and other adverse consequences.
In the ordinary course of business, we collect, receive, store, process, generate, use, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit and share, which we collectively refer to as “process,” personal data and other sensitive information, including proprietary and confidential business data, trade secrets, intellectual property, sensitive third-party data, business plans, transactions and financial information, which we collectively refer to as “sensitive data.”
Our data processing activities subject us to numerous data privacy and security obligations, such as various laws, regulations, guidance, industry standards, external and internal privacy and security policies, contractual requirements and other obligations relating to data privacy and security. In the United States, federal, state, and local governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws, including state data, breach notification laws, consumer protection laws (e.g., Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act) and other similar laws (e.g., wiretapping laws). Additionally, under various privacy laws and other obligations, we may be required to obtain certain consents to process personal data. For example, some of our data processing practices have been, and may in the future continue to be, subject to challenges or lawsuits under data privacy and communication laws, including, for example, challenges based on wiretapping laws for obtaining consumer information from third parties through various methods, including chatbot and session replay providers, or via third-party marketing pixels, as has occurred. These practices may continue to be subject to increased challenges by class action plaintiffs. Our inability or failure to obtain consent for these practices could result in consequences, including class action and mass arbitration demands.
Furthermore, numerous U.S. states have enacted comprehensive privacy laws that impose certain obligations on covered businesses, including providing specific disclosures in privacy notices and affording residents with certain rights concerning their personal data. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, or CCPA, applies to personal data of consumers, business
representatives, and employees who are California residents, and requires businesses to provide specific disclosures in privacy notices and honor requests of such individuals to exercise certain privacy rights. The CCPA provides for fines for intentional violations and allows private litigants affected by certain data breaches to recover significant statutory damages. Similar laws are being considered in several other states, as well as at the federal and local levels, and we expect more states to pass similar laws in the future.
Our compliance with these legal requirements and obligations, together with any policies or practices that we have or may implement to further secure and protect sensitive data, could limit our ability to utilize data that may be valuable to our business.
Certain of our employees and personnel use generative artificial intelligence, or AI and/or automated decision-making, or ADM, technologies to perform their work, and the disclosure and use of personal data in AI technologies is subject to various privacy laws and other privacy obligations. Governments have passed and are likely to pass additional laws and regulations regulating AI and/or ADM technologies. Our use of this technology could result in additional compliance costs, regulatory investigations and actions, and lawsuits. If we are unable to use AI and/or ADM technologies, it could make our business less efficient and result in competitive disadvantages.
We may at times fail (or be perceived to have failed) in our efforts to comply with our data privacy and security obligations. Moreover, despite our efforts, our crew members or third parties with whom we work may fail to comply with such obligations, which could negatively impact our business operations. If we or the third parties with whom we work fail, or are perceived to have failed, to address or comply with applicable data privacy and security obligations, we could face significant consequences, including but not limited to: government enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits, inspections and similar actions), litigation (including class-action claims) and mass arbitration demands, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight, bans on processing personal data and orders to or not use personal data. In particular, have become increasingly active in bringing privacy-related companies, including class and mass arbitration demands. Some of these allow for the recovery of statutory on a per basis, and, if viable, carry the potential for significant statutory depending on the volume of data and the number of . Any of these events could have a material effect on our reputation, business, or financial condition, including but not limited to of customers, to process personal data or to operate in certain jurisdictions, limited ability to develop or commercialize our products, expenditure of time and resources to any claim or , publicity or substantial changes to our business model or operations.
Risks Related to Our Status as a Certified B Corporation and Public Benefit Corporation
Our status as a public benefit corporation and a Certified B Corporation may not result in the benefits that we anticipate, and we may be unable to maintain our Certified B Corporation status.
We have elected to be incorporated as a public benefit corporation under Delaware law. As a public benefit corporation, we are required to balance the financial interests of our stockholders with the best interests of those stakeholders materially affected by our conduct, including particularly those affected by the specific benefit purposes set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. There is no assurance that the expected positive impact from being a public benefit corporation will be realized and our status as a public benefit corporation and compliance with our related obligations could negatively impact our ability to provide the highest possible return to our stockholders.
As a public benefit corporation, we are required to provide a report to our stockholders at least biennially on our overall public benefit performance and on our assessment of our success in achieving our specific public benefit purpose, which we chose to publicly disclose. If we are not timely or are unable to provide this report, or if the report is not viewed favorably by parties doing business with us or regulators or others reviewing our credentials, our reputation and status as a public benefit corporation may be harmed.
While not required by Delaware law or the terms of our certificate of incorporation, we have elected to have our social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency assessed against the proprietary criteria established by B Lab, an independent non-profit organization. As a result of this assessment, we have been designated as a “Certified B Corporation,” which refers to companies that are certified as meeting certain levels of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. The standards for B Corporation certification are set by B Lab and may change over time. Our continued certification is at the sole discretion of B Lab. To maintain our certification, we are required to update our assessment with B Lab every three years. We were most recently recertified as a Certified B Corporation in March 2025. Our reputation could be harmed if we lose our status as a Certified B Corporation, whether by our choice or by our failure to continue to meet the certification requirements, particularly if that failure or change were to create a perception that we are more focused on financial performance and are no longer as committed to the values shared by Certified B Corporations. Conversely, our status as a public corporation or Certified B Corporation could result in from government institutions, consumers, stockholders or others of our stakeholder focus.
As a public benefit corporation, our directors’ fiduciary duty to balance a variety of interests may result in actions that do not maximize stockholder value.
As a public benefit corporation, our Board of Directors has a duty to balance (i) the pecuniary interest of our stockholders, (ii) the best interests of those materially affected by our conduct and (iii) the specific public benefits identified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. While we believe our public benefit designation and associated obligations will benefit our stockholders, in balancing these interests our Board of Directors may take actions that do not maximize stockholder value. Any benefits to stockholders resulting from our public benefit purposes may not materialize within the timeframe we expect or at all and may have negative effects. For example:
we may choose to revise our policies in ways that we believe will be beneficial to stakeholders other than our stockholders, including farmers, suppliers, crew members and local communities, even though the changes may be costly;
we may take actions, such as building state-of-the-art facilities with technology and quality control mechanisms that exceed the requirements of USDA and the FDA, even though these actions may be more costly than other alternatives;
we may be influenced to pursue programs and services to demonstrate our commitment to the communities to which we serve and bringing ethical food to the table, even though there may be no immediate return to our stockholders; or
in responding to a possible proposal to acquire the company, our Board of Directors may be influenced by the interests of stakeholders other than our stockholders, including farmers, suppliers, crew members and local communities, whose interests may be different from the interests of our stockholders.
We may be unable to fully realize the benefits we expect from actions taken to benefit our stakeholders, including farmers, suppliers, crew members and local communities, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline.
As a public benefit corporation, we may be subject to increased derivative litigation concerning our duty to balance stockholder and public benefit interests, the occurrence of which may have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
As a Delaware public benefit corporation, our stockholders (if they, individually or collectively, own the lesser of at least 2% of our outstanding capital stock or shares having at least $2 million in market value as of the date the action is instituted) are entitled to file a derivative lawsuit claiming that our directors failed to balance stockholder and public benefit interests. This potential liability does not exist for traditional corporations. Therefore, we may be subject to the possibility of increased derivative litigation, which would require the attention of management and, as a result, may adversely impact management’s ability to effectively execute our strategy. Any such derivative litigation may be costly and have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Cybersecurity, Information Technology and Intellectual Property
If our data or information technology systems, or the data or information technology systems of third parties with whom we work, are or were compromised, or if we encounter problems with the design, integration or implementation of information technology systems, we could experience adverse consequences, including but not limited to regulatory investigations or actions, litigation, fines and penalties, disruption of our business operations, reputational harm and loss of revenue or profits.
In the ordinary course of our business, we and the third parties with whom we work process sensitive data, and, as a result, we and the third parties with whom we work face a variety of evolving threats that could cause security incidents. We also use mobile devices, social networking and other online activities and third parties to connect with our crew members, farmers, suppliers, co-manufacturers, distributors, customers and consumers. Cyber-attacks, malicious internet-based activity, online and offline fraud, physical threats or vandalism, and other similar activities threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our sensitive data and information technology systems, and those of the third parties with whom we work. Such threats are prevalent and continue to rise, are increasingly difficult to detect, and come from a variety of sources, including, but not limited to traditional computer “hackers,” threat actors, “hacktivists,” organized actors, personnel (such as through theft or ), sophisticated nation states and nation-state-supported actors. Further, as we pursue new initiatives that our operations and cost structure, we have, and will continue to, expand and our information technologies, resulting in a larger technological presence and corresponding exposure to cybersecurity risk.
Some actors now engage and are expected to continue to engage in cyber-attacks, including without limitation nation-state actors for geopolitical reasons and in conjunction with military conflicts and defense activities. During times of war and other major conflicts, we and the third parties with whom we work may be vulnerable to a heightened risk of these attacks, including retaliatory
cyber-attacks, that could materially disrupt our systems and operations, supply chain, and ability to produce, sell and distribute our services.
We and the third parties with whom we work are subject to a variety of evolving threats, including but not limited to social-engineering attacks (including through deep fakes, which may be increasingly more difficult to identify as fake, and phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service attacks, credential stuffing, credential harvesting, personnel misconduct or error, ransomware attacks, supply-chain attacks, software bugs, server malfunctions, software or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, adware, attacks enhanced or facilitated by AI, physical threats or vandalism, telecommunications , earthquakes, fires, floods and other similar .
In particular, severe ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and could lead to significant interruptions in our operations, ability to provide our products or services, loss of sensitive data and income, reputational harm, and diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments.
It may be difficult and/or costly to detect, investigate, mitigate, contain, and remediate a security incident. Our efforts to do so may not be successful. Actions taken by us or the third parties with whom we work to detect, investigate, mitigate, contain, and remediate a security incident could result in outages, data losses, and disruptions of our business. Threat actors may also gain access to other networks and systems after a compromise of our networks and systems. For example, threat actors may use an initial compromise of one part of our environment to gain access to other parts of our environment, or leverage a compromise of our networks or systems to gain access to the networks or systems of third parties with whom we work, such as through phishing or supply chain attacks.
Additionally, future or past business transactions (such as acquisitions or integrations) could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, as our systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in acquired or integrated entities’ systems and technologies. Furthermore, we may discover security issues that were not found during due diligence of such acquired or integrated entities, and it may be difficult to integrate companies into our information technology environment and security program.
In addition, our reliance on third-party service providers presents new cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, including supply chain attacks and other threats to our business operations. We rely on third-party service providers and technologies to operate critical business systems to process sensitive data in a variety of contexts. We also rely on third-party service providers to provide other products, services, parts, or otherwise to operate our business. Our ability to monitor these third parties’ information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If the third parties with whom we work experience a security incident or other interruption, we could experience adverse consequences. While we may be entitled to damages if third parties with whom we work fail to satisfy their privacy or security-related obligations to us, any award may be insufficient to cover our damages, or we may be to recover such award. In addition, supply chain attacks have increased in frequency and , and we cannot guarantee that third parties’ infrastructure in our supply chain or our third-party partners’ supply chains have not been compromised. For example, in June 2025, one of our distributors experienced a cybersecurity that resulted in temporary to logistics and order fulfillment services for a period of approximately two weeks. While the did not have a material impact on our operations or financial results, future cybersecurity or affecting our third-party service providers or other elements of our supply chain may have a more effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We recently completed a multi-year transition to a new cloud-based enterprise resource planning, or ERP, system to support our future growth and more fully optimize our existing processes. The ERP system implementation required, and is likely to continue to require, investment of significant financial resources and the time and attention of our management and key crew members. It is possible that the system will not yield the benefits we anticipate and could result in disruptions, delays or deficiencies in the processes it supports. For example, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, we experienced temporary disruptions in order and fulfillment levels following the launch date of the new ERP system. Any disruptions, delays or deficiencies related to the new ERP system or the implementation thereof, or the design, integration or implementation of other technology systems we may choose to implement in the future, could materially impact our operations and adversely affect our ability to process orders, manage our inventory, fulfill obligations to customers or otherwise operate our business.
While we have implemented security measures designed to protect against and respond to cybersecurity incidents, there can be no assurance that these incident response measures will be effective. We take steps designed to detect, mitigate, and remediate vulnerabilities in our information systems (such as our hardware and/or software, including that of third parties with whom we work). We may have not and may not in the future, however, detect and remediate all such vulnerabilities including on a timely basis.
Further, we have and may in the future experience delays in developing and deploying remedial measures and patches designed to address identified vulnerabilities. Vulnerabilities could be exploited and result in a security incident.
The theft, destruction, loss, misappropriation or release of sensitive information or intellectual property, or interference with our information technology systems or the technology systems of third parties with whom we work, could result in business disruption, negative publicity, brand damage, violation of privacy laws, loss of customers and distributors, potential liability and competitive disadvantage all of which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Such risks are increased by the fact that substantially all of our crew members outside of our Egg Central Station facility are working remotely on a permanent basis. Technologies and security systems in place at our crew members’ homes may be less secure than those used in a physical office, and while we have implemented controls and safeguards to help protect our systems as our crew members work from home, there can be no assurance that these measures will be effective.
Any of the previously identified or similar threats have in the past and may in the future cause a security incident or other interruption that have in the past and may in the future result in unauthorized, unlawful, or accidental acquisition, modification, destruction, loss, alteration, encryption, disclosure of, or access to our sensitive data or our information technology systems, or those of the third parties with whom we work. For example, we have been the target of phishing campaigns in the past and expect such campaigns to continue into the future, with risks associated with such campaigns magnified by their heightened sophistication as AI technologies are increasingly utilized to craft phishing attempts. A security incident or other interruption could disrupt our ability (and that of third parties with whom we work) to provide our services.
We may expend significant resources or modify our business activities to try to protect against security incidents. Additionally, certain data privacy and security obligations have required us to implement and maintain specific security measures or industry-standard or reasonable security measures to protect our information technology systems and sensitive data.
Applicable data privacy and security obligations may require us to notify relevant stakeholders, including affected individuals, customers, regulators, and investors, of security incidents. Such disclosures are costly, and the disclosure or the failure to comply with such requirements could lead to adverse consequences. Furthermore, given our operations and economic role, regulatory requirements related to critical infrastructure have and may impose additional compliance burdens on us, including, reporting requirements, increased costs, and other obligations.
If we or a third party with whom we work experience a security incident or are perceived to have experienced a security incident, we may experience material adverse consequences, such as: government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits, and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive data (including personal data); litigation (including class claims); indemnification obligations; negative publicity; reputational harm; monetary fund diversions; diversion of management attention; interruptions in our operations (including availability of data); competitive disadvantage; financial loss; and other similar harms. Security and attendant material consequences may prevent or cause customers to stop using our services, new customers from using our services, and impact our ability to grow and operate our business.
Our contracts may not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations. We cannot be sure that our insurance coverage will be adequate or sufficient to protect us from or to mitigate liabilities arising out of our privacy and security practices, that such coverage will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims.
In addition to experiencing a security incident, third parties may gather, collect, or infer sensitive data about us from public sources, data brokers, or other means that reveals competitively sensitive details about our organization and could be used to undermine our competitive advantage or market position. Further, use of artificial intelligence platforms by our crew members, whether authorized or unauthorized, may increase the risk that our intellectual property and other proprietary information will be unintentionally disclosed. If we fail to identify and address cybersecurity risks associated with new initiatives, we may become increasingly vulnerable to such risks.
The loss of any registered trademark or other intellectual property could enable other companies to compete more effectively with us.
We utilize intellectual property in our business. Our trademarks are valuable assets that reinforce our brand and consumers’ favorable perception of our products. We have invested a significant amount of money in establishing and promoting our trademarked brands. We also rely on unpatented proprietary expertise and copyright protection to develop and maintain our competitive position.
Our continued success depends, to a significant degree, upon our ability to protect and preserve our intellectual property, including our trademarks and copyrights.
We rely on confidentiality agreements and trademark and copyright law to protect our intellectual property rights. Our confidentiality agreements with our crew members and certain of our consultants, contract employees, suppliers and independent contractors, including some of our co-manufacturers who use our formulations to manufacture our products, generally require that all information made known to them be kept strictly confidential. Further, some of our formulations have been developed by or with our suppliers and co-manufacturers. As a result, we may not be able to prevent others from using similar formulations.
We cannot be certain that the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights are adequate, that our intellectual property rights can be successfully defended and asserted in the future or that third parties will not infringe upon or misappropriate any such rights. In addition, our trademark rights and related registrations may be challenged in the future and could be canceled or narrowed. Failure to protect our trademark rights could prevent us in the future from challenging third parties who use names and logos similar to our trademarks, which may in turn cause consumer confusion or negatively affect consumers’ perception of our brand and products. Moreover, intellectual property disputes and proceedings and infringement claims may result in a significant for management and significant expense, which may not be recoverable regardless of whether we are . Such proceedings may be with no certainty of , and an outcome could subject us to liabilities, us to use of certain trademarks or other intellectual property or us to enter into licenses with others. Any of these occurrences may have an effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Related to Being a Public Company, Ownership of Our Common Stock and Other General Risks
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting in the future, we may not be able to accurately report our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our common stock.
We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the rules and regulations of the applicable listing standards of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or Nasdaq. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting, and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly, and place strain on our personnel, systems and resources.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures. We are required, under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Pursuant to Section 404, our independent registered public accounting firm is required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment must include 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 that results in more than a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
As further described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2024 and in Part II, Item 9A, “Controls and Procedures” of this Annual Report, management previously identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting with respect to the 2024 fiscal year, which was remediated effective as of December 28, 2025. We cannot provide assurance that there will not be further material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. Any failure to maintain or develop effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting also could affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common stock could , and we could be subject to sanctions or by Nasdaq, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. to remedy any material in our internal control over financial reporting, or to implement or maintain other control systems required of public companies, could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.
Our stock price may be volatile, and the value of our common stock may decline.
The market price of our common stock has at times been highly volatile and may fluctuate or decline substantially in the future as a result of a variety of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including as a result of any stock repurchase program we may implement from time to time, or as a result of any of the items described elsewhere in this “Risk Factors” section.
Broad market and industry fluctuations, as well as general economic, political, regulatory and market conditions, may also negatively impact the market price of our common stock, particularly in light of uncertainties surrounding inflation, geopolitical tensions, disruption in global financial and credit markets, public health pandemics and related impacts.
Sales of our common stock in the public market could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. Many of our existing equity holders have substantial unrecognized gains on the value of the equity they hold, and therefore they may take steps to sell their shares or otherwise secure the unrecognized gains on those shares. We are unable to predict the timing of or the effect that such sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock.
In addition, as of December 28, 2025, there were 2,141,066 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options or subject to vesting of outstanding restricted stock awards. We have registered all of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of outstanding stock options, vesting of outstanding restricted stock awards or other equity incentives we may grant in the future, for public resale under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. The shares of common stock will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent such options are exercised or such restricted stock awards vest, subject to compliance with applicable securities laws.
We cannot guarantee that our stock repurchase program will be fully implemented or that it will enhance long-term stockholder value.
On February 19, 2026, our Board of Directors authorized and approved a stock repurchase program, which authorized us to periodically repurchase up to $100 million of our common stock through February 19, 2028. Such plan, or any authorized stock repurchase program we may implement in the future, could increase the volatility of the price of our common stock and diminish our cash reserves, which may impact our ability to finance future growth initiatives and pursue strategic opportunities. In addition, the United States has implemented a 1% non-deductible excise tax on the value of certain stock repurchases by publicly traded companies, which will generally increase the costs to us of any share repurchases. The actual timing, manner, price and total amount of future repurchases will depend on a variety of factors, including business, economic and market conditions, corporate and regulatory requirements, prevailing stock prices, restrictions under the terms of loan agreements and other considerations. We cannot guarantee this stock repurchase program will be fully consummated, and an announcement of the termination of the plan may result in a decrease in the trading price of our common stock. Even if the current or future stock repurchase programs are fully implemented, such programs may not enhance long-term stockholder value.
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of our company more difficult, limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management and limit the market price of our common stock.
Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, and provisions of Delaware law applicable to us as a public benefit corporation, may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control or changes in our management. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws include provisions that:
authorize our Board of Directors to issue, without further action by the stockholders, shares of undesignated preferred stock that may be senior to our common stock with terms, rights and preferences determined by our Board of Directors;
require that any action to be taken by our stockholders be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting and not by written consent;
specify that special meetings of our stockholders can be called only by our Board of Directors, the chairperson of our Board of Directors or our Chief Executive Officer;
establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our Board of Directors;
establish that our Board of Directors is divided into three classes, with each class serving three-year staggered terms;
prohibit cumulative voting in the election of directors;
provide that our directors may be removed for cause only upon the vote of at least 66 2/3% of our outstanding shares of voting stock; and
provide that vacancies on our Board of Directors may be filled only by a majority of directors then in office, even though less than a quorum.
These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our Board of Directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management. In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or DGCL, which generally, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any of a broad range of business combinations with any “interested” stockholder for a period of three years following the date on which the stockholder became an “interested” stockholder.
Also, as a public benefit corporation, our Board of Directors is required by the DGCL to manage or direct our business and affairs in a manner that balances the pecuniary interests of our stockholders, the best interests of those materially affected by our conduct, and the specific public benefits identified in our certificate of incorporation. Additionally, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, a vote of at least 66 2/3% of our outstanding shares of voting stock is required for matters directly or indirectly amending or removing our public benefit purpose, or to effect a merger or consolidation involving stock consideration with an entity that is not a public benefit corporation with an identical public benefit to ours. Such provisions could also limit the price that our investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, and they could deter potential acquirers of our company, thereby reducing the likelihood that holders of our common stock would receive a premium for your shares of our common stock in an acquisition.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation designates the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and, with respect to certain matters, the federal district courts of the United States of America as the exclusive forums for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could restrict our stockholders’ ability to choose the judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or employees.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) is the exclusive forum for certain actions or proceedings under Delaware law, statutory or common law, including: any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of a fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; any action as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction to the court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. The provisions would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which federal courts have jurisdiction. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such . To prevent having to in multiple jurisdictions and the of or rulings by different courts, among other considerations our amended and certificate of incorporation provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the forum for resolving any asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act.
These choice of forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. While Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring such a claim arising under the Securities Act against us and our directors, officers or other employees in a venue other than in the federal district courts of the United States of America. In such instance, we would expect our efforts to defend the validity and enforceability of such provisions may require further significant additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions and there can be no assurance that the provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions, any of which could seriously harm our business.
