Freshpet, Inc. - Annual Report: 2018 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018

Commission File Number 001-36729

Freshpet, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(201) 520-4000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form    10-K.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

As of June 30, 2018, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $721 million.

As of February 26, 2019, 35,643,964 shares of common stock of the registrant were outstanding.

Documents Incorporated By Reference

The information required by Items 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 will be furnished (and are hereby incorporated) by an amendment hereto or pursuant to a definitive proxy statement pursuant to Regulation 14A that will contain such information.

Freshpet, Inc.

Annual Report on Form 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this report are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements discuss our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “potential,” “project,” “projection,” “plan,” “intend,” “seek,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “will,” “should,” “can,” “can have,” “likely,” the negatives thereof and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. They appear in a number of places throughout this report and include statements regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity, prospects, growth, strategies and the industry in which we operate. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including:

While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations, or cautionary statements, are disclosed under “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this report. All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this report in the context of these risks and uncertainties.

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PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Overview

Freshpet, Inc. (“Freshpet” or the “Company”) is disrupting the $30.0 billion North American pet food industry by driving consumers to reassess conventional dog and cat food offerings that have remained essentially unchanged for decades. We position our brand to benefit from mainstream trends of growing pet humanization and consumer focus on health and wellness. We price our products to be accessible to the average consumer, providing us with broad demographic appeal and allowing us to penetrate multiple classes of retail, including grocery (including online), mass, club, pet specialty and natural. We have successfully expanded our network of Freshpet Fridges within leading blue-chip retail chains. The strength of our business model extends to our customers, who we believe find that Freshpet grows their pet category sales, drives higher traffic, increases shopper frequency and delivers category leading margins. As of December 31, 2018, Freshpet Fridges were located in approximately 19,500 stores, and we believe there is an opportunity to install a Freshpet Fridge in at least 30,000 stores across North America. Additionally, we believe that there are opportunities to expand our network into international markets as demonstrated with our recent initiatives in the U.K. market.

Our Industry

We primarily compete in the North American dog and cat food market which we estimate has grown at an average compounded annual growth rate of approximately 6% from 2012 to 2018. We believe pet food spending in North America will continue to increase at a similar rate over the next five years. Of the total market, we estimate that dog food, cat food and treats & mixers accounted for retail sales of $30.0 billion. The pet food market has historically been resilient as consumers continue to spend on their pets even during economic downturns.

We believe the following trends are driving growth in our industry:

Pet ownership.    There are currently 84.6 million pet-owning households, or 68% of total households, and over 300 million pets in the United States, according to the American Pet Products Association.

Pet humanization.    According to Packaged Facts, 95% of U.S. pet owners view their pets as members of the family. As pets are increasingly viewed as companions, friends and family members, pet owners are being transformed into “pet parents” who spare no expense for their loved ones, driving premiumization across pet categories. This trend is reflected in food purchasing decisions. Nearly 80% of U.S. pet owners are as concerned about the quality of their pet’s food as they are about their own, according to market researcher Mintel.

Increasing consumer focus on health & wellness.   Consumers are increasingly purchasing fresh, natural and organic food products. We believe consumers are seeking simple, fresh and easy to understand food products from brands they trust and made with ingredients that are transparently sourced.

The pet food purchasing decision is underpinned by higher brand loyalty than many other consumer packaged goods categories. A consumer selecting a pet food brand resists frequent switching in order to avoid disrupting the pet’s diet, resulting in high repeat purchasing behavior. As a result, we believe that as consumers try fresh, refrigerated pet food, they are likely to become repeat users of the product.

Our Opportunity

Even though long-term consumer trends of pet humanization and health and wellness are well documented, conventional pet food sold as dry kibble or wet food in cans has not changed substantially for decades. We believe that the pet food industry has not kept pace with how consumers think about food for their families, including their pets. As a result, consumers are searching for higher quality, less processed food for their dogs and cats—meals that measure up to today’s sensibilities of what actually constitutes “good food.” Freshpet was specifically designed to address this growing need with affordable offerings accessible to the average consumer.

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Our Mission and Values

We started Freshpet with a single-minded mission—to bring the power of real, fresh food to our dogs and cats. And, we are committed to doing so in ways that are good for Pets, People and Planet.

Pets

Our pets are members of our family and deserve to eat the kind of fresh, healthy food that we do. We cook our fresh, nutritious pet food with the same care that we would take in preparing human food. Through the Freshpet Foundation, we support nutritional research in areas of prevention, care and treatment of diseases in dogs. Since founding Freshpet, we have donated over four million fresh meals to pets via shelters, charitable organizations and humane societies. Our team members get paid time off to pursue activities that help pets in their community. We also participate in Random Acts of Kindness to do our part to improve the lives of pets and pet parents.

People

People include our team members, our partners and pet parents. We treat our team members with respect and are committed to helping them develop professionally and personally. As a demonstration of our commitment, beginning in 2019, all full-time hourly team members, with at least one year of service, will be eligible for equity grants. These equity grants are in addition to their existing wages, benefits and performance incentives. We try to be good partners with customers, distributors and suppliers by conducting business with honesty and transparency. Additionally, we strive to help pet owners by providing pet parenting resources.

Planet

We are committed to being socially responsible and minimizing our environmental impact. The electricity used in the Freshpet Kitchens is 100% wind-powered. Freshpet Kitchens is a landfill-free facility and we plant trees to offset carbon emissions. We also strive to conserve energy by continually improving the efficiency of our Freshpet Fridges and partnering with freight and logistics providers committed to sustainable practices.

Our commitment to our values helps us engage with consumers, motivate our team members and attract strong partners, which allows us to fulfill our mission of delivering the best nutritional product choices to improve the well-being of our pets, enrich pet parents’ lives and contribute to communities. Freshpet—Pets, People, Planet.

Our Products

Our products consist of dog food, cat food and dog treats. All Freshpet products are made according to our nutritional philosophy of fresh, meat-based nutrition and minimal processing. Our proprietary recipes include real, fresh meat and varying combinations of vitamin-rich vegetables, leafy greens and anti-oxidant rich fruits, without the use of preservatives, additives or artificial ingredients. Our unique product attributes appeal to diverse consumer needs across multiple classes of retail where Freshpet is sold. Consequently, our brand resonates across a broad cross-section of pet parent demographics.

Our products are sold under the Freshpet brand name, with ingredients, packaging and labeling customized by different classes of trade and are available in multiple forms, including slice and serve rolls, bagged meals and tubs.

We also offer fresh treats across all classes of retail under the Dognation and Dog Joy labels.

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Our Product Innovation

As the first manufacturer of fresh, refrigerated pet food distributed across North America, product innovation is core to our strategy. We take a fresh approach to pet food and are not constrained by conventional pet food products, attributes and production capabilities. We employ a tightly-knit, creative team of marketing and research and development professionals, and we consult with outside experts through our Nutrition Council, which consist of PhD’s in nutrition and veterinary nutritionists. Our team often identifies pet parents’ needs by evaluating emerging demand trends in both pet food and human food. Our research and development facility located near the Freshpet Kitchens tests small batches of new recipes and tries out new cooking techniques. New products are refined iteratively with the help of consumer panel data to arrive at products that we believe can be commercially successful.

The success of our approach is evidenced by our broad product portfolio today. We began Freshpet by producing fresh, refrigerated slice and serve rolls, and over time have steadily expanded into successful new product forms including bags, tubs and treats. We also introduced new fresh recipes and ingredients, such as proteins and grain-free options never before seen in pet food that cater to the specific dietary requirements of pets.

Our Innovation Center near our Freshpet Kitchens manufacturing plant, helps us ensure that we remain capable of strong innovation including creating new product platforms to expand the breadth of our fresh offerings. We expect that new product introductions will continue to meaningfully drive growth going forward.

Our Supply Chain

Manufacturing: All of our products are manufactured in the United States. We own and operate what we believe to be the first fresh, refrigerated pet food manufacturing facility in North America, the Freshpet Kitchens in Pennsylvania. This 100,000 square foot facility was built to United States Department of Agriculture standards and houses four production lines customized to produce fresh, refrigerated food. In 2018, approximately 97% of our product volume was manufactured by us.

Expansion: Due to the continued growth of the Company’s fresh pet food sales, the Company has plans to expand its manufacturing capacity. The expansion includes the renovation of an existing 50,000 square foot building and a 90,000 square-foot addition. The $100 million strategic capital investment is expected to support Freshpet’s growth in the United States, Canada and Europe by creating total capacity for approximately $540 million in net sales from the facility. The facility “Freshpet Kitchens 2.0” will make greater use of automation to improve quality, safety and reduce costs. Production start-up is slated for the second half of 2020.

Ingredients and Packaging: Our products are made with natural and fresh ingredients including meat, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, vitamins and minerals. We use high quality food grade plastic packaging materials. Over 60% of our ingredients are sourced locally from within a 200 mile radius of the Freshpet Kitchens, and 96% are from North America. We maintain rigorous standards for ingredient quality and safety. By volume, our largest input, fresh chicken, represents approximately 50% of total ingredients. In order to retain operating flexibility and negotiating leverage, we do not enter into exclusivity agreements or long-term commitments with any of our suppliers. All of our suppliers are well-established companies that have the scale to support our growth. For every ingredient, we either use multiple suppliers or have identified alternative sources of supply that meet our quality and safety standards.

Distribution: Beginning in 2016, outbound transportation from our facility is handled through a third-party refrigerated freight broker. We expect to be able to leverage certain distribution costs as volumes grow. We use national and regional distributors to cover the grocery (including online), mass, pet specialty and natural retail classes.

Our Product Quality and Safety

We go to great lengths to ensure product quality, consistency and safety from ingredient sourcing to finished product. Our company-owned manufacturing facility allows us to exercise significant control over production. Our quality assurance team includes 23 professionals with significant experience in pet and human food production.

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Our production processes are designed to meet science-based quality standards with documented plans for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points and Hazard Analysis Risk Based Preventive Control to monitor established production controls, calibrate instruments, record data and perform corrective actions. Our on-site laboratory has microbial and composition testing capabilities. Quality control approvals are based on a positive release strategy, wherein a batch can only be shipped when it passes control point record reviews and laboratory testing. Before commencing production,  quality assurance professionals swab equipment to test for potential contaminants.

Freshpet’s food safety program is certified at Safe Quality Food Level III, which is the highest standard determined under the Global Food Safety Initiative Benchmarks. We believe our systems and standards for product quality and safety can support our growth and ensure continued success in the market.

Our Customers and Distributors

We sell our products throughout United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, generating the vast majority of our sales in the United States. The strength of our business model makes us an attractive partner for leading blue-chip retailers, who we believe find that Freshpet grows the sales of their pet category, drives higher traffic, increases shopper frequency and delivers category-leading margins. Our Freshpet Fridge locations have been consistently increasing as we add new retail accounts and add stores in existing accounts. We are in approximately 19,500 stores and believe there is opportunity for us to install a Freshpet Fridge in at least 30,000 stores in North America. We sell our products through the following classes of retail: grocery (including online), mass, club, pet specialty and natural.

Our customers determine whether they wish to purchase our products either directly from us or through a third-party distributor. In 2018, our largest distributor by net sales, McLane Company, Inc., accounted for 16% of our net sales.

The Freshpet Fridge

We sell our products through a growing network of company-owned branded refrigerators, the Freshpet Fridges. Our Freshpet Fridges are typically four feet wide by seven feet high and replace standard shelving in the pet aisle or an end-cap of a retail store. Our Freshpet Fridge designs are constantly evolving with all new models featuring prominent edge-lit LED headers, LED interior lighting, crisp black interiors and frameless glass swing doors for aesthetics and easy access. We use state-of-the-art refrigeration technology and environmentally friendly refrigerants to minimize energy consumption and environmental impact.

We design, produce, install and maintain the Freshpet Fridge through a combination of in-house resources and world-class partners. We source our Freshpet Fridges from five leading global commercial refrigerator manufacturers with whom we have a collaborative approach to refrigerator design and innovation. Once ordered by us, Freshpet Fridges are shipped to distribution centers for delivery and installation in retail stores.

Installation into retail locations and ongoing maintenance of the Freshpet Fridge is coordinated by Freshpet and executed through leading third-party service providers. All of our Freshpet Fridges are protected by a manufacturer warranty of three years. Our refrigerators are designed to be highly reliable, and at any given time less than 1% of the network is out of service for maintenance. Moreover, to ensure quality, cleanliness and appropriate in-stock levels, we employ brokerage partners to conduct a physical audit of the Freshpet Fridge network on an ongoing basis, with photographic results of our Freshpet Fridges transmitted back to Freshpet for review by members of our sales team.

We currently estimate less than 15 month cash-on-cash payback for the average Freshpet Fridge installation, calculated by comparing our total current costs for a refrigerator (including installation and maintenance) to our current margin on net revenues. We believe our attractive value proposition to retailers and pet parents will allow us to continue penetrating store locations of existing and new customers. The Freshpet Fridge provides a highly-visible merchandising platform, allows us to control how our brand is presented to consumers at point-of-sale and represents a significant point of differentiation from other pet food competitors.

Marketing and Advertising

Our marketing strategy is designed to educate consumers about the benefits of fresh refrigerated pet food and build awareness of the Freshpet brand. We deploy a broad set of marketing tools across television, digital and public relations to reach consumers through multiple touch points and increase product trials.

Our network of approximately 19,500 branded Freshpet Fridges in prominent locations within blue-chip retailers helps to introduce consumers to our brand and instantly distinguish Freshpet from traditionally merchandised pet food. We have

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effectively used national TV advertising to drive incremental consumers to try Freshpet products. We expect to realize greater benefits from national TV advertising as we continue to grow the network of Freshpet store locations nationwide. We have also expanded our online presence to better target consumers seeking information on healthy pet food. We reach consumers across multiple digital and social media platforms including websites, blogs and online reviews, as well as with tailored messaging on popular digital hubs including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  

Our marketing strategy has allowed us to drive new consumers to our brand and develop a highly engaged community of users who actively advocate for Freshpet.

Competition

Pet food is a highly competitive industry. We compete with manufacturers of conventional pet food such as Mars, Nestlé and Big Heart Pet Brands (part of The J.M. Smucker Company). We also compete with specialty and natural pet food manufacturers such as Colgate-Palmolive and General Mills. In addition, we compete with many regional niche brands in individual geographic markets.

Given a North American retail landscape dominated by large retailers, with limited shelf space and a significant number of competing products, competitors actively support their brands through marketing, advertising, promotional spending and discounting.

Competitive factors in the pet food industry include product quality, ingredients, brand awareness and loyalty, product variety, product packaging and design, reputation, price, advertising, promotion and nutritional claims. We believe that we compete effectively with respect to each of these factors.

Team Members

As of December 31, 2018, we had 382 employees, of which all but six are located in the United States. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or by any collective bargaining arrangements with respect to his or her employment with us. We believe that our employee relations are good.

Our Corporate Information

We were incorporated in Delaware in November 2004 and currently exist as a Delaware corporation. Our principal executive offices are located at 400 Plaza Drive, 1st Floor, Secaucus, New Jersey 07094.

Website Information

The address of our corporate website is www.freshpet.com. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, annual proxy statements and related proxy cards are made available on our website at the same time they are mailed to stockholders. Our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, periodic reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports that we file or furnish pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), are available through our website, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after they have been electronically filed or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Our website also provides access to reports filed by our directors, executive officers and certain significant shareholders pursuant to Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, our Corporate Governance Guidelines, General Code of Ethics, Code of Ethics for Executive Officers and Principal Accounting Personnel and charters for the committees of our board of directors are available on our website as well as other shareholder communications. The information contained in or that can be accessed through our website does not constitute a part of, and is not incorporated by reference into, this report. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains a website, www.sec.gov, which contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information that we file electronically with the SEC.

Trademarks and Other Intellectual Property

We believe that our rights in our trademarks and service marks are important to our marketing efforts to develop brand recognition and differentiate our brand from our competitors and are a valuable part of our business. We own a number of trademarks and service marks that have been registered, or for which applications are pending, with the United States Patent and Trademark Office including, among others, Freshpet, Vital, Nature’s Fresh, Roasted Meals, Fresh From The Kitchen, Freshpet Dog Joy, Dognation, Homestyle Creations and Pets People Planet.

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We believe that our intellectual property has substantial value and has significantly contributed to our success to-date. We are continually developing new technology and enhancing proprietary technology related to our pet food, Freshpet Fridges and manufacturing operations.

We also rely on unpatented proprietary expertise, recipes and formulations, continuing innovation and other trade secrets to develop and maintain our competitive position.

Government Regulation

Along with our brokers, distributors, and ingredients and packaging suppliers, we are subject to extensive laws and regulations in the United States by federal, state and local government authorities. In the United States, the federal agencies governing the manufacture, distribution and advertising of our products include, among others, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Under various statutes, these agencies, among other things, prescribe the requirements and establish the standards for quality and safety and regulate our marketing and advertising to consumers. Certain of these agencies, in certain circumstances, must not only approve our products, but also review the manufacturing processes and facilities used to produce these products before they can be marketed in the United States. In addition to agency regulation, we are required to comply with state feed control requirements in the United States. We are also subject to the laws of Canada, including the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the United Kingdom, including the Food Standards Agency, as well as provincial and local regulations.

We are subject to labor and employment laws, laws governing advertising, privacy laws, safety regulations and other laws, including consumer protection regulations that regulate retailers or govern the promotion and sale of merchandise. Our operations, and those of our distributors and suppliers, are subject to various laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and worker health and safety matters. We monitor changes in these laws and believe that we are in material compliance with applicable laws.

Information Systems

We employ a comprehensive Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) system provided by a leading global software provider and are supported by a local consulting partner. This system covers order entry, customer service, accounts payable, accounts receivable, purchasing, asset management and manufacturing. Our order management process is automated via Electronic Data Interchange with virtually all our customers, which feeds orders directly to our ERP platform. We complement the ERP system with a Warehouse Management System, which allows us to improve tracking and management of ingredients and streamline manufacturing.

We backup data every hour and store a copy locally for immediate restoration if needed. All data is transmitted to a secure offsite cloud storage service daily for disaster recovery needs. We believe our systems infrastructure is scalable and can support our future growth.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Before you purchase our common stock, you should carefully consider the risks described below and the other information contained in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be materially adversely affected. In any such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

We may not be able to successfully implement our growth strategy on a timely basis or at all.

Our future success depends, in large part, on our ability to implement our growth strategy of expanding distribution by installing new Freshpet Fridges, attracting new consumers to our brand and launching new products. Our ability to increase awareness, consumer trial and adoption of our products, and to implement this growth strategy depends, among other things, on our ability to:

We may not be able to successfully implement our growth strategy or to grow consistently from period to period. Our business, financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected if we fail to implement our growth strategy or if we invest resources in a growth strategy that ultimately proves unsuccessful.

We expect to need capital in the future for business development, and we may not be able to generate sufficient cash flow or raise capital on acceptable terms to meet our needs.

Developing our business will require significant capital in the future. To meet our capital needs, we expect to rely on our cash flow from operations, our credit facilities, and other third-party financing. Third-party financing in the future may not, however, be available on terms favorable to us, or at all. Our ability to obtain additional funding will be subject to various factors, including general market conditions, our operating performance, the market’s perception of our growth potential, lender sentiment and our ability to incur additional debt in compliance with other contractual restrictions, such as financial covenants under our debt documents.

Additionally, our ability to make payments on and to refinance any indebtedness and to fund planned expenditures for our growth plans will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. If our business does not achieve the levels of profitability or generate the amount of cash that we anticipate or if we expand faster than anticipated, we may need to seek additional debt or equity financing to operate and expand our business.

We believe that our cash and cash equivalents, expected cash flow from operations and planned borrowing capacity are adequate to fund debt service requirements, operating lease obligations, capital expenditures and working capital obligations for the foreseeable future. However, our ability to continue to meet these requirements and obligations will depend on, among other things, our ability to achieve anticipated levels of revenue and cash flow from operations and our ability to manage costs and working capital successfully. Additionally, our cash flow generation ability is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative and regulatory factors and other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot assure you that our business will generate cash flow from operations in an amount sufficient to enable us to fund our liquidity needs. Further, our capital requirements may vary materially from those currently planned if, for example, our revenues do not reach expected levels or we have to incur unforeseen capital expenditures and make investments to maintain our competitive position. If this is the case, we may seek alternative financing, such as selling additional debt or equity securities, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so on favorable terms, if at all. Moreover, if we issue new debt securities, the debt holders would have rights senior to common stockholders to make claims on our assets, and the terms of any debt could restrict our operations, including our ability to pay dividends on our common stock. If we issue additional equity or convertible debt securities, existing stockholders may experience dilution, and such new securities could have rights senior to those of our common stock. These factors may make the timing, amount, terms and conditions

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of additional financings unattractive. Our inability to raise capital could impede our growth or otherwise require us to forego growth opportunities and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Certain of our variable rate indebtedness uses LIBOR as a benchmark, which is subject to regulatory uncertainty that could increase the cost of our variable rate indebtedness.

Certain of our variable rate indebtedness uses LIBOR as a benchmark for establishing the rate of interest and may be hedged with LIBOR-based interest rate derivatives. LIBOR is the subject of recent national, international and other regulatory guidance and proposals for reform. These reforms and other pressures may cause LIBOR to be replaced with a new benchmark or to perform differently than in the past. The consequences of these developments cannot be entirely predicted, but could include an increase in the cost of our variable rate indebtedness.

If our products are alleged to cause injury or illness or fail to comply with governmental regulations, we may suffer adverse public relations, need to recall our products and experience product liability claims.

We may be exposed to product recalls, including voluntary recalls or withdrawals, and adverse public relations if our products are alleged to cause injury or illness or if we are alleged to have mislabeled or misbranded our products or otherwise violated governmental regulations. We may also voluntarily recall or withdraw products that we consider below our standards, whether for taste, appearance or otherwise, in order to protect our brand reputation. Consumer or customer concerns (whether justified or not) regarding the safety of our products could adversely affect our business. A product recall or withdrawal could result in substantial and unexpected expenditures, destruction of product inventory, and lost sales due to the unavailability of the product for a period of time, which could reduce profitability and cash flow. In addition, a product recall or withdrawal may require significant management attention. Product recalls, product liability claims (even if unmerited or unsuccessful), or any other events that cause consumers to no longer associate our brands with high quality and safe products may also result in adverse publicity, hurt the value of our brands, lead to a decline in consumer confidence in and demand for our products, and lead to increased scrutiny by federal and state regulatory agencies of our operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We also may be subject to product liability claims and adverse public relations if consumption or use of our products is alleged to cause injury or illness. While we carry product liability insurance, our insurance may not be adequate to cover all liabilities we may incur in connection with product liability claims. For example, punitive damages are generally not covered by insurance. In addition, we may not be able to continue to maintain our existing insurance, obtain comparable insurance at a reasonable cost, if at all, or secure additional coverage (which may result in future product liability claims being uninsured). A product liability judgment against us or our agreement to settle a product liability claim could also result in substantial and unexpected expenditures, which would reduce profitability and cash flow. In addition, even if product liability claims against us are not successful or are not fully pursued, these claims could harm our brand image, be costly and time-consuming and may require management to spend time defending the claims rather than operating our business.

The loss of a significant customer, certain actions by a significant customer or financial difficulties of a significant customer could adversely affect our results of operations.

A relatively limited number of customers account for a large percentage of our net sales. During 2018, ten customers, who purchase either directly from us or through third-party distributors, collectively accounted for more than 66% of our net sales. In 2018, our largest distributor by net sales, McLane Company, Inc., accounted for 16% of our net sales. These percentages may increase if there is consolidation among retailers or if mass merchandisers grow disproportionately to their competition. We expect that a significant portion of our revenues will continue to be derived from a small number of customers; however, these customers may not continue to purchase our products in the same quantities as they have in the past. Our customers are not contractually obligated to purchase from us. Changes in our customers’ strategies, including a reduction in the number of brands they carry, shipping strategies, a shift of shelf space to or increased emphasis on private label products (including “store brands”), a reduction in shelf space for pet food items or a reduction in the space allocated for our Freshpet Fridges may adversely affect our sales. Requirements that may be imposed on us by our customers, such as sustainability, inventory management or product specification requirements, may have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Additionally, especially during economic downturns, our customers may face financial difficulties, bankruptcy or other business disruptions that may impact their operations and their purchases from us and may affect their ability to pay us for products purchased from us. Customers may grow their inventory in anticipation of a price increase, or in anticipation of, or during, our promotional events, which typically provide for reduced prices during a specified time or other customer or consumer incentives. To the extent customers seek to reduce their

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usual or customary inventory levels or change their practices regarding purchases in excess of consumer consumption, our sales and results of operations could be adversely impacted in that period. If our sales of products to one or more of our significant customers are reduced, this reduction could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our operating results depend, in part, on the sufficiency and effectiveness of our marketing and trade spending programs.

In general, due to the highly competitive nature of the businesses in which we compete, we must execute effective and efficient marketing investments and trade spending programs with respect to our businesses overall to sustain our competitive position in our markets. Marketing investments may be costly. Additionally, we may, from time to time, change our marketing and trade spending strategies, including the timing, amount or nature of television advertising and related promotional programs. The sufficiency and effectiveness of our marketing and trade spending practices is important to our ability to retain or improve our market share or margins. If our marketing and trade spending programs are not successful or if we fail to implement sufficient and effective marketing and trade spending programs, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

The growth of our business depends on our ability to introduce new products and improve existing products in anticipation of changes in consumer preferences and demographics.

Our business is focused on the development, manufacture, marketing and distribution of pet food products. If consumer demand for our products decreased, our business would suffer. Sales of pet food products are subject to evolving consumer preferences and changing demographics. A significant shift in consumer demand away from our products or a decline in pet ownership could reduce our sales or the prestige of our brand, which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

A key element of our growth strategy depends on our ability to develop and market new products and improvements to our existing 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 and demographics, the technical capability of our product development staff in developing and testing product prototypes, including complying with governmental regulations, and the success of our management and sales team in introducing and marketing new products. Failure to develop and market new products that appeal to consumers could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Additionally, the development and introduction of new products requires substantial research, development and marketing expenditures, which we may be unable to recoup if the new products do not gain widespread market acceptance. Efforts to accelerate our innovation may exacerbate risks associated with innovation. If we are unsuccessful in meeting our objectives with respect to new or improved products, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed.

Limited manufacturing capacity could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

All of the products we manufacture in-house are processed through our Freshpet Kitchens in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which we believe is North America’s first fresh, refrigerated pet food manufacturing facility. Accordingly, we have limited available manufacturing capacity to meet our quality standards. Due to the continued growth of the Company’s fresh pet food sales, the Company has plans to expand its manufacturing capacity. The expansion includes the renovation of an existing 50,000 square foot building and a 90,000 square-foot addition. The $100 million strategic capital investment is expected to support Freshpet’s growth in the United States, Canada and Europe by creating total capacity for approximately $540 million in net sales from the facility. The facility “Freshpet Kitchens 2.0” will make greater use of automation to improve quality, safety and reduce costs. Production start-up is slated for the second half of 2020. Our Freshpet Kitchens 2.0 may not be successfully completed on a timely basis, or at all, or we may not achieve our expected results following its completion.

In addition, an unforeseen event, such as a natural disaster or work stoppage, at our Freshpet Kitchens could significantly limit our manufacturing capacity.

Accurate forecasting of sales demand is critical to ensuring available capacity. Our forecasts are based on multiple assumptions, which may cause our estimates to be inaccurate, affecting our ability to obtain adequate manufacturing capacity.

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If our growth exceeds our expectations, we may not be able to increase our own manufacturing capacity to, or obtain contract manufacturing capacity at, a level that meets demand for our products, which could prevent us from meeting increased customer demand and harm our business. However, if we overestimate our demand and overbuild our capacity, we may have significantly underutilized assets, and we may experience reduced margins. If we do not accurately align our manufacturing capabilities with demand, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Failure to retain our senior management or failure to hire and integrate suitable replacements may adversely affect our operations.

Our success is substantially dependent on the continued service of certain members of our senior management. These members of senior management are primarily responsible for determining the strategic direction of our business and for executing our growth strategy and are integral to our brand and culture, and the reputation we enjoy with suppliers, contract manufacturers, distributors, customers and consumers. The loss of the services of any of these employees could have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects, as we may not be able to find and integrate suitable replacements on a timely basis, if at all. In addition, any such departure could be viewed in a negative light by investors and analysts, which may cause the price of our common stock to decline.

Government regulation, scrutiny, warnings and public perception could increase our costs of production and increase legal and regulatory expenses.

Manufacturing, processing, labeling, packaging, storing and distributing pet products are activities subject to extensive federal, state and local regulation, as well as foreign regulation. In the United States, these aspects of our operations are regulated by the FDA, and various state and local public health and agricultural agencies. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 provides direct recall authority to the FDA and includes a number of other provisions designed to enhance food safety, including increased inspections by the FDA of domestic and foreign food facilities and increased review of food products imported into the United States. In addition, many states have adopted the Association of American Feed Control Officials’ model pet food regulations or variations thereof, which generally regulate the information manufacturers provide about pet food. Complying with government regulation can be costly or may otherwise adversely affect our business. Failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is also affected by import and export controls and similar laws and regulations, both in the United States and elsewhere. Issues such as national security or health and safety, which slow or otherwise restrict imports or exports, could adversely affect our business. In addition, the modification of existing laws or regulations or the introduction of new laws or regulations could require us to make material expenditures or otherwise adversely affect the way that we have historically operated our business.

Our business may be subject to false marketing claims.

From time to time we may be subject to claims from competitors or consumers, including consumer class actions, alleging that our product claims are deceptive. Regardless of their merit, these claims can require significant time and expense to investigate and defend. Whether or not a false marketing claim is successful, such assertions could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and the negative publicity surrounding them could harm our reputation and brand image.

Adverse weather conditions, natural disasters, pestilences and other natural conditions can disrupt our operations, which can adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The ingredients that we use in the production of our products (including, among others, meat, vegetables, fruits, carrageenans, whole grains, vitamins and minerals) are vulnerable to adverse weather conditions and natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, frosts, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes and pestilences. Adverse weather conditions may be impacted by climate change and other factors. Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters can reduce crop size and crop quality, which in turn could reduce our supply of ingredients, lower recoveries of usable ingredients, increase the prices of our ingredients, increase our transportation costs or increase our cost of storing ingredients if harvests are accelerated and processing capacity is unavailable. Additionally, the growth of crops, as well as the manufacture and processing of our products, requires significant amounts of water. Drought or other causes of a reduction of water in aquifers may affect availability of water, which in turn may adversely affect our results of operations. Competing manufacturers may be affected differently by weather conditions and natural disasters depending on the location of their supplies or operations. If our supply of ingredients is reduced, we may not be able to find enough supplemental supply sources on favorable terms, if at all, which could impact our ability to supply product to our customers and adversely affect

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our business, financial condition and results of operations. Increased costs for ingredients or other inputs could also adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations as described in “—The inputs, commodities and ingredients that we require are subject to price increases and shortages that could adversely affect our results of operations.”

Additionally, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters or other natural conditions affecting our operating activities or major facilities could cause an interruption or delay in our production or delivery schedules and loss of inventory and/or data or render us unable to accept and fulfill customer orders in a timely manner, or at all. If our operations are damaged by a fire, flood or other disaster, for example, we may be subject to supply or delivery interruptions, destruction of our facilities and products or other business disruptions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to develop and maintain our brand, or the quality of our products that customers have come to expect, our business could suffer.

We believe that developing and maintaining our brand and the quality of our products is critical to our success. The importance of our brand recognition and the quality of our products may become even greater as competitors offer more products similar to ours. Our financial success is directly dependent on consumer perception of our brand and our products. Our brand-building activities involve providing high-quality products, increasing awareness of our brand, creating and maintaining brand loyalty and increasing the availability of our products.

The success of our brand may suffer if our marketing plans or product initiatives do not have the desired impact on our brand’s image or its ability to attract customers. Further, our brand value could diminish significantly due to a number of factors, including consumer perception that we have acted in an irresponsible manner, adverse publicity about our products (whether or not valid), our failure to maintain the quality of our products, product contamination, the failure of our products to deliver consistently positive consumer experiences, or the products becoming unavailable to consumers. The growing use of social and digital media by consumers increases the speed and extent that information and opinions can be shared. Negative posts or comments about us or our brands or products on social or digital media could damage our brands and reputation. If we fail to maintain the favorable perception of our brands, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

The pet food product category in which we participate is highly competitive. If we are unable to compete effectively, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

The pet food product category in which we participate is highly competitive. There are numerous brands and products that compete for shelf space and sales, with competition based primarily upon brand recognition and loyalty, product packaging, quality and innovation, taste, nutrition, breadth of product line, price and convenience. We compete with a significant number of companies of varying sizes, including divisions or subsidiaries of larger companies. We face strong competition from competitors’ products that are sometimes sold at lower prices. Price gaps between our products and our competitors’ products may result in market share erosion and harm our business. A number of our competitors have broader product lines, substantially greater financial and other resources and/or lower fixed costs than we have. Our competitors may succeed in developing new or enhanced products, including fresh, refrigerated pet food, that are more attractive to customers or consumers than our products. These competitors may also prove to be more successful in marketing and selling their products or may be better able to increase prices to reflect cost pressures. We may not compete successfully with these other companies or maintain or grow the distribution of our products. We cannot predict the pricing or promotional activities of our competitors or whether they will have a negative effect on us. Many of our competitors engage in aggressive pricing and promotional activities. There are competitive pressures and other factors which could cause our products to lose market share or decline in sales or result in significant price or margin erosion, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If the operating capacity or reputation of our Freshpet Fridges is harmed, our business, financial condition and results of operations may suffer.

Our success depends on our network of company-owned branded refrigerators, known as Freshpet Fridges. If the operating capacity of our Freshpet Fridges is harmed by external factors, such as adverse weather or energy supply, or internal factors, such as faulty manufacturing or insufficient maintenance, our products contained in those fridges may be damaged and need to be discarded. In addition, if our Freshpet Fridges fail to operate as intended, for any reason, the reputation of our Freshpet Fridges with customers and the reputation of our brand with consumers may decline. In such event, customers may choose to discontinue, or not to expand, their use of Freshpet Fridges and our products and consumers may choose to forgo purchasing our products. Additionally, growing concern about the environmental impact of refrigerators could likewise harm the reputation of our Freshpet Fridges with customers and our brand with consumers.

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Any such harm to the operating capacity or reputation of our Freshpet Fridges could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are not successful in protecting our intellectual property rights, our business, financial conditions and results of operations may be harmed.

We rely on trademark, copyright, trade secret, patent and other intellectual property laws, as well as nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements and other methods, to protect our intellectual property rights as well as the intellectual property of third parties with respect to which we are subject to non-use and non-disclosure obligations. We may need to engage in litigation or similar activities to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets or to determine the validity and scope of proprietary rights of others. Any such litigation could require us to expend significant resources and divert the efforts and attention of our management and other personnel from our business operations. The steps we take to prevent misappropriation, infringement or other violation of our intellectual property or the intellectual property of others may not be successful. In addition, effective patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret protection may be unavailable or limited for some of our trademarks and patents in some foreign countries. Failure to protect our intellectual property could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our brand names and trademarks are important to our business, and we have registered or applied to register many of these trademarks. We cannot assure you that our trademark applications will be approved. Third parties may also oppose our trademark applications, or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks. In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our products, which could result in the loss of brand recognition and could require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands. Further, we cannot assure you that competitors will not infringe our trademarks, or that we will have adequate resources to enforce our trademarks.

We rely on unpatented proprietary know-how in the areas of recipes, ingredients sourcing, cooking techniques, packaging, transportation and delivery. It is possible that others will independently develop the same or similar know-how or otherwise obtain access to our proprietary know-how. To protect our trade secrets and other proprietary know-how, we require employees, consultants, advisors and collaborators to enter into confidentiality agreements. We cannot assure you that these agreements will provide meaningful protection in the event of any unauthorized use, misappropriation or disclosure of our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information. If we are unable to maintain the proprietary nature of our recipes, methods and other know-how, we could be materially adversely affected.

We may not be able to successfully implement initiatives to improve productivity and streamline operations to control or reduce costs. Failure to implement such initiatives could adversely affect our results of operations.

Because our ability to effectively implement price increases for our products can be affected by factors outside of our control, our profitability and growth depend significantly on our efforts to control our operating costs. Because many of our costs, such as energy and logistics costs, packaging costs and ingredient, commodity and raw product costs, are affected by factors outside or substantially outside our control, we generally must seek to control or reduce costs through operating efficiency or other initiatives. If we are not able to identify and complete initiatives designed to control or reduce costs and increase operating efficiency on time or within budget, our results of operations could be adversely impacted. In addition, if the cost savings initiatives we have implemented to date, or any future cost-savings initiatives, do not generate expected cost savings, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

The inputs, commodities and ingredients that we require are subject to price increases and shortages that could adversely affect our results of operations.

The primary inputs, commodities and ingredients that we use include meat, vegetables, fruits, carrageenans, whole grains, vitamins, minerals, packaging and energy (including wind power). Prices for these and other items we use may be volatile, and we may experience shortages in these items due to factors beyond our control, such as commodity market fluctuations, availability of supply, increased demand (whether for the item we require or for other items, which in turn impacts the item we require), weather conditions, natural disasters, currency fluctuations, governmental regulations (including import restrictions), agricultural programs or issues, energy programs, labor strikes and the financial health of our suppliers. Input, commodity and ingredient price increases or shortages may result in higher costs or interrupt our production schedules, each of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Production delays could lead to reduced sales volumes and profitability, as well as loss of market share. Higher costs could adversely impact our earnings. For example, fuel prices affect our transportation costs for both ingredients and finished product. If we are not able to implement our productivity initiatives or increase our product prices to offset price increases of our inputs, commodities and ingredients, as a result of consumer sensitivity to pricing or otherwise, or if sales volumes decline due to price increases, our results of operations could be adversely affected. Our competitors may be better able than we are to implement productivity initiatives or effect price increases or to otherwise pass along cost increases to their customers.

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Moreover, if we increase our prices in response to increased costs, we may need to increase marketing spending, including trade promotion spending, in order to retain our market share. Such increased marketing spending may significantly offset the benefits, if any, of any price increase and negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If the ingredients we use in our products are contaminated, alleged to be contaminated or are otherwise rumored to have adverse effects, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

We buy our ingredients from third-party suppliers. If these materials are alleged or prove to include contaminants that affect the safety or quality of our products or are otherwise rumored to have adverse effects, for any reason, we may need to find alternate ingredients for our products, delay production of our products, or discard or otherwise dispose of our products, which could adversely affect our results of operations. Additionally, if this occurs after the affected product has been distributed, we may need to withdraw or recall the affected product and we may experience adverse publicity or product liability claims. In either case, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Restrictions imposed in reaction to outbreaks of animal diseases could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The cost of the protein-based ingredients we use in our products has been adversely impacted in the past by the publicity surrounding animal diseases, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow disease.” As a result of extensive global publicity and trade restrictions imposed to provide safeguards against mad cow disease, the cost of alternative sources of the protein-based ingredients we use in our products has from time to time increased significantly and may increase again in the future if additional cases of mad cow disease are found.

If mad cow disease or other animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease or highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as “bird flu,” impacts the availability of the protein-based ingredients we use in our products, we may be required to locate alternative sources for protein-based ingredients. Those sources may not be available to sustain our sales volumes, may be more costly and may affect the quality and nutritional value of our products. If outbreaks of mad cow disease, foot-and-mouth disease, bird flu or any other animal disease or the regulation or publicity resulting therefrom impacts the cost of the protein-based ingredients we use in our products, or the cost of the alternative protein-based ingredients necessary for our products as compared to our current costs, we may be required to increase the selling price of our products to avoid margin deterioration. However, we may not be able to charge higher prices for our products without negatively impacting future sales volumes.

We rely on co-packers to provide our supply of treat products. Any failure by co-packers to fulfill their obligations or any termination or renegotiation of our co-packing agreements could adversely affect our results of operations.

We have supply agreements with co-packers that require them to provide us with specific finished products. We rely on co-packers as our sole-source for treat products. We also anticipate that we will rely on sole suppliers for future products. The failure for any reason of a co-packer to fulfill its obligations under the applicable agreements with us or the termination or renegotiation of any such co-packing agreement could result in disruptions to our supply of finished goods and have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Additionally, from time to time, a co-packer may experience financial difficulties, bankruptcy or other business disruptions, which could disrupt our supply of finished goods or require that we incur additional expense by providing financial accommodations to the co-packer or taking other steps to seek to minimize or avoid supply disruption, such as establishing a new co-packing arrangement with another provider. During an economic downturn, our co-packers may be more susceptible to experiencing such financial difficulties, bankruptcies or other business disruptions. A new co-packing arrangement may not be available on terms as favorable to us as the existing co-packing arrangement, if at all.

If we do not manage our supply chain effectively, including inventory levels, our business, financial condition and results of operation may be adversely affected.

The inability of any supplier, co-packer, third-party distributor or transportation provider to deliver or perform for us in a timely or cost-effective manner could cause our operating costs to increase and our profit margins to decrease. We must continuously monitor our inventory and product mix against forecasted demand or risk having inadequate supplies to meet consumer demand, as well as having too much inventory on hand that may reach its expiration date and become unsaleable. Changes in the availability and cost of freight may affect our supply chain and ultimately the pricing and availability of our products. If we are unable to manage our supply chain effectively and ensure that our products are available to meet consumer demand, our operating costs could increase and our profit margins could decrease.

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Failure by our transportation providers to deliver our products on time or at all could result in lost sales.

We use third-party transportation providers for our product shipments. We rely on one such provider for almost all of our shipments. Transportation services include scheduling and coordinating transportation of finished products to our customers, shipment tracking and freight dispatch services. Our use of transportation services for shipments is subject to risks, including increases in fuel prices, which would increase our shipping costs, and employee strikes and inclement weather, which may impact the ability of providers to provide delivery services that adequately meet our shipping needs, including keeping our products adequately refrigerated during shipment. Any such change could cause us to incur costs and expend resources. Moreover, in the future 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 thereby adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to maintain or increase prices for our products, our results of operations may be adversely affected.

We rely in part on price increases to neutralize cost increases and improve the profitability of our business. Our ability to effectively implement price increases or otherwise raise prices for our products can be affected by a number of factors, including competition, our competitors’ pricing and marketing, aggregate industry supply, category limitations, market demand and economic conditions, including inflationary pressures. During challenging economic times, our ability to increase the prices of our products may be particularly constrained. Additionally, customers may pressure us to rescind price increases that we have announced or already implemented (either through a change in list price or increased promotional activity). If we are unable to maintain or increase prices for our products (or must increase promotional activity), our results of operations could be adversely affected. Furthermore, price increases generally result in volume losses, as consumers purchase fewer units. If such losses (also referred to as the elasticity impact) are greater than expected or if we lose distribution due to a price increase (which may result from a customer response or otherwise), our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We may face difficulties as we expand into countries in which we have no prior operating experience.

We may choose to expand our global footprint by entering into new markets. For example, we recently expanded our business to five retailers in the United Kingdom, where our products are selling in 424 stores.  As we expand our business into new countries we may encounter regulatory, personnel, technological and other difficulties that increase our expenses or delay our ability to become profitable in such countries. This may have an adverse effect on our business. These risks include:

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In addition, our expansion into new countries may require significant resources and the efforts and attention of our management and other personnel, which will divert resources from our existing business operations. As we expand our business globally, our success will depend, in large part, on our ability to anticipate and effectively manage these and other risks associated with our operations outside of the United States and Canada.

If we are unable to attract, train and retain employees, we may not be able to grow or successfully operate our business.

Our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, train and retain a sufficient number of employees who understand and appreciate our culture and are able to represent our brand effectively and establish credibility with our business partners and consumers. If we are unable to hire and retain employees capable of meeting our business needs and expectations, our business and brand image may be impaired. Any failure to meet our staffing needs or any material increase in turnover rates of our employees may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Unionization activities or labor disputes may disrupt our operations and affect our profitability.

Although none of our employees are currently covered under collective bargaining agreements, our employees may elect to be represented by labor unions in the future. If a significant number of our employees were to become unionized and collective bargaining agreement terms were significantly different from our current compensation arrangements, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, a labor dispute involving some or all of our employees may harm our reputation, disrupt our operations and reduce our revenues, and resolution of disputes may increase our costs.

As an employer, we may be subject to various employment-related claims, such as individual or class actions or government enforcement actions relating to alleged employment discrimination, employee classification and related withholding, wage-hour, labor standards or healthcare and benefit issues. Such actions, if brought against us and successful in whole or in part, may affect our ability to compete or could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Disruptions in the worldwide economy may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Adverse and uncertain economic conditions may impact distributor, customer and consumer demand for our products. In addition, our ability to manage normal commercial relationships with our suppliers, contract manufacturers, distributors, customers, consumers and creditors may suffer. Consumers have access to lower-priced offerings and, during economic downturns, may shift purchases to these lower-priced or other perceived value offerings. Customers may become more conservative in response to these conditions and seek to reduce their inventories. For example, during the economic downturn from 2007 through 2009, customers significantly reduced their inventories. Our results of operations depend upon, among other things, our ability to maintain and increase sales volume with our existing customers, to attract new consumers and to provide products that appeal to consumers at prices they are willing and able to pay. Prolonged unfavorable economic conditions may have an adverse effect on our sales and profitability.

We are subject to environmental regulation and environmental risks, which may adversely affect our business. Climate change or concerns regarding climate change may increase environmental regulation and environmental risks.

As a result of our agricultural and food processing operations, we are subject to numerous environmental laws and regulations. Many of these laws and regulations are becoming increasingly stringent and compliance with them is becoming increasingly expensive. Changes in environmental conditions may result in existing legislation having a greater impact on us. Additionally, we may be subject to new legislation and regulation in the future. For example, increasing concern about climate change may result in additional federal and state legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or

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mitigate the effects of green-house gas emissions. Compliance with environmental legislation and regulations, particularly if they are more aggressive than our current sustainability measures used to monitor our emissions and improve our energy efficiency, may increase our costs and adversely affect our results of operations. We cannot predict the extent to which any environmental law or regulation that may be enacted or enforced in the future may affect our operations. The effect of these actions and future actions on the availability and use of pesticides could adversely impact our financial position or results of operations. If the cost of compliance with applicable environmental laws or regulations increases, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

Intellectual property infringement or violation claims may adversely impact our results of operations.

We may be subject to claims by others that we infringe on their intellectual property or otherwise violate their intellectual property rights. To the extent we develop, introduce and acquire products, the risk of such claims may be exacerbated. Any such claims, even those without merit, could (i) require us to expend significant resources, (ii) cause us to cease making or using products that incorporate the challenged intellectual property, (iii) require us to redesign, reengineer or rebrand our products or packaging, including our Freshpet Fridges located in approximately 19,500 retail stores, (iv) divert management’s attention and resources or (v) require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements in order to obtain the right to use a third-party’s intellectual property, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. Any of such events may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business operations could be disrupted if our information technology systems fail to perform adequately.

The efficient operation of our business depends on our information technology systems, some of which are managed by third-party service providers. We rely on our information technology systems to effectively manage our business data, communications, supply chain, order entry and fulfillment, and other business processes. The failure of our information technology systems to perform as we anticipate could disrupt our business and could result in transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, and the loss of sales and customers, causing our business and results of operations to suffer. In addition, our information technology systems may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including fire, natural disasters, power outages, systems failures, security breaches, cyber-attacks and viruses. Any such damage or interruption could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to cyber security risks and may incur increasing costs in an effort to minimize those risks.

Our business employs systems and websites that allow for the secure storage and transmission of proprietary or confidential information regarding our customers, employees, suppliers and others, including personal identification information. Security breaches could expose us to a risk of loss or misuse of this information, litigation, and potential liability. We may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate or prevent rapidly-evolving types of cyber-attacks. Attacks may be targeted at us, our customers and suppliers, or others who have entrusted us with information. Actual or anticipated attacks may cause us to incur increasing costs, including costs to deploy additional personnel and protection technologies, train employees, and engage third-party experts and consultants. Advances in computer capabilities, new technological discoveries or other developments may result in the technology used by us to protect transaction or other data being breached or compromised. In addition, data and security breaches can also occur as a result of non-technical issues, including breach by us or by persons with whom we have commercial relationships that result in the unauthorized release of personal or confidential information. Any compromise or breach of our security could result in a violation of applicable privacy and other laws, significant legal and financial exposure, and a loss of confidence in our security measures, which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to substantially utilize our net operating loss carryforward, our financial results will be adversely affected.

As of December 31, 2018, we had federal net operating loss (“NOLs”) carryforwards of approximately $183.3 million and state NOLs of approximately $147.2 million that we may use to offset against taxable income for U.S. federal and state income tax purposes, respectively. In general, a corporation that undergoes an ‘‘ownership change’’ is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its “pre-ownership change” NOLs to offset future taxable income. In general, under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), an ownership change occurs if the aggregate stock ownership of certain stockholders (generally 5% stockholders, applying certain look-through and aggregation rules) increases by more than 50 percentage points over such stockholders’ lowest percentage ownership during the testing period (generally three years). Purchases or sales of our common stock in amounts greater than specified levels, which are generally beyond our control, could create a limitation on our ability to utilize our NOLs for tax purposes in the future. Limitations imposed on our ability to utilize NOLs could cause U.S. federal and state income taxes to be paid earlier than

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would be paid if such limitations were not in effect. In addition, under the tax reform bill commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, (i) the amount of NOLs generated in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 that we are permitted to deduct in any taxable year is limited to 80% of our taxable income in such year, and (ii) NOLs generated in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 cannot be carried back to prior taxable years. Furthermore, we may not be able to generate sufficient taxable income to utilize our NOLs before they expire. If any of these events occur, we may not derive some or all of the expected benefits from our NOLs. In addition, NOLs incurred in one state may not be available to offset income earned in a different state. Furthermore, there may be periods during which the use of NOLs is suspended or otherwise limited for state tax purposes, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed.

Failure to maintain effective internal controls in accordance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business and stock price.

As a publicly traded company, we are required to comply with the SEC’s rules implementing Section 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which require management to certify financial and other information in our quarterly and annual reports and provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of controls over financial reporting. If we identify weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, are unable to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner or to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and the market price of our common stock could be negatively affected, and we could become subject to investigations by NASDAQ, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and management resources.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly and could fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors due to seasonality and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, resulting in a decline in our stock price.

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly because of several factors, including:

As a result of these factors, our quarterly and annual operating results may fluctuate significantly. Accordingly, results for any one quarter are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for any other quarter or for any year for any particular future period may decrease. In the future, operating results may fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors. In that event, the price of our common stock would likely decrease.

The price of our common stock has been and may continue to be volatile and you may lose all or part of your investment.

The trading price of our common stock has been, and may continue to be, volatile, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the purchase price. Such volatility could be based on various factors in addition to those otherwise described in this report, including those described under “—Risks Related to Our Business and Industry” and the following:

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In addition, in recent years the stock market has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations. These fluctuations may be unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market fluctuations may cause declines in the market price of our common stock. The price of our common stock could fluctuate based upon factors that have little or nothing to do with our business, financial condition and results of operations, and those fluctuations could materially reduce our common stock price.

As we operate in a single industry, we are especially vulnerable to these factors to the extent that they affect our industry or our products. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price and we are currently defending against the claims made in Curran v. Freshpet, Inc. et al and Meldon v. Freshpet, Inc. et al. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources and could also require us to make substantial payments to satisfy judgments or to settle litigation.

Future sales of our common stock, or the perception that such sales may occur, could depress our common stock price.

As of December 31, 2018, we had 35,556,595 shares of common stock outstanding, and our Certificate of Incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 200 million shares of common stock.

In the future, we may issue additional shares of common stock or other securities if we need to raise additional capital. The number of new shares of our common stock issued in connection with raising additional capital could constitute a material portion of the then outstanding shares of our common stock. Any future sales of our common stock, or the perception that such sales may occur, could negatively impact the price of our common stock.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrades our common stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which could cause our stock prices and trading volume to decline.

Our principal stockholder and its affiliates own a substantial portion of our outstanding equity, and their interests may not always coincide with the interests of the other holders.

As of December 31, 2018, MidOcean Partners and certain of its affiliates (“MidOcean”) owned approximately 20.5% of our common stock. As a result, MidOcean could potentially have significant influence over all matters presented to our stockholders for approval, including election and removal of our directors, change in control transactions and the outcome of all actions requiring a majority stockholder approval.

In addition, a member who currently serves on our Board of Directors is associated with MidOcean. The interests of MidOcean may not always coincide with the interests of the other holders of our common stock, and the concentration of control in MidOcean will limit other stockholders’ ability to influence corporate matters. The concentration of ownership and voting power of MidOcean may also delay, defer or even prevent an acquisition by a third-party or other change of control of our Company and may make some transactions more difficult or impossible without their support, even if such events are in the best interests of our other stockholders. Therefore, the concentration of voting power that MidOcean has may have an adverse effect on the price of our common stock. We may also take actions that our other stockholders do

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not view as beneficial, which may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and cause the value of your investment to decline.

We have no current plans to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.

We intend to retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and have no current plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any future determination to declare and pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on, among other things, our financial condition, results of operations, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and such other factors as our Board of Directors deems relevant. Our ability to pay dividends may also be limited by covenants of any future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in our common stock unless you sell our common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

Provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law may delay or prevent our acquisition by a third-party, even if the acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders, and could make it more difficult for you to change our management.

Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws and Delaware law contain several provisions that may make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire control of us without the approval of our Board of Directors. For example, we have a classified Board of Directors with three-year staggered terms, which could delay the ability of stockholders to change membership of a majority of our Board of Directors. These provisions may make it more difficult or expensive for a third-party to acquire a majority of our outstanding equity interests. These provisions also may delay, prevent or deter a merger, acquisition, tender offer, proxy contest or other transaction that might otherwise result in our stockholders receiving a premium over the market price for their common stock.

Claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.

Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers, in each case, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. In addition, we have entered and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors, executive officers and other employees as determined by our Board of Directors. Under the terms of such indemnification agreements, we are required to indemnify each of our directors and officers, to the fullest extent permitted by the laws of the state of Delaware, if the basis of the indemnitee’s involvement was by reason of the fact that the indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or was serving at the Company’s request in an official capacity for another entity. We must indemnify our officers and directors against all reasonable fees, expenses, charges and other costs of any type or nature whatsoever, including any and all expenses and obligations paid or incurred in connection with investigating, defending, being a witness in, participating in (including on appeal), or preparing to defend, be a witness or participate in any completed, actual, pending or threatened action, suit, claim or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, or establishing or enforcing a right to indemnification under the indemnification agreement. The indemnification agreements also require us, if so requested, to advance within 30 days of such request all reasonable fees, expenses, charges and other costs that such director or officer incurred, provided that such person will return any such advance if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to indemnification by us. Any claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.

Future offerings of debt securities, which would rank senior to our common stock upon our bankruptcy or liquidation, and future offerings of equity securities that may be senior to our common stock for the purposes of dividend and liquidating distributions, may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by making offerings of debt securities or additional offerings of equity securities. Upon bankruptcy or liquidation, holders of our debt securities and shares of preferred stock and lenders with respect to other borrowings will receive a distribution of our available assets prior to the holders of our common stock. Additional equity offerings may dilute the holdings of our existing stockholders or reduce the market price of our common stock, or both, and may result in future Section 382 limitations that could reduce the rate at which we utilize our NOL carryforwards. Preferred stock, if issued, could have a preference on liquidating distributions or a preference on dividend payments or both that could limit our ability to make a dividend distribution to the holders of our common stock. Our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control. As a result, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings, and purchasers of our common stock in this offering bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting their ownership interest in our company.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Our corporate headquarters, located in Secaucus, New Jersey and consisting of approximately 20,000 square feet of office space, is subject to a lease agreement that expires on June 30, 2024.

We own the Freshpet Kitchens, our approximately 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and our approximately 50,000 square foot Innovation Center. We believe that our properties have been adequately maintained, are in good condition generally and are suitable and adequate for its business as presently conducted.

Due to the continued growth of the Company’s fresh pet food sales, the Company has plans to expand its manufacturing capacity. The expansion includes the renovation of an existing 50,000 square foot building and a 90,000 square-foot addition. The $100 million strategic capital investment is expected to support Freshpet’s growth in the United States, Canada and Europe by creating total capacity for approximately $540 million in net sales from the facility. The facility “Freshpet Kitchens 2.0” will make greater use of automation to improve quality, safety and reduce costs. Production start-up is slated for the second half of 2020.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

A securities lawsuit, Curran v. Freshpet, Inc. et al, Docket No. 2:16-cv-02263, was instituted April 21, 2016 in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against us and certain of our current and former executive officers and directors on behalf of certain purchasers of our common stock. We were served with a copy of the complaint in June 2016. The plaintiffs seek to recover damages for investors under the federal securities laws. Plaintiff has filed a motion for class certification.  Freshpet has filed an opposition to Plaintiff’s motion for class certification and requested an evidentiary hearing on the motion.  Discovery is ongoing.  The Company believes that the plaintiffs’ allegations are without merit and intends to vigorously defend against the claims. Because the Company is in the early stages of litigation, the Company is unable to estimate a reasonably possible range of loss, if any, that may result from this matter.

A securities lawsuit, Meldon v. Freshpet, Inc. et al, Docket No. 2:18-cv-10166, was instituted June 5, 2018 in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against us and certain of our current and former executive officers and directors on behalf of certain holders of our common stock. We were served with a copy of the complaint in June 2018. The plaintiffs seek to recover damages for investors under the federal securities laws. On June 21, 2018, we were granted a motion to stay the Meldon case pending (i) the close of discovery in the Curran action, which is currently scheduled for March 8, 2019 or (ii) the dismissal with prejudice of the Curran action.  The Company believes that the plaintiffs’ allegations are without merit and intends to vigorously defend against the claims. Because the Company is in the early stages of litigation, the Company is unable to estimate a reasonably possible range of loss, if any, that may result from this matter.

In addition, we are currently involved in various claims and legal actions that arise in the ordinary course of our business, including claims resulting from employment related matters. None of these claims or proceedings, most of which are covered by insurance, are expected to have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. However, a significant increase in the number of these claims or an increase in amounts owing under successful claims could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable

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PART II

ITEM 5. Market for registrant’s common equity, related stockholder matters and issueR purchases of equity secuRIties

Market Information

Shares of our common stock are publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "FRPT".

The number of stockholders of record of our common stock as of February 26, 2019 was 108. This number excludes stockholders whose stock is held in nominee or street name by brokers.

Dividend Policy

Since we became a publicly traded company on November 7, 2014, we have not declared or paid, and do not anticipate declaring or paying in the foreseeable future, any cash dividends on our capital stock. Any future determination to declare and pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors in accordance with applicable laws and will depend on, among other things, our financial condition, results of operations, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and such other factors as our Board of Directors deems relevant. Our ability to pay dividends may also be limited by covenants of any future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

Stock Performance Graph

This performance graph shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of Freshpet, Inc. under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the Exchange Act.

The following graph compares our total common stock return with the total return for (i) the NASDAQ Composite Index (the “NASDAQ Composite”) and (ii) the Russell 3000 Index (the “Russell 3000”) for the period from November 7, 2014 (the date our common stock commenced trading on the NASDAQ Global Market) through December 31, 2018. Although our common stock was initially listed at $15.00 per share on the date our common stock was first listed on the NASDAQ, November 7, 2014, the $15.00 price is not reflected in the graph. Instead, the figures represented below assume an investment of $100 in our common stock at the closing price of $19.11 on November 7, 2014 and in the NASDAQ Composite and the Russell 3000 on November 7, 2014 and the reinvestment of dividends into shares of common stock. The comparisons in the table are required by the SEC and are not intended to forecast or be indicative of possible future performance of our common stock.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The following selected consolidated financial data should be read together with our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” appearing elsewhere in this report. The selected consolidated financial data in this section is not intended to replace our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of our future results.

We derived the consolidated statements of operations data for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016 and the consolidated balance sheets data as of December 31, 2018 and 2017 from our audited consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this report. The consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are not included in this report.

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ITEM 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations

The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth in “Risk Factors.” The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report, as well as the information presented under “Selected Financial Data.”

Overview

We started Freshpet with a single-minded mission to bring the power of real, fresh food to our dogs and cats. We were inspired by the rapidly growing view among pet owners that their dogs and cats are a part of their family, leading them to demand healthier pet food choices. Since inception of the company in 2006, we have created a comprehensive business model to deliver wholesome pet food that pet parents can trust, and in the process, we believe we have become one of the fastest growing pet food companies in North America. Our business model is difficult for others to replicate and we see significant opportunity for future growth by leveraging the unique elements of our business, including our brand, our product know-how, our Freshpet Kitchens, our refrigerated distribution, our Freshpet Fridge and our culture.

Recent Developments

Freshpet Kitchens Expansion

Due to the continued growth of the Company’s fresh pet food sales, the Company has plans to continue expanding its manufacturing capacity.  During the second half of 2018 the Company converted one of its four manufacturing lines from five-day production to seven-day production, with plans to convert two more lines to seven day production during Q1 of 2019. Additionally the Company is in the process of building a 90,000 square-foot addition to our manufacturing facility. The $100 million strategic capital investment is expected to support Freshpet’s growth in the United States, Canada and Europe by creating total capacity for approximately $540 million in net sales from the facility. The facility “Freshpet Kitchens 2.0” will make greater use of automation to improve quality, safety and reduce costs. Production start-up is slated for the second half of 2020.

Updates to Non-GAAP Metrics

Management continues to focus on the potential increased profitability percentage that could be gained through increased scale. In addition to our GAAP metrics, the Company uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA % (Adjusted EBITDA as a percent of net sales), both non-GAAP measures to assess profitability. As the Company grows, management wants to ensure continued simplicity and transparency when assessing its profitability by way of its non-GAAP measures.

Historically there were certain Adjusted EBITDA add-backs that were not included in Adjusted Gross Profit or Adjusted SG&A. For example non-cash share-based compensation within Gross Profit was not added back to Adjusted Gross Profit, although it is added back to Adjusted EBITDA. Management believes that including consistent addbacks within its non-GAAP measures will ensure that both management and investors can more easily assess the Company’s profitability percentage by way of Adjusted EBITDA %, and then be able to easily assess if the percentage gains/losses came by way of Adjusted Gross Profit and/or Adjusted SG&A. As such the Company has aligned all of its non-GAAP measure add-backs within Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted SG&A, and Adjusted EBITDA. In addition the Company will add Adjusted EBITDA % to its non-GAAP measure. The Company has made these changes retrospectively.

See "—Retrospective Changes to our non-GAAP Measures" for additional information.

Components of our Results of Operations

Net Sales

Our net sales are derived from the sale of pet food to our customers, who purchase either directly from us or through third-party distributors. Our products are sold to consumers through a fast-growing network of company-owned branded refrigerators, known as Freshpet Fridges, located in our customers’ stores. We continue to roll out Freshpet Fridges across leading retailers across North America and have installed Freshpet Fridges in approximately 19,500 retail stores as of December 31, 2018. Our products are sold under the Freshpet brand name, with ingredients, packaging and labeling customized by class of retail. Sales are recorded net of discounts, slotting, returns and promotional allowances.

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Our net sales growth is driven by the following key factors:

We believe that as a result of the above key factors, we will continue to penetrate the pet food marketplace and increase our share of the pet food category.

Gross Profit

Our gross profit is net of costs of goods sold, which include the costs of product manufacturing, product ingredients, packaging materials, and inbound freight.

Our gross profit margins are impacted by the cost of ingredients, packaging materials, and labor and overhead. We expect to mitigate any adverse movement in input costs through a combination of cost management and price increases.

Selling, General and Administrative  Expenses

Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) costs as a percentage of net sales decreased from 81.3% in the year ended 2012 to 62.7% in 2013, 55.7% in 2014, 50.2% in 2015 and 47.0% in 2016. Due to our Feed the Growth initiative, which has increased our investment level in media, our SG&A as a percentage of net sales increased in 2017 and remained stable in 2018. SG&A as a percentage of net sales was 49.3% in 2017 and 49.1% in 2018. We believe that as we begin to realize the benefits of our Feed the Growth initiative, SG&A expenses will once again decrease as a percentage of net sales.

Our selling, general and administrative expenses consist of the following:

Outbound freight. We utilize a third-party logistics provider for outbound freight that ships directly to retailers as well as third-party distributors.

Marketing & advertising. Our marketing and advertising expenses primarily consist of national television media, digital marketing, social media and grass roots marketing to drive brand awareness. These expenses may vary from quarter to quarter depending on the timing of our marketing and advertising campaigns. Our Feed the Growth initiative will focus on growing the business through increased marketing investments.

Freshpet Fridge operating costs. Freshpet Fridge operating costs consist of repair costs and depreciation. The purchase and installation costs for new Freshpet Fridges are capitalized and depreciated over the estimated useful life. All new refrigerators are covered by a manufacturer warranty for three years. We subsequently incur maintenance and freight costs for repairs and refurbishments handled by third-party service providers.

Research & development (“R&D”). R&D costs consist of expenses to develop and test new products.  The costs are expensed as incurred.

Brokerage. We utilize third-party brokers to assist with monitoring our products at the point-of-sale as well as representing us at headquarters for various customers. These brokers visit our retail customers’ store locations and ensure items are appropriately stocked and maintained.

Share-based compensation. We account for all share-based compensation payments issued to employees, directors and non-employees using a fair value method. Accordingly, share-based compensation expense is measured based on the estimated fair value of the awards on the grant date. We recognize compensation expense for the portion of the award that is ultimately expected to vest over the period during which the recipient renders the required services to us using the straight-line single option method.

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Other general & administrative costs. Other general and administrative costs include non-plant personnel salaries and benefits, as well as corporate general & administrative costs.

Income Taxes

We had federal net operating loss (“NOL”) carry forwards of approximately $183.3 million as of December 31, 2018, of which, approximately $175.0 million, generated in 2017 and prior, will expire between 2025 and 2037. The NOL generated in 2018, of approximately $8.3 million, will have an indefinite carryforward. We may be subject to certain limitations in our annual utilization of NOL carry forwards to off-set future taxable income pursuant to Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, which could result in NOLs expiring unused. At December 31, 2018, we had approximately $147.2 million of state NOLs, which expire between 2018 and 2038. At December 31, 2018, we had a full valuation allowance against our net deferred tax assets as the realization of such assets was not considered more likely than not.

Results of Operations

Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018 Compared To Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2017

Net Sales

The following table sets forth net sales by class of retail:

*Includes net sales from Freshpet Baked of $1.6 million, or 1.1% of total net sales, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017.

Net sales increased $40.9 million, or 26.8%, to $193.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the same period in the prior year. The $40.9 million increase in net sales was driven by growth in the Grocery (including Online), Mass, and Club refrigerated channel of $36.7 million, and Pet Specialty and Natural of $5.8 million, offset by Freshpet Baked sales of $1.6 million during 2017. The net sales increase was driven by overall velocity gains and an increase of Freshpet Fridges store locations, which grew by 8.3% from 18,004 as of December 31, 2017 to 19,499 as of December 31, 2018.

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Gross Profit

Gross profit increased $17.6 million, or 24.3%, to $90.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase in gross profit was primarily driven by higher net sales offset by decreased gross margin.

Our gross profit margin of 46.6% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, was a decrease of 90 basis points compared to the same period in the prior year, due to increase in raw material cost of 180 basis points, unabsorbed labor cost in advance of a new seven day operation of 100 basis points, increased stock compensation cost of 20 basis points, partially offset by increased efficiencies through scale and production improvements of 140 basis points, leverage on depreciation expense of 70 basis points.

Adjusted Gross Profit was $96.9 million and $78.5 million in the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin as a percentage of net sales was 50.2% and 51.5% in the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Adjusted Gross Profit excludes $6.1 million and $5.8 million of depreciation expense in 2018 and 2017, respectively, and $0.9 million and $0.2 million in non-cash share-based compensation expense in 2018 and 2017 respectively. See “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for how we define Adjusted Gross Profit and a reconciliation of Adjusted Gross Profit to Gross Profit, the closest comparable U.S. GAAP measure.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

SG&A expenses increased $19.7 million, or 26.2%, to $94.9 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to the same period in the prior year. Key components of the dollar increase include higher media spend of $7.9 million, higher depreciation and share-based compensation expense of $2.8 million, higher selling expense of $1.2 million, increased variable cost due to volume of $4.0 million, which includes freight cost and brokerage, increased variable incentive compensation of $0.9 million, shelf registration costs of $0.4 million, litigation costs of $0.2 million and higher incremental operating expenses of $2.3 million. The increased operating expenses were primarily due to new hires and increased employee benefit costs.

As a percentage of net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses decreased slightly to 49.1% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 from 49.3% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017.

Adjusted SG&A decreased as a percentage of net sales to 39.7% in the in the year ended December 31, 2018 as compared to 39.9% of net sales in the year ended December 31, 2017. The decrease of 20 basis points in adjusted SG&A is a result of 240 basis point gain in SG&A leverage, offset by a decrease of 220 basis points related to media ad spend increase. The media spend increase is due to the Company’s Feed the Growth Initiative. Since the start of the initiative the Company has gained 240 basis points of leverage on adjusted SG&A. Adjusted SG&A excludes $8.0 million and $6.9 million for depreciation and amortization expense in 2018 and 2017, respectively, $5.9 million and $4.2 million for non-cash items related to share-based compensation in 2018 and 2017, respectively, $3.5 million and $3.1 million for launch expense in 2018 and 2017, respectively, $0.3 million and $0.1 million of litigation expense in 2018 and 2017, respectively, $0.3 million related to shelf registration expenses in 2018 and $0.1 million of leadership transition costs in 2017. Adjusted SG&A is a Non-GAAP measure. See “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for how we define Adjusted SG&A, a reconciliation of Adjusted SG&A to SG&A, the closest comparable U.S. GAAP measure, certain limitations of Non-GAAP measures and why management has included such Non-GAAP measures.

Loss from Operations

Loss from operations increased $2.1 million from a loss of $2.8 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 to a loss of $4.9 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 as a result of the factors discussed above.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $0.3 million and $0.9 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, relating primarily to our Credit Facilities (as defined below). Interest expense in the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 included $0.3 million of accelerated amortization of debt issuance costs related to the amendment of our Credit Facilities (as defined below). See “—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

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Other Income/(Expenses), net

Other income/(expenses), net decreased $0.4 million from a loss of $0.5 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 to a loss of $0.1 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, primarily related to $0.3 million expense related to the revaluation of warrants for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017.

Net Loss

Net loss increased $1.1 million, or 25.8%, to $5.4 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to net loss of $4.3 million for the same period in the prior year. Net loss was 2.8% of net sales for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to a net loss of 2.8% of net sales for the same period in the prior year.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA increased $2.7 million from $17.6 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 to $20.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018. Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net sales decreased 100 basis points from 11.5% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 to 10.5% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018.  The decrease is a result of increased media spend as part of our Feed the Growth initiative causing a 220 basis point decline, and a decrease in Adjusted Gross Margin of 130 basis points, partially offset by leverage gain on Adjusted SG&A of 240 basis points.  

Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2017 Compared To Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2016

Net Sales

The following table sets forth net sales by class of retail:

*Includes net sales from Freshpet Baked of $1.6 million, or 1.1% of total net sales, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 and $4.4 million, or 3.3% of total net sales, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016.

Net sales increased $22.6 million, or 17.5%, to $152.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 as compared to the same period in the prior year. The $22.6 million increase in net sales was driven by growth in the Grocery (including Online), Mass, and Club refrigerated channel of $21.3 million, and Pet Specialty and Natural of $1.3 million. The net sales increase was driven by overall velocity gains and an increase of Freshpet Fridges store locations, which grew by 8.4% from 16,609 as of December 31, 2016 to 18,004 as of December 31, 2017.

Gross Profit

Gross profit increased $12.0 million, or 20%, to $72.4 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 as compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase in gross profit was primarily driven by higher net sales, and production efficiencies, partially offset by increased depreciation due to our Freshpet Kitchens.

Our gross profit margin of 47.5% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017, was an increase of 100 basis points compared to the same period in the prior year, primarily related to cost savings and margin improvement through scale

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and plant startup costs in the prior year, partially offset by a decrease due to additional depreciation of our Freshpet Kitchens expansion.

Adjusted Gross Profit was $78.5 million and $66.2 million in the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin as a percentage of net sales was 51.5% and 51.1% in the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Adjusted Gross Profit excludes $5.8 million and $4.0 million of depreciation expense in 2017 and 2016, respectively, $0.2 million and $0.2 million in non-cash share-based compensation expense in 2017 and 2016, respectively, and $1.6 million of non-capitalizable plant start-up costs in 2016. See “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for how we define Adjusted Gross Profit and a reconciliation of Adjusted Gross Profit to Gross Profit, the closest comparable U.S. GAAP measure.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

SG&A expenses increased $12.6 million, or 20.1%, to $75.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 as compared to the same period in the prior year. Key components of the dollar increase include higher media spend of $5.5 million, higher depreciation expense of $1.0 million, increased variable cost due to volume of $2.1 million, which includes freight cost and brokerage, and higher incremental operating expenses of $5.2 million, offset by prior year non-recurring costs related to leadership transition expenses of $1.2 million. The increased operating expenses were primarily due to new hires and increased employee benefit costs, which include variable incentive compensation. As a percentage of net sales, selling, general and administrative expenses increased to 49.3% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 from 48.3% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016.

Adjusted SG&A increased as a percentage of net sales to 39.9% in the in the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to 37.5% of net sales in the year ended December 31, 2016. The decrease of 240 basis points in adjusted SG&A is a result of an increase of 310 basis points related to media ad spend increase, offset by a 70 basis point gain in SG&A leverage. The media spend increase is due to the Company’s Feed the Growth Initiative. Adjusted SG&A excludes $6.9 million and $5.9 million in depreciation and amortization expense for 2017 and 2016, respectively, $4.2 million and $4.0 million for non-cash items related to share-based compensation in 2017 and 2016, respectively, $3.1 million and $2.8 million launch expense, $0.1 million of litigation expense in 2017 and $1.3 million of leadership transition costs in 2016. Adjusted SG&A is a Non-GAAP measure. See “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for how we define Adjusted SG&A, a reconciliation of Adjusted SG&A to SG&A, the closest comparable U.S. GAAP measure, certain limitations of Non-GAAP measures and why management has included such Non-GAAP measures.

Loss from Operations

Loss from operations increased $0.5 million from a loss of $2.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 to a loss of $2.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 as a result of the factors discussed above.

Interest Expense

Interest expense was $0.9 million and $0.7 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, relating primarily to our Credit Facilities (as defined below). Interest expense in the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 includes $0.3 million of accelerated amortization of debt issuance costs related to the amendment of our Credit Facilities (as defined below). See “—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Other Income/(Expenses), net

Other income/(expenses), net increased $0.3 million from a loss of $0.2 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 to a loss of $0.5 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017, primarily related to $0.2 million from the revaluation of warrants. Expense related to the revaluation of warrants upon settlement, was $0.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 compared to expense of less than $0.1 million for the same period in the prior year.

Net Loss

Net loss increased $1.1 million, or 34.8%, to $4.3 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 as compared to net loss of $3.2 million for the same period in the prior year. Net loss was 2.8% of net sales for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 as compared to a net loss of 2.4% of net sales for the same period in the prior year.

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Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA remained consistent at $17.6 million. Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net sales decreased 210 basis points from 13.6% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 to 11.5% for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017. The decrease is a result of increased media spend as part of our Feed the Growth initiative causing a 310 basis point decline, partially offset by an increase in Adjusted Gross Margin of 40 basis points and leverage gain on Adjusted SG&A of 70 basis points.  

Selected Quarterly Financial Data

The following quarterly consolidated statement of operations data for the 12 fiscal quarters ended December 31, 2018 has been prepared on a basis consistent with our audited annual consolidated financial statements and includes, in the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the financial information contained herein. The following quarterly data should be read together with our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We have presented the following non-GAAP financial measures in this report. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered only as supplements to GAAP reported measures, should not be considered replacements for, or superior to, GAAP measures and may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies.

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Such financial measures are not financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We define Adjusted Gross Profit as Gross Profit before non-cash depreciation expense, plant start-up costs and non-cash share-based compensation. We define Adjusted SG&A as SG&A expenses before depreciation and amortization expense, non-cash share-based compensation, launch expense, fees related to a secondary offering, leadership transition expenses, and litigation expense. EBITDA represents net loss plus interest expense (including fees on debt guarantee, which we believe were at cost of our prior financing agreement akin to interest expense), income tax expense, and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA plus loss on disposal of equipment, plant start-up expense, share-based compensation, warrant fair valuation, launch expenses, fees related to a secondary offering, leadership transition costs and litigation expense.

We believe that each of these non-GAAP financial measures provide additional metrics to evaluate our operations and, when considered with both our U.S. GAAP results and the reconciliation to the closest comparable U.S. GAAP measures, provide a more complete understanding of our business than could be obtained absent this disclosure. We use the non-GAAP financial measures, together with U.S GAAP financial measures, such as net sales, gross profit margins and cash flow from operations, to assess our historical and prospective operating performance, to provide meaningful comparisons of operating performance across periods, to enhance our understanding of our operating performance and to compare our performance to that of our peers and competitors.

Adjusted EBITDA is also an important component of internal budgeting and setting management compensation.

The non-GAAP financial measures are presented here because we believe they are useful to investors in assessing the operating performance of our business without the effect of non-cash items, and other items as detailed below. The non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as alternatives to net loss, income from operations or any other measure of financial performance calculated and prescribed in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Neither EBITDA nor Adjusted EBITDA should be considered a measure of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. Our non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures in other organizations because other organizations may not calculate non-GAAP financial measures in the same manner as we do.

Our presentation of the non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by the expenses that are excluded from that term or by unusual or non-recurring items. We recognize that the non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical financial measures. For example, the non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect:

Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA excludes (i) non-cash share-based compensation expense, which is and will remain a key element of our overall long-term incentive compensation package, and (ii) certain costs essential to our sales growth and strategy, including an allowance for marketing expenses for each new store added to our network and non-capitalizable freight costs associated with Freshpet Fridge replacements. Adjusted EBITDA also excludes certain cash charges resulting from matters we consider not to be indicative of our ongoing operations. Other companies in our industry may calculate the non-GAAP financial measures differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.

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The following table provides a reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP:

* Represents new non-GAAP measure.

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The following table provides a reconciliation of Adjusted Gross Profit to Gross Profit, the most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP:

* Represents revision to non-GAAP measure.

(a)   Represents depreciation and amortization expense included in cost of goods sold.

(c)    Represents non-cash share-based compensation expense included in cost of goods sold.

The following table provides a reconciliation of Adjusted SG&A to SG&A expenses, the most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP:

* Represents revision to non-GAAP measure. .

(a)   Represents depreciation and amortization expense included in SG&A.

(b)    Represents non-cash share-based compensation expense included in SG&A.

Retrospective Changes to our non-GAAP Measures

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The tables below show the retrospective changes to our non-GAAP measures, as discussed under "—Recent Developments--Updates to Non-GAAP Metrics."