Sadot Group Inc. - Annual Report: 2022 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the year ended December 31, 2022

OR

Commission file number 001-39223

Muscle Maker, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

1751 River Run, Suite 200,

Fort Worth, Texas 76107

(Address of principal executive offices)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (832) 604-9568

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

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

None

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 the filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post 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, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (check one):

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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

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, 2022, the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates was $28,773,335.

The number of shares if the Registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, outstanding as of March 21, 2023, was 29,318,520.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None.

MUSCLE MAKER, INC

ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022

PART I

Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the federal securities laws. The events described in forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report may not occur. Generally, these statements relate to business plans or strategies, projected or anticipated benefits or other consequences of our plans or strategies, projected or anticipated benefits from acquisitions to be made by us, or projections involving anticipated revenues, earnings or other aspects of our operating results. The words “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “forecast,” “model,” “proposal,” “should,” “may,” “intend,” “estimate,” and “continue,” and their opposites and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are subject to a number of uncertainties, risks and other influences, many of which are beyond our control that may influence the accuracy of the statements and the projections upon which the statements are based. Factors which may affect our results include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties discussed in Item 1A of this Annual Report under “Risk Factors” and Item 7 of this Annual Report under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Result of Operations”.

Any one or more of these uncertainties, risks and other influences could materially affect our results of operations and whether forward-looking statements made by us ultimately prove to be accurate. Our actual results, performance and achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether from new information, future events or otherwise.

This Annual Report also contains estimates and other statistical data made by independent parties and by us relating to market size and growth and other data about our industry. This data involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. In addition, projections, assumptions and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the markets in which we operate are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

Our Business Overview

Muscle Maker, Inc. (referred to herein as “MMI” or “Company”), was incorporated under the laws of the state of Nevada on October 25, 2019. The principal corporate office of MMI is located at 1751 River Run, Suite 200, Fort Worth, Texas, 76107, and the telephone number at that location is (832) 604-9568. Our website address is https://www.ir.musclemakergrill.com.

MMI together with its subsidiaries, is referred to in this Form 10-K annual report (“Form 10-K”) as the Company. The terms “we”, “us” and “our” are also used in the Form 10-K to refer to the Company. Throughout the Form 10-K, the terms “restaurants”, “stores”, “eatery” and “locations” are used inter changeably. While MMI, as the parent Company, does not directly own or operate any restaurants throughout this document we may refer to restaurants that are owned or operated by our subsidiaries as being Company-owned.

MMI is our parent company. Through our subsidiaries, we operate within the global food-supply chain, in an effort to integrate capabilities and create a sustainable and innovative company, that enhances the social, environmental and financial value to our Company. We own and operate three unique “healthier for you” restaurant concepts within our portfolio of companies: Muscle Maker Grill restaurants, SuperFit Foods meal prep and Pokemoto Hawaiian Poke restaurants (“Restaurant Division”). Our Company was founded on the belief of taking every-day menu options and converting them into “healthier for you” menu choices. Consumers are demanding healthier choices, customization, flavor and convenience. We believe our portfolio of companies directly satisfy these consumer needs. We focus on lean proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables, proprietary sauces, whole grains and various other items like protein shakes, meal plans, specialty drinks and super foods. Each of our three concepts offers different menus that are tailored to specific consumer segments. We operate in the fast-casual and meal prep segments of the restaurant industry. We believe our “healthier for you” inspired concepts deliver a highly differentiated customer experience.

We also own and operate Sadot LLC (“Sadot”), a wholesaling food business, which engages in the purchase and sale of physical food commodities. The goal of Sadot is to launch Muscle Maker into a new era by creating a comprehensive, global food company that stretches from sustainable farming, agricultural commodity shipping and trading, distribution, productions and ultimately reaches consumers through the restaurant, franchise and meal prep companies.

Muscle Maker Grill Restaurants (“Muscle Maker Grill”): our Muscle Maker Grill restaurants are fast-casual style restaurants specializing in “healthier for you” high quality, made to order, lean protein-based meals. These meals feature all-natural chicken breast, grass fed beef, lean turkey, shrimp and plant-based items. We pair these lean proteins with super foods such as avocado, quinoa, spinach, kale and broccoli, while also offering cauliflower rice, whole wheat pasta, sweet potato fries and proprietary specialty sauces like zero carb, fat free or gluten free options. Our products are made to order. The menu features bowls, wraps, salads and burgers. We also offer protein shakes and fruit smoothies along with meal plans and catering. Customers can dine in or take out or have their meals delivered to their door via Company delivery personnel or third-party services such as Uber Eats, DoorDash and GrubHub.

SuperFit Foods Meal Prep (“SuperFit Foods”): On March 25, 2021, we acquired the assets of SuperFit Foods. SuperFit Foods is a wholly owned meal prep division located in Jacksonville, Florida and focuses solely on meal plans. The terms meal prep and meal plans will be used interchangeably throughout this document. The business operates with a centralized kitchen that prepares all meals for distribution to consumers twice per week. This is a subscription-based business model where consumers order their meals via the SuperFitfoods.com website and are charged automatically every week. There are over 150 meal plan options to choose from as well as various healthy juices, snacks and desserts. Meal plans focus on specific dietary needs such as vegetarian, high protein, gluten free and low calorie.

SuperFit Foods’ distribution process is different than most meal prep companies. The business operates with a centralized kitchen that prepares all meals for distribution to consumers twice per week. All meals are packaged in a temperature-controlled facility for food safety and quality controls. While other meal plan companies ship meals directly to consumer’s homes, the SuperFit Foods model uses Company-owned coolers placed at designated pick-up locations throughout the Jacksonville, Florida market. Pick up locations are placed inside wellness centers such as gyms, yoga studios and various lifestyle locations. SuperFit Foods delivers twice per week by independent contractors to these locations and consumers conveniently pick up their orders after their workouts or during their daily routines. This model allows us to keep food fresh and refrigerated (even in the summer months), reduces shipping costs to consumers and provides an easier distribution model for the Company. While we do offer direct shipment to homes, this represents a small percentage of overall Company revenue.

Pokemoto Hawaiian Poke restaurants (“Pokemoto”): On May 14, 2021, MMI acquired the Pokemoto chain. This consisted of purchasing PKM Stamford LLC, Poke Co, LLC, LB Holdings LLC, and TNB Holdings LLC, Poke Co Holdings LLC, GLL Enterprises LLC, and TNB Holdings II, LLC, each a Connecticut limited liability company (collectively, Pokemoto”). Pokemoto Orange Park FL LLC and Pokemoto Kansas LLC (included in “Pokemoto”) were formed in 2022 for the purposes of developing new corporate Pokemoto stores. Pokemoto restaurants are fast-casual style restaurants that specialize in Hawaiian inspired poke bowls, wraps and salads. Poke is native Hawaiian cuisine made up of diced fresh fish served as an appetizer or main course with strong influences of Japanese and Korean cuisine. Think of it as deconstructed sushi that a consumer can customize into a bowl, salad or wrap every time. Hawaiian Poke is trending in the restaurant industry. It is a unique segment that is healthy, customizable, popular with millennials and Gen-Zs, offers unique flavor profiles and is “Instagrammable.”

Pokemoto offers consumers the possibility to customize their order every time. Consumers move down a linear production line (similar to Chipotle or Subway customer interaction and operations) customizing their bowl from a wide selection of ingredients. Pokemoto offers six types of protein including sushi grade tuna, salmon, chicken, shrimp, lobster seafood salad or tofu. Consumers pick a base of white/brown rice or salad, select from over 25 mix-ins/toppings including avocado, kani salad, pickled daikon, hijiki seaweed, masago, caviar, mandarin oranges, edamame, mango, roasted cashews or wonton crisps to name a few and topped off with over eight proprietary sauces that are made in house. All this gets mixed together creating a flavor explosion that is customized for every consumer. In select locations, we offer Boba tea in a variety of flavors.

Pokemoto requires little to no cooking. Everything is either raw (tuna, salmon, veggies and fruits) or comes in pre-cooked (chicken and shrimp). The only cooking we do is preparing soup and rice. It’s that simple. Because we have little cooking and consumers customize their orders, our labor requirements compared to most restaurants may be reduced. In addition, we believe training becomes much easier when you are not cooking or requiring recipes to be followed while consumers customize their menu options. This creates a consistent product across all our Pokemoto restaurants as we expand into more markets. Finally, because we have little to no cooking, our build outs usually do not require expensive hoods, fire suppression systems, deep fryers, grills, ovens, etc. making the potential cost of building out a location more favorable when compared to a traditional restaurant.

Sadot LLC: Sadot was formed on October 19, 2022, in Delaware and is a wholly owned subsidiary of MMI. Sadot is focused on international Agri-food commodity shipping, farming, sourcing and production of key ingredients such as soy meal, corn, wheat, food oils, etc. A typical shipment contains 25,000 to 75,000 metric tons of product, although some transactions can be smaller. Sadot was formed as part of the Company’s diversification strategy while still remaining within the overall food industry.

Our Industry

Muscle Maker Grill and Pokemoto restaurants operate within the Limited-Service Restaurant, or LSR, segment, of the United States restaurant industry, which includes quick service restaurants, or QSR, and fast-casual restaurants. We offer fast-casual quality food combined with quick-service speed, convenience and value across multiple dayparts. We believe our differentiated, high-quality healthy-inspired menu delivers great value all day, every day and positions us to compete against both QSR and fast-casual concepts.

SuperFit Foods operates within the pre-made, ready-to-eat meal prep segment. We offer pre-made, ready-to-eat meals that focus on specific dietary needs like keto, vegetarian, high protein, low sugars, etc. SuperFit Foods offers over 150 different meal plan options to choose from as well as various healthy juices, snacks and desserts.

Sadot operates within the international food commodity shipping, sourcing, farming and production segment of the overall food supply chain industry. Our current primary focus is on shipping food commodity items such as soy meal, corn and wheat between countries via cargo ships. These shipments provide raw materials and ingredients to various food manufacturers as part of the overall food supply chain.

Our Strategy

Our strategy for the restaurant division concentrates on expansion through franchising. However, in order to “seed” new markets for franchising we may open Company-owned and operated locations in key markets.

We believe franchising is the future of the restaurant division. This strategy uses the franchising experience of the management team with the goal of expanding more quickly. We believe franchising has the potential to propel growth without our Company having to spend its capital on Company-owned brick and mortar locations.

Our franchising efforts will continue to be concentrated on expanding the Pokemoto brand. We believe there is a unique opportunity to grow the Pokemoto brand within the Hawaiian Poke segment of the restaurant industry. The Hawaiian Poke segment is fragmented with the largest company having approximately 65-85 locations today. The industry is full of independently owned “mom-and-pop” locations and we expect that the industry is ready for a company to enter the market and become a significant player in the segment. We are positioning Pokemoto with the goal of playing this role.

While Pokemoto franchising is the focus, we will also open Company-owned Pokemoto locations strategically placed in key markets where we are focusing our franchising efforts. Franchisee prospects need to experience Pokemoto locally versus having to travel long distances. This approach is critical to selling franchises. Each Company location should be considered as “seeding” the market. Eventually, when the market begins to open franchise locations, the intent is to franchise the original “seed” Company location and then turn to building and franchising the next market. This is a leapfrog strategy that has traditionally been used to drive franchise growth more aggressively.

Our strategy for our Muscle Maker Grill restaurants is to optimize the brand. This will be performed through cost reductions, co-branding locations with Pokemoto or converting the location to a Pokemoto restaurant. We will continue to evaluate profitability at each location while staying current with market trends in each specific location. As part of the optimization strategy, we will divert resources from any closed locations towards the remaining open locations with the intent of enhancing their performance.

Muscle Maker Grill restaurants are primarily geographically located in the Northeast United States, but we also have locations on military bases such as Fort Sill, Fort Bliss and Fort Benning, as well as franchise locations in Texas, Washington and California. In addition, we have locations open in Kuwait. Our Kuwaiti partner performs all operational support, training, distribution and manufacturing of various proprietary items that are used to supply their locations.

Improve Comparable Restaurant Sales. We plan to improve comparable restaurant sales growth through the following strategies:

Menu Strategy and Evolution: We will continue to adapt our menu to create entrées that complement our healthy-inspired offerings and that reinforce our differentiated fast-casual positioning. We believe we have opportunities for menu innovation as we look to provide customers more choices through customization and limited time only alternative proteins, recipes and other healthy-inspired ingredients. Our marketing and operations teams collaborate to ensure that the items developed in our test stores can be executed to our high standards in our restaurants with the speed and value that our customers have come to expect. To provide added variety, from time to time we introduce limited time offerings at Muscle Marker Grill, (“MMG”) and SuperFit Foods, (“SFF”) and Pokemoto, due to being highly customizable, will offer new proteins, sauces and other ingredients allowing consumers to try different flavor combinations.

Attract New Customers Through Expanded Brand Awareness: Our goal is to attract new customers as we expand our various concepts to become more widely known through new restaurant openings and marketing efforts focused on broadening the reach and appeal of our brand. The goal of our marketing efforts is to have consumers become more familiar with our brands as we continue to penetrate our markets, which we believe will benefit our existing restaurant base. Our marketing strategy centers on our “healthier for you” food, which highlights the desirability of healthy-inspired food or proprietary recipe quality of our food. We utilize various marketing techniques including email, text, social media, print, influencers, press releases, third party apps and local store marketing. We believe the restaurant industry has changed over the past few years and consumer preferences have shifted towards an emphasis on convenience, speed, customization, delivery and mobility. This has led to an increase in to-go orders, third-party delivery and direct to consumer meal prep/plan offerings. We believe our various brands have the ability to adjust our business strategy to accommodate these consumer trends.

Continue to Grow Dayparts: We currently have multiple dayparts and segments where revenue is generated in our restaurants. These dayparts and segments include: lunch, dinner, catering, smoothies/protein shakes and meal prep/plans in our various locations, and breakfast in select locations. We expect to drive growth across our dayparts through enhanced menu offerings, and marketing campaigns. We plan to continue introducing and marketing limited time offers to increase occasions across our dayparts as well as to educate customers on our lunch and dinner offerings. Muscle Maker Grill restaurants and SuperFit Foods have the unique opportunity to grow in the pre-packaged, portion-controlled meal prep/plan category. Currently, we offer pre-portioned and packaged meal prep/plans for consumers who want to specifically plan their weekly meals for dietary or nutritional needs. These meal plans can be delivered to a consumer’s home, picked up at each restaurant location or at our Company-owned coolers placed inside fitness, wellness or lifestyle facilities.

Third party delivery services such as Uber Eats, Grub Hub, DoorDash and others offer an expansion beyond the four walls of our restaurants and represents a growing segment of our overall revenue. We also have partnered with Snackpass in our Pokemoto restaurants. Snackpass offers online ordering, delivery and pick up while also providing an in-store kiosk where customers can place their orders versus waiting in line. Snackpass offers consumers the ability to earn game tokens for each order which can be used to play the Snackpass loyalty program game. The Company uses this partnership as an alternative to traditional loyalty programs and represents, in some locations, a significant portion of restaurant sales generated through this partnership.

Our strategy for Sadot is to own and operate, a wholesaling food business, focusing on international food commodity shipping, farming, sourcing and production of key ingredients such as soy meal, corn, wheat, food oils, etc. The goal of Sadot is to launch Muscle Maker into a new era by creating a comprehensive, global food company that stretches from sustainable farming, agricultural commodity shipping and trading, distribution, productions and ultimately reaches consumers through the restaurant, franchise and meal prep companies.

Sadot was formed as part of our diversification strategy while still remaining within the overall food industry. We aim implement this strategy through product and process innovations, supply chain commitments, and a strategic approach to operational excellence with a focus on increasing the volume and enhancing the efficiency of our global operations.

Our Strengths

Restaurant Division

Iconic and Unique Concept: We provide guests healthy-inspired versions of mainstream-favorite and customizable dishes that are intended to taste great, in our effort to make it convenient, affordable and enjoyable to eat healthier. Our diverse menu was created for everyone – fitness enthusiasts, those starting their journey to a healthier lifestyle, and people trying to eat better while on-the-go.

We are focused on expanding our presence through growing the Pokemoto brand within new and existing markets by continuing to add franchise partners to our system and increasing the number of corporate-owned locations. We have already signed 60 franchise agreements and opened 13 new locations since August of 2022. Our corporate-owned restaurants will focus on creating Pokemoto/Muscle Maker combo units where applicable. In addition to creating Pokemoto seed locations in key markets to supplement our franchise sales efforts while also offering direct to consumer pre-made meal prep/plan offerings to consumers within the Jacksonville, Florida market via SuperFit Foods.

Innovative, Healthier Menu: Our menus feature items such as grass-fed steak, all-natural chicken, lean turkey, plant-based products, tofu, chicken, salmon, shrimp, sushi grade tuna as well as options that satisfy all dietary preferences – from the carb-free consumer to guests following gluten-free or vegetarian diets. Our brands do not sacrifice taste to serve healthy-inspired options. We develop and source proprietary sauces and fat free or zero-carb dressings to enhance our unique flavor profiles. In addition to our healthy-inspired and diverse food platform, we offer 100% real fruit smoothies, boosters and proprietary protein shakes as well as retail supplements. While our Pokemoto concept offers consumers the possibility to customize their meal every time. Consumers move down a linear production line similar to Chipotle or Subway choosing their toppings with a modern twist including tofu, chicken, salmon, shrimp, lobster seafood salad, and sushi grade tuna. Pokemoto also offers a variety of flavors of Boba Teas.

The Company prides itself on making healthy-inspired versions of the guest’s favorite food, giving them easy access to the food they seek at our restaurants. This means catering to an array of healthier eating lifestyles. For over 20 years Muscle Maker Grill restaurants has been providing food to gluten-free diners, low-carbohydrate consumers and vegetarians. We offer over 30 versions of salads, wraps, bowls, sandwiches and flatbreads. With the addition of Pokemoto we now also offer six types of protein, a base of white/brown rice or salad, over 25 mix ins/toppings including avocado, kani salad, pickled daikon, hijiki seaweed, masago, mandarin orange, edamame, mango, roasted cashews or wonton crisps to name a few and topped off with over eight proprietary sauces that are made in house. All this gets mixed up together creating a flavor explosion that is customizable for each customer.

Delivery: Delivery is an option through our online ordering platform or third-party delivery apps making it easy and convenient for our guests. Delivery percentages range from 10% up to 85% of sales in our corporate locations. We strongly believe the delivery segment will continue to grow as our core demographic has demonstrated the need for online ordering and delivery versus dine-in and take-out. We and our franchise owners leverage employees for local delivery but also use third party services such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, DoorDash and others to fulfill delivery orders. SuperFit Foods delivers twice per week utilizing independent contractors to Company-owned coolers placed inside fitness, wellness or lifestyle facilities where consumers conveniently pick up their orders after their workouts or during their daily routines.

Meal Prep/Plans: To make healthy-inspired eating even easier, Muscle Maker Grill’s healthy-inspired menu items are available through our Meal Prep/Plan program, allowing pre-orders of meals via phone, online or in-store, available for pick up or delivered right to their door. Available as 5, 10, 15, or 20 meals, guests can choose from over 40 Muscle Maker Grill menu items for each meal.

SuperFit Foods consists of pre-made, ready-to-eat meals that focus on specific dietary needs like keto, vegetarian, high protein, low sugars, etc. SuperFit Foods offers over 150 different meal options to choose from as well as various healthy juices, snacks and desserts. SuperFit Foods operates as a subscription model where consumers are automatically charged each month. Consumers order online, provide their credit card information and have over 150 options to choose from. Guests can also opt. to select their likes and dislikes and meal selection becomes automatic. SuperFit Foods’ distribution process is different than most meal prep companies. Other meal prep companies ship meals directly to consumer’s homes or use their own fleet of vehicles to drop orders off at homes. SuperFit Foods prepares all meals in a temperature-controlled facility allowing for higher food safety and freshness. The SuperFit Foods model uses Company-owned coolers placed inside fitness, wellness or lifestyle facilities.

Sadot

On November 14, 2022 (the “Effective Date”), the Company, Sadot and Aggia LLC FC, a company established under the laws of United Arab Emirates (“Aggia”) entered into a Services Agreement (the “Services Agreement”). Pursuant to the Services Agreement, Sadot engaged Aggia to provide specialized advisory services to support the establishment, procurement, and management of Sadot’s global supply-chain integration business. The acquisition of assets and capabilities in sustainable Agri-Commodity farming, trading, transporting and processing, with the goal of eventually retailing through MMI’s restaurant brands is a critical component of this venture.

In order to assist with the growth of the Sadot business MMI expects to capitalize on the years of experience and industry knowledge of Aggia and leverage their expertise into additional verticals, without the time and capital outlaw of hiring the professionals independently.

Our Properties

Rent Structure: Our restaurants are typically located in retail centers as in-line locations or food court type settings in universities or military bases. A typical restaurant generally ranges from 800 to 2,500 square feet with seating for up to approximately 40 people. Our leases for Company-operated locations generally have terms of one to ten years, with one or two renewal terms of one year to ten years. Restaurant leases provide for a specified annual rent, and some leases call for additional or contingent rent based on revenue above specified levels. Generally, our leases are “net leases” that require us to pay a pro rata share of taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. New leases for our non-traditional locations usually have rent calculated as a percentage of net sales and have terms up to 10 years. We do not guarantee performance or have any liability regarding franchise location leases.

System-Wide Restaurant Counts: As of December 31, 2022, our restaurant system consisted of 44 restaurants comprised of 19 Company-operated restaurants and 25 franchised restaurants located in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Kuwait.

Site Selection Process: We consider the location of a restaurant to be a critical variable in its long-term performance, and as such, we devote significant effort to the investigation and evaluation of potential restaurant locations. Our in-house management team has extensive experience developing hundreds of locations for various brands. We use a combination of our in-house team and outside real estate consultants to locate, evaluate and negotiate new sites using various criteria including demographic characteristics, daytime population thresholds and traffic patterns, along with the potential visibility of, and accessibility to, the restaurant. The process for selecting locations incorporates managements and franchisee’s experience and expertise and includes data collection and analysis. Additionally, we use information and intelligence gathered from managers and other restaurant personnel that live in or near the neighborhoods we are considering.

Direct to consumer meal prep/plan locations can either be through existing Muscle Maker Grill restaurant locations or can be set up like a commissary where meals are prepared in a temperature-controlled kitchen space, not open to consumer traffic like SuperFit Foods. These locations can be in any area if pick up service via UPS or FedEx is available. This allows the Company to build out locations in favorable rent situations while being able to mail meal prep/plans direct to consumers within a 250-mile radius or conveniently drop off meals at various pick-up locations throughout the market.

Our Restaurant Design

After identifying a lease site, we commence our restaurant buildout. Our typical restaurant is an inline retail space or food court that ranges in size from 800 to 2,500 square feet. Our restaurants are characterized by a unique exterior and interior design, color schemes, and layout, including specially designed decor and furnishings. Restaurant interiors incorporate modern designs and rich colors in an effort to provide a clean and inviting environment and fun, family-friendly atmosphere. Each restaurant is designed in accordance with plans we develop; and constructed with a similar design motif and trade dress. Restaurants are generally located near other business establishments that will attract customers who desire healthier food at fair prices served in a casual, fun environment. We estimate it takes approximately four to six months from identification and lease signing of the specific site to opening the restaurant. This timeframe can be shortened to as little at 90 days pending the amount of time it takes to acquire equipment and complete leasehold improvements.

Our Restaurant Management and Operations

Service: We are extremely focused on customer service. We aim to provide fast, friendly service on a solid foundation of dedicated, driven team members and managers. Our team members and managers are responsible for our dining room environment, personally visiting tables to ensure every customer’s satisfaction.

Operations: We intend to measure the execution of our system standards within each restaurant through an audit program for quality, service and cleanliness. The goal is to conduct these audits quarterly and may be more or less frequent based upon restaurant performance. Additionally, we have food safety and quality assurance programs designed to maintain the high standards for food and food preparation procedures used by both Company-operated and franchised restaurants.

Managers and Team Members: Each of our restaurants typically has a manager or shift leader. At each Muscle Maker Grill restaurant location there are usually between six and ten team members who prepare our food fresh daily and provide customer service. At each Pokemoto location there are usually between two and four team members who prepare our food fresh daily and provide customer service.

We are selective in our hiring processes, aiming to staff our restaurants with team members that are friendly, customer-focused and driven to provide high-quality products. Our team members are cross-trained in several disciplines to maximize depth of competency and efficiency in critical restaurant functions.

Training: Our Franchisee training generally consists of 10 to 14 days in a certified training location, and an additional 7 to 10 days post opening training. Our operational team members provide consistent, ongoing training through follow up restaurant visits, inspections or email or phone correspondences.

Our Franchise Program

Overview: We use a franchising strategy to increase new restaurant growth, especially as we focus on growing the Pokemoto brand, in certain United States and international markets, leveraging the ownership of entrepreneurs with specific local market expertise and requiring a relatively minimal capital commitment by us. We believe the franchise revenue generated from our franchise base has historically served as an important source of stable and recurring cash flows to us and, as such, we plan to expand our base of franchised restaurants. We have signed 60 franchise agreements and opened 13 new locations since August 2022. We currently have over 50 franchise agreements sold, but not yet opened. In existing markets, we encourage growth from current franchisees. In our expansion markets, we seek highly motivated and entrepreneurial new franchisees for single-unit or multi-unit development opportunities. We market our franchise opportunities with the support of a franchising section on our website, social media, trade shows and other marketing tactics.

Franchise Owner Support: We believe creating a foundation of initial and on-going support is important to future performance for both our franchisees and our brand.

We have a mandatory training program that was designed to ensure that our franchise owners and their managers are equipped with the knowledge and necessary skills to operate our concept. The program consists of hands-on training in the operation and management of the restaurant. Training is conducted by a general training manager who has been certified by us for training. Instructional materials for the initial training program include our operations manual, crew training system, wall charts, job aids, recipe books, product build cards, management training materials, food safety book, videos and other materials we may create from time to time. Training must be successfully completed before a trainee can be assigned to a restaurant as a manager.

We also provide numerous opportunities for communication and shared feedback between us and franchise owners. Currently, we communicate on a frequent basis through email and virtual meetings allowing for questions and answers with all franchisees. In addition, our operations and marketing teams conduct phone calls and/or on-site visits on a frequent basis with franchisees on current operational changes, new products, revenue generating ideas, cost savings, and local store marketing.

Franchise Agreements:

The franchise agreements currently:

Multi-Unit Development Agreements: Franchisees who desire to develop more than one restaurant and who have the financial strength and managerial capability to develop more than one restaurant may enter into a multi-unit development agreement. Under a multi-unit development agreement, the franchisee agrees to open a specified number of restaurants, at least two, within a defined geographic area in accordance with an agreed upon development schedule which could span several months or years. Each restaurant, in accordance with the development schedule, requires the execution of a separate franchise agreement prior to site approval and construction, which in most cases will be the then current franchise agreement, except that the initial franchise fee, royalty and advertising expenditures will be those in effect at the time the multi-unit agreement is executed. Multi-unit development agreements require the payment of a development fee ranging from $20,000 to $35,000 for the first restaurant plus ranging from $10,000 to $17,500 multiplied by the number of additional restaurants that must be opened under such development agreement. The entire development fee is payable at the time the multi-unit development agreement is signed; however, the development fee actually paid for a particular restaurant is credited as a deposit against the initial franchise fee that is payable when the franchise agreement for the particular franchise is signed.

Area Representative Agreements: Pursuant to our area representative agreements, the area representatives will identify and refer prospective franchisee candidates to us, provide franchisees with our site selection criteria and assist franchisees to complete a site review package, and will advise franchisees concerning our standards and specifications, perform on-going training as required and make quarterly on-site visits and inspections, but we retain control of all decision-making authority relative to the franchisees, including franchisee approval, site location approval and determination whether franchisees are in compliance with their franchise agreements.

Area representative agreements are generally for a term ranging from 10 to 20 years, in consideration for which we generally compensate area representatives with a range of 1% to 2% of net sales of the franchises that are under the area representative for the term of the agreement as well as up to 50% of the initial franchise fees for new franchise agreements.

Our Marketing and Advertising

We promote our restaurants and products through multiple advertising campaigns. The campaigns aim to deliver our message of fresh and healthy-inspired product offerings. The campaign emphasizes our points of differentiation, from our fresh ingredients and in-house preparation to the preparation of our healthy inspired meals.

We use multiple marketing channels, including social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, email, text marketing, local store marketing, public relations/press releases and other methods to broadly drive brand awareness and purchases of our featured products. We complement this periodically with direct mail.

Our Purchasing and Distribution

Maintaining a high degree of quality in our restaurants depends in part on our ability to acquire fresh ingredients and other necessary supplies that meet our specifications from reliable suppliers. Food and supplies are delivered to most of our restaurants one to two times per week. Our franchisees are required to use our primary distributors, or an approved regional distributor and franchisees must purchase food and supplies from approved suppliers. In our normal course of business, we evaluate bids from multiple suppliers for various products. Fluctuations in supply and prices can significantly impact our restaurant service and profit performance.

Since Sadot is widely diversified in global agribusiness markets, there are no material seasonal fluctuations in overall global processing volumes and the sale and distribution of its products and services. There is a degree of seasonality in the growing cycles, procurement, and transportation of our principal raw materials: oilseeds, corn, wheat, and other grains.

The prices of agricultural commodities, which may fluctuate significantly and change quickly, directly affect our Company’s working capital requirements. Working capital requirements have historically trended with inventory levels. No material part of the Company’s business is dependent upon a single customer or very few customers.

Our Intellectual Property

We have registered Pokemoto^®, SuperFit Foods^®, Muscle Maker Grill^®, Meal Plan AF^®, MMG Burger Bar^® and certain other names used by our restaurants as trademarks or service marks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and Muscle Maker Grill^® in one foreign country. Our brand campaign, Great Food with Your Health in Mind^™, has also been approved for registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We have also filed for the for the trademarks “get in the aloha state of mind” and “meal prep and chill”, which are currently pending with the United States Patent and Trademark Office In addition, the Muscle Maker Grill, Pokemoto and SuperFit Foods logos, recipes, trade dress, packaging, website name and address and Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media and internet accounts are our intellectual property. Our policy is to pursue and maintain registration of service marks and trademarks in those countries where business strategy requires us to do so and to oppose vigorously any infringement or dilution of the service marks or trademarks in such countries. We maintain the recipe for our healthy inspired recipes, as well as certain proprietary standards, specifications and operating procedures, as trade secrets or confidential proprietary information.

Our Competition

Restaurant Division

We operate in the restaurant industry, which is highly competitive and fragmented. The number, size and strength of competitors vary by region. Our competition includes a variety of locally owned restaurants and national and regional chains that offer dine-in, carry-out and delivery services as well as meal prep companies. Our competition in the broadest perspective includes restaurants, pizza parlors, convenience food stores, delicatessens, supermarkets, third party delivery services, direct to consumer meal prep and club stores. However, we indirectly compete with fast-casual restaurants, including Chipotle and Panera Bread, among others, and with healthy inspired fast-casual restaurants, such as Pokeworks, Freshii and Veggie Grill as well as direct-to-consumer meal prep such as Freshly, among others.

We believe competition within the fast-casual restaurant and meal prep segments is based primarily on ambience, price, taste, quality and the freshness of the menu items. We also believe that QSR competition is based primarily on quality, taste, speed of service, value, brand recognition, restaurant location and customer service. We believe the restaurant industry has changed over the past few years due to the COVID-19 specifically as it relates to delivery and how consumers interact with brands. This changing environment will require flexibility and the ability to rapidly make adjustments.

As consumer preferences continue to evolve into healthier eating options, most restaurants are developing healthier menu choices. As more restaurants offer healthier options, the competition for our product offerings becomes more intense and could pose a significant threat to future revenues. However, we believe our experience, size and flexibility allows Muscle Maker, Inc’s portfolio of Companies to adapt faster than many other restaurant concepts.

Sadot

Sadot operates in the global agribusiness industry. We have significant competition in the markets in which we operate based principally on price, foreign exchange rates, quality, global supply and alternative products. Given the commodity-based nature of our business, Sadot, on an ongoing basis, expects to focus on managing unit costs and improving efficiency through technology improvements and productivity enhancements.

Our Management Information Systems

All of our Company-operated and franchised restaurants use computerized point-of-sale and back-office systems, which we believe are scalable to support our long-term growth plans. The point-of-sale system provides a touch screen interface and a stand-alone high-speed credit card and gift card processing terminal. The point-of-sale system is used to collect daily transaction data, which generates information about daily sales and product mix that we actively analyze. Our SuperFit Foods division sales are 100% online through the superfitfoods.com website.

Our computer systems are designed to assist in the management of MMI. The systems also provide corporate headquarters and our operations team with quick access to detailed business data and reduces the time spent by our managers on administrative needs. The systems also provide sales, bank deposit and variance data to our accounting department.

Third party delivery and meal prep/plan sales are ordered using online software or apps with reports generated through various software packages provided by the third-parties.

Our Corporate Structure

Overview: Muscle Maker, Inc. serves as a holding company of the following subsidiaries:

ITEM 1A.  RISK FACTORS

You should carefully review the risks described below as they identify important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements, expectations and historical trends. Any of the following risk factors, either by itself or together with other risk factors, could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows and/or financial condition.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic has had, and may continue to have, an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Developments related to COVID-19, which was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, have adversely impacted, and may continue to adversely impact our business and results of operations. The impacts of COVID-19 have included the loss of revenues due to store closures, reduced store-level operations, full or partial dining room closures and other restrictions on our business and operations. During 2021 and 2022, the overall adverse impact of COVID-19 on our operations was less significant than in 2020, but we continued to see negative impacts as of the end of 2022 due to COVID-19 outbreaks and resulting government restrictions limiting mobility, difficulty in hiring employees, availability of key ingredients and inflationary pressures across multiple parts of our business.

Conversely, for our restaurants that prominently feature carryout and delivery options, the pandemic has in many cases contributed to an increase in sales since the onset of the pandemic. If the impact of the pandemic continues to recede and the restaurant industry in general returns to more normal operations, the benefits to sales experienced by certain of our restaurants could wane and our results could be negatively impacted.

We and our franchisees have made operational changes intended to safeguard employees and customers in response to COVID-19. These operational changes have increased and may continue to increase restaurant operating costs and impact restaurant-level margins and return on invested capital. Our and our franchisees’ restaurants have also experienced, and may continue to experience, interruptions of food and other supplies as well as labor shortages. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has required and may continue to require us to implement certain precautionary measures, such as in relation to vaccinations, testing and face coverings, which could adversely impact our operations, employee retention and satisfaction, and the willingness of customers to visit our restaurants.

Our success is heavily reliant on our Concepts’ franchisees, and the COVID-19 pandemic has caused and may continue to cause financial distress for certain franchisees, particularly those located in areas most significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of this distress, certain of our franchisees have been unable to, or in the future may be unable to, meet their financial obligations to us as they come due, including the payment of royalties, or other amounts due to us. Additionally, certain of our franchisees have been unable to, or in the future may be unable to make payments to landlords, distributors and key suppliers, as well as payments to service any debt they may have outstanding. Franchisee financial distress has also led to, and may continue to lead to, permanent store closures and delayed or reduced new franchisee development, which may further harm our results and liquidity.

We are unable to fully predict the impact that COVID-19 will have on our and our franchisees’ operations going forward due to various uncertainties, including the severity and duration of the pandemic, the timing, availability acceptance and effectiveness of medical treatments and vaccines, the spread of potentially more contagious and/or virulent forms of COVID-19, including variants that may be more resistant to currently available vaccines and treatments, the extent to which COVID-19 may cause customers to continue to be reluctant to return to in-restaurant dining or otherwise change their consumption patterns (including after the COVID-19 pandemic has ended), actions that may be taken by governmental authorities, and the extent to which ongoing governmental restrictions in certain regions will be lifted, and the ongoing impact of the pandemic on economic conditions in the U.S. and globally.

We could be materially impacted in the future if a more severe variant would arise causing disruptions far more severe than we have experienced. In such circumstances, Sadot may be unable to perform fully on its contractual obligations, critical global supply chain and logistical networks may be affected, and costs and working capital needs may increase. These cost increases may not be fully recoverable or adequately covered by insurance. In addition, demand for certain products that Sadot produces, particularly ingredients that go into food and beverages that support the food services channels, could be materially impacted from a prolonged COVID-19 variant outbreak or significant local resurgences of the virus, leading to additional government-imposed lockdowns, quarantines, or other restrictions.

Moreover, if conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic result in significant disruptions to capital and financial markets, or negatively impact our credit ratings, our cost of borrowing, our ability to access capital on favorable terms and our overall liquidity and capital structure could be adversely impacted.

Inflationary pressures across all services, equipment, commodities, labor, rent and other areas of the business may cause a negative impact on our financial results if we are not able to pass these increased costs in the form of price increases to consumers or find alternative options to reduce costs.

The global supply chain is currently experiencing extensive inflationary pressures across most segments of the economy. While these increases may be temporary, we may have to implement price increases in order to maintain acceptable margins. We have no ability to predict how long these increased costs will last and if consumers will be able or willing to accept retail price increases, decreased portion sizes, alternative ingredients or other measures to offset the overall rise in our cost structure. Without being able to pass along these increases in costs to consumers, we may experience a negative impact on our margins.

We may need additional capital to fund our operations, which, if obtained, could result in substantial dilution or significant debt service obligations. We may not be able to obtain additional capital on commercially reasonable terms, which could adversely affect our liquidity and financial position.

In order to continue operating, we may need to obtain additional financing, either through borrowings, private placements, public offerings, or some type of business combination, such as a merger, or buyout, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in such pursuits. We may be unable to acquire the additional funding necessary to continue operating. Accordingly, if we are unable to generate adequate cash from operations, and if we are unable to find sources of funding, it may be necessary for us to sell one or more lines of business or all or a portion of our assets, enter into a business combination, or reduce or eliminate operations. These possibilities, to the extent available, may be on terms that result in significant dilution to our shareholders or that result in our shareholders losing all of their investment in our Company.

We require significant capital in relation to our Sadot operations, including continuing access to credit markets, to operate our current business and fund our growth strategy. Our working capital requirements, including margin requirements on open positions on futures exchanges, are directly affected by the price of agricultural commodities, which may fluctuate significantly and change quickly. Moreover, the expansion of our business and pursuit of acquisitions or other business opportunities may require significant amounts of capital. Access to credit markets and pricing of our capital is dependent upon maintaining sufficient credit ratings from credit rating agencies. Sufficient credit ratings allow us to access cost competitive tier one commercial paper markets. If we are unable to maintain sufficiently high credit ratings, access to these commercial paper and other debt markets and costs of borrowings could be adversely affected. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow or maintain access to adequate external financing, including as a result of significant disruptions in the global credit markets, it could restrict our current operations and our growth opportunities. We manage this risk with constant monitoring of credit/liquidity metrics, cash forecasting, and routine communications with credit rating agencies regarding risk management practices.

LIBOR (London Interbank Offered rate) has been the subject of recent proposals for international reform, and it is anticipated LIBOR will be discontinued or modified by June 2023. Our variable rate debt, credit facilities, certain derivative agreements, and commercial agreements may use LIBOR as a benchmark for establishing interest rates. Although we do not expect that a transition from LIBOR will have a material adverse impact on its financing costs, the Company continues to monitor developments.

If we need to raise additional capital, we do not know what the terms of any such capital raising would be. In addition, any future sale of our equity securities could dilute the ownership and control of your shares and could be at prices substantially below prices at which our shares currently trade. We may seek to increase our cash reserves through the sale of additional equity or debt securities. The sale of convertible debt securities or additional equity securities could result in additional and potentially substantial dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations and liquidity. In addition, our ability to obtain additional capital on acceptable terms is subject to a variety of uncertainties. We cannot assure you that financing will be available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Any failure to raise additional funds on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition.

We face intense competition in our markets, which could negatively impact our business.

Our Company faces significant competition in each of its businesses and has numerous competitors, who can be different depending upon each of the business segments in which we participate. We compete for the acquisition of inputs such as raw materials, transportation services, and other materials and supplies, as well as for workforce and talent.

The restaurant industry is intensely competitive, and we compete with many well-established food service companies on the basis of product choice, quality, affordability, service and location. We expect competition in each of our markets to continue to be intense because consumer trends are favoring limited-service restaurants that offer healthy-inspired menu items made with better quality products, and many limited-service restaurants are responding to these trends. With few barriers to entry, our competitors include a variety of independent local operators, in addition to well-capitalized regional, national and international restaurant chains, meal prep and franchises, and new competitors may emerge at any time. Furthermore, delivery aggregators and food delivery services provide consumers with convenient access to a broad range of competing restaurant chains and food retailers, particularly in urbanized areas. Each of our brands also competes for qualified franchisees, suitable restaurant locations and management and personnel. Our ability to compete will depend on the success of our plans to improve existing products, to develop and roll-out new products, to effectively respond to consumer preferences and to manage the complexity of restaurant operations as well as the impact of our competitors’ actions. In addition, our long-term success will depend on our ability to strengthen our customers’ digital experience through expanded mobile ordering, delivery and social interaction. Some of our competitors have substantially greater financial resources, higher revenues and greater economies of scale than we do. These advantages may allow them to implement their operational strategies more quickly or effectively than we can or benefit from changes in technologies, which could harm our competitive position. These competitive advantages may be exacerbated in a difficult economy, thereby permitting our competitors to gain market share. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully respond to changing consumer preferences, including with respect to new technologies and alternative methods of delivery. If we are unable to maintain our competitive position, we could experience lower demand for products, downward pressure on prices, reduced margins, an inability to take advantage of new business opportunities, a loss of market share, reduced franchisee profitability and an inability to attract qualified franchisees in the future. Any of these competitive factors may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Competition in our Sadot division impacts our ability to generate and increase our gross profit as a result of the following factors: Pricing of our products is partly dependent upon industry processing capacity, which is impacted by competitor actions to bring idled capacity on-line, build new production capacity or execute aggressive consolidation; many of the products bought and sold by our Company are global commodities or are derived from global commodities that are highly price competitive and, in many cases, subject to substitution; significant changes in exchange rates of foreign currencies versus the U.S. dollar, particularly the currencies of major crop growing countries, could also make goods and products of these countries more competitive than U.S. products; improved yields in different crop growing regions may reduce the reliance on origination territories in which we have a significant presence; and continued merger and acquisition activities resulting in further consolidations could result in greater cost competitiveness and global scale of certain players in the industry, especially when acquirers are state-owned and/or backed by public funds and have profit and return objectives that may differ from publicly traded enterprises. To compete effectively, our Company focuses on safely improving efficiency in its production and distribution operations, developing and maintaining appropriate market presence, maintaining a high level of product safety and quality, supporting socially responsible and sustainable practices, promoting environmental responsibility, and working with customers to develop new products and tailored solutions.

There are risks associated with our increasing dependence on digital commerce platforms to maintain and grow sales.

Customers are increasingly using e-commerce websites, apps and apps owned by third-party delivery aggregators and third-party mobile payment processors, to order and pay for our concepts’ products. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in the use of third-party delivery services by our concepts. Many restaurants in each of our concepts now offer consumers the ability to have the concept’s food delivered through third-party delivery services. As a result, our concepts and our concepts’ franchisees are increasingly reliant on digital ordering and payment as a sales channel and our business could be negatively impacted if we are unable to successfully implement, execute or maintain our consumer-facing initiatives. If the third-party apps or aggregators that we utilize for delivery, cease or curtail their operations, fail to maintain sufficient labor force to satisfy demand, materially change fees, access or visibility to our products or give greater priority or promotions on their platforms to our competitors, our business may be negatively impacted. These digital ordering and payment platforms also could be damaged or interrupted by power loss, technological failures, user errors, cyber-attacks, other forms of sabotage, inclement weather or natural disasters. The digital ordering platforms relied upon by our concepts have experienced interruptions and could experience further interruptions, which could limit or delay customers’ ability to order through such platforms or make customers less inclined to return to such platforms.

It is difficult for us to anticipate the level of sales from digital platforms may generate. That may result in operational challenges, both in fulfilling orders made through these channels and in operating our restaurants as we balance fulfillment of these orders with service of our traditional in-restaurant guests as well. Any such operational challenges may negatively impact the customer experience associated with our digital or delivery orders, the guest experience for our traditional in-restaurant business, or both. These factors may adversely impact our sales and our brand reputation. Our SuperFit Foods division relies 100% on web-based ordering through the superfitfoods.com website.

We are vulnerable to changes in consumer preferences and economic conditions that could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

Food service businesses depend on consumer discretionary spending and are often affected by changes in consumer tastes, national, regional and local economic conditions and demographic trends. Factors such as traffic patterns, weather, fuel prices, local demographics, location closures specific to our military and university locations and the type, number and locations of competing restaurants may adversely affect the performances of individual locations. In addition, economic downturns, wage rates, health insurance costs, third-party delivery services and fees, supplies of key ingredients especially tuna and salmon at our Pokemoto division or chicken at our Muscle Maker Grill locations, inflation or increased food or energy costs could harm the restaurant industry in general and our locations in particular. Adverse changes in any of these factors could reduce consumer traffic or impose practical limits on pricing that could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flow. There can be no assurance that consumers will continue to regard healthy-inspired fast food favorably or that we will be able to develop new menu items that appeal to consumer preferences. Our business, financial condition and results of operations depend in part on our ability to anticipate, identify and respond to changing consumer preferences and economic conditions. In addition, the restaurant industry is currently under heightened legal and legislative scrutiny related to menu labeling and resulting from the perception that the practices of restaurant companies have contributed to nutritional, caloric intake, obesity or other health concerns of their guests. If we are unable to adapt to changes in consumer preferences and trends, we may lose customers and our revenues may decline or our costs to produce our products could significantly increase.

Our restaurant division growth strategy depends in part on opening new restaurants in existing and new markets and expanding our franchise system, especially in our Pokemoto division. We may be unsuccessful in opening new Company-operated or franchised restaurants or establishing new markets, which could adversely affect our growth.

One of the key means to achieving our growth strategy will be through opening new restaurants to seed the market and selling franchises. Our ability to open new restaurants and sell franchises is dependent upon a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including our and our franchisees’ ability to:

There is no guarantee that a sufficient number of suitable restaurant sites will be available in desirable areas or on terms that are acceptable to us in order to achieve our growth plan. If we are unable to open new restaurants or sign new franchisees, or if existing franchisees do not open new restaurants, or if restaurant openings are significantly delayed, our revenues or earnings growth could be adversely affected, and our business negatively affected.

As part of our long-term growth strategy, we may enter into geographic markets in which we have little or no prior operating or franchising experience through Company-operated restaurant growth and through franchise development agreements. The challenges of entering new markets include but are not limited to: difficulties in hiring experienced personnel; unfamiliarity with local real estate markets and demographics; food distribution networks; lack of marketing efficiencies; operational support efficiencies; consumer unfamiliarity with our brand; and different competitive and economic conditions, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns that are more difficult to predict or satisfy than in our existing markets. Consumer recognition of our brand has been important to Company-operated and franchised restaurants in our existing markets. Restaurants we open in new markets may take longer to reach expected sales and profit levels on a consistent basis and may have higher construction, occupancy and operating costs than existing restaurants, thereby affecting our overall profitability. Any failure on our part to recognize or respond to these challenges may adversely affect the success of any new restaurants. Expanding our franchise system could require the implementation, expense and successful management of enhanced business support systems, management information systems and financial controls as well as additional staffing, franchise support and capital expenditures and working capital.

Due to brand recognition and logistical synergies, as part of our growth strategy, we also intend to open new restaurants in areas where we have existing restaurants. The operating results and comparable restaurant sales for our restaurants could be adversely affected due to close proximity with our other restaurants and market saturation.

New restaurants, once opened, may not be profitable or may close.

Some of our restaurants open with an initial start-up period of higher-than-normal sales volumes, which subsequently decrease to stabilized levels. In new markets, the length of time before average sales for new restaurants to stabilize is less predictable and can be longer as a result of our limited knowledge of these markets and consumers’ limited awareness of our brand. In addition, our average restaurant revenues and comparable restaurant sales may not increase at the rates achieved over the past several years. Our ability to operate new restaurants profitably and increase average restaurant revenues and comparable restaurant sales will depend on many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

If our new restaurants do not perform as planned or close, our business and future prospects could be harmed. In addition, an inability to achieve our expected average restaurant revenues in both Company-owned and franchise locations, would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Opening new restaurants in existing markets may negatively impact sales at our and our franchisees’ existing restaurants.

The consumer target area of our and our franchisees’ restaurants varies by location, depending on a number of factors, including population density, other local retail and business attractions, area demographics and geography. As a result, the opening of a new restaurant in or near markets in which we or our franchisees’ already have restaurants could adversely impact sales at these existing restaurants. Existing restaurants could also make it more difficult to build our and our franchisees’ consumer base for a new restaurant in the same market. Our core business strategy does not entail opening new restaurants that we believe will materially affect sales at our or our franchisees’ existing restaurants. However, we cannot guarantee there will not be a significant impact in some cases, and we may selectively open new restaurants in and around areas of existing restaurants that are operating at or near capacity to effectively serve our customers. Sales cannibalization between our restaurants may become significant in the future as we continue to expand our operations and could affect our sales growth, which could, in turn, materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our sales growth and ability to achieve profitability could be adversely affected if comparable restaurant sales are less than we expect.

The level of comparable restaurant sales, which reflect the change in year-over-year sales for restaurants in the fiscal month following 15 months of operation using a mid-month convention, will affect our sales growth and will continue to be a critical factor affecting our ability to generate profits because the profit margin on comparable restaurant sales is generally higher than the profit margin on new restaurant sales.

Our marketing programs may not be successful, and our new menu items, advertising campaigns and restaurant designs or remodels may not generate increased sales or profits.

We incur costs and expend other resources in our marketing efforts on new menu items, advertising campaigns and restaurant designs and remodels to raise brand awareness and attract and retain customers. These initiatives may not be successful, resulting in expenses incurred without the benefit of higher revenues. Additionally, some of our competitors have greater financial resources, which enable them to spend significantly more on marketing and advertising and other initiatives than we are able to. Should our competitors increase spending on marketing and advertising and other initiatives, or our marketing funds decrease for any reason, or should our advertising, promotions, new menu items and restaurant designs and remodels be less effective than our competitors, there could be a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. Our SuperFit Foods division relies heavily on web based, social media and local marketing to generate new clients. The meal prep industry has a high cost of customer acquisition, and our marketing efforts may not prove to be successful in generating new clients.

Failure to receive timely deliveries of food or other supplies could result in a loss of revenues and materially and adversely impact our operations.

Our Company-operated restaurants and franchisees’ ability to maintain consistent quality menu items and prices significantly depends upon our ability to acquire quality food products from reliable sources in accordance with our specifications on a timely basis. Shortages or interruptions in the supply of food products caused by unanticipated demand, worker shortages, inflation, problems in production or distribution, contamination of food products, an outbreak of protein-based diseases, inclement weather, fuel supplies, governmental actions or other conditions could materially adversely affect the availability, quality and cost of ingredients, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. We have contracts with a limited number of suppliers, and, in some cases, a sole supplier, for certain products, supplies and ingredients. If that distributor or any supplier fails to perform as anticipated or seeks to terminate agreements with us, or if there is any disruption in any of our supply or distribution relationships for any reason, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be materially adversely affected. If we or our franchisees temporarily close a restaurant or remove popular items from a restaurant’s menu due to a supply shortage, that restaurant may experience a significant reduction in revenues during the time affected by the shortage and thereafter if our customers change their dining habits as a result.

Changes in food and supply costs or failure to receive frequent deliveries of food ingredients and other supplies could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Although we are currently generating a Net loss, our future profitability, if any, depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in food and supply costs, and our ability to maintain our menu depends in part on our ability to acquire ingredients that meet specifications from reliable suppliers. Shortages or interruptions in the availability of certain supplies caused by unanticipated demand, problems in production or distribution, food contamination, pandemics such as the COVID 19, inclement weather, world conflicts or other conditions could adversely affect the availability, quality and cost of our ingredients, which could harm our operations. Any increase in the prices of the food products most critical to our menu, such as chicken, seafood, beef, fresh produce, dairy products, packaging and other proteins, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. Although we try to manage the impact that these fluctuations have on our operating results, we remain susceptible to increases in food and packaging costs as a result of factors beyond our control, such as general economic conditions, seasonal fluctuations, weather conditions, inflation, demand, food safety concerns, generalized infectious diseases, product recalls, fuel prices and other government regulations. Therefore, material increases in the prices of the ingredients most critical to our menu could adversely affect our operating results or cause us to consider changes to our product delivery strategy and adjustments to our menu pricing.

If any of our distributors or suppliers perform inadequately, or our distribution or supply relationships are disrupted for any reason, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Although we often enter into contracts for the purchase of food products and supplies, we do not have long-term contracts for the purchase of all such food products and supplies. As a result, we may not be able to anticipate or react to changing food costs by adjusting our purchasing practices or menu prices, which could cause our operating results to deteriorate. If we cannot replace or engage distributors or suppliers who meet our specifications in a short period of time, that could increase our expenses and cause shortages of food and other items at our restaurants, which could cause a restaurant to remove items from our menu. If that were to happen, affected restaurants could experience significant reductions in sales during the shortage or thereafter, if customers change their dining habits as a result. In addition, although we provide modestly priced food, we may choose not to, or may be unable to, pass along commodity price increases to consumers, including price increases with respect to ground beef, chicken, seafood, produce, dairy, packaging or other commodities. These potential changes in food and supply costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Failure to manage our growth in the restaurant division effectively could harm our business and operating results

Our growth plan includes opening a significant number of new restaurants, both franchised and Company-owned. Our existing restaurant management systems, financial and management controls and information systems may be inadequate to support our planned expansion. Managing our growth effectively will require us to continue to enhance these systems, procedures and controls and to hire, train and retain managers and team members. We may not respond quickly enough to the changing demands that our expansion will impose on our management, restaurant teams and existing infrastructure, which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The planned rapid increase in the number of our restaurants may make our future results unpredictable.

We intend to continue to increase the number of our Company-owned and franchised restaurants in the next several years, especially in the Pokemoto division. This growth strategy and the substantial investment associated with the development of each new restaurant may cause our operating results to fluctuate unpredictably or have an adverse effect on our profits. In addition, we may find that our restaurant concept has limited appeal in new markets, or we may experience a decline in the popularity of our restaurant concept in the markets in which we operate. Newly opened restaurants or our future markets and restaurants may not be successful, or our system-wide average restaurant revenue may not increase, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The financial performance of our franchisees can negatively impact our business as we rely on an aggressive unit sales strategy.

Our revenue projections consist of both Company-operated and franchised locations. Our growth plans call for an aggressive approach to Pokemoto franchise unit level sales and subsequent openings. As approximately 57% of our restaurants are franchised as of December 31, 2022, our financial results are dependent in significant part upon the operational and financial success of our franchisees. In the event we cannot meet these forecasts due to the inability to sell franchise locations in certain states, are prevented from selling franchises due to historical performance, government regulations, licensing, state registrations, or other factors, we will have a material negative impact on future revenues. Our revenue model and cash flows rely heavily on initial franchise fees, ongoing 2% to 6% royalties of total net sales and vendor rebates on total purchases and services from franchised locations. A significant reduction in the total number of units sold and subsequently opened would have a material adverse effect on future revenues. We also collect rebates from some vendors supplying franchisees for food purchases, services and materials. We have established operational standards and guidelines for our franchisees; however, we have limited control over how our franchisees’ businesses are run. While we are responsible for the anticipated success of our entire system of restaurants and for taking a longer-term view with respect to system improvements, our franchisees have individual business strategies and objectives, which might conflict with our interests. Our franchisees may not be able to secure adequate financing to open or continue operating their Muscle Maker Grill or Pokemoto restaurants. If they incur too much debt or if economic or sales trends deteriorate such that they are unable to repay existing debt, our franchisees could experience financial distress or even bankruptcy. If a significant number of franchisees become financially distressed, it could harm our operating results through reduced royalty revenues and the impact on our profitability could be greater than the percentage decrease in the royalty revenues. Closure of franchised restaurants would reduce our royalty revenues and other sources of income and could negatively impact margins, since we may not be able to reduce fixed costs which we continue to incur.

The interests of our franchisees may conflict with ours or yours in the future and we could face liability from our franchisees or related to our relationship with our franchisees.

Franchisees, as independent business operators, may from time to time disagree with us and our strategies regarding the business or our interpretation of our respective rights and obligations under the franchise agreement and the terms and conditions of the franchisee/franchisor relationship. This may lead to disputes with our franchisees, and we expect such disputes to occur from time to time in the future as we continue to offer franchises. Such disputes may result in legal action against us. To the extent we have such disputes, the attention, time and financial resources of our management and our franchisees will be diverted from our restaurants, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows even if we have a successful outcome in the dispute.

In addition, various state and federal laws govern our relationship with our franchisees and our potential sale of a franchise. A franchisee and/or a government agency may bring legal action against us based on the franchisee/franchisor relationships that could result in the award of damages to franchisees and/or the imposition of fines or other penalties against us.

We have limited control with respect to the operations of our franchisees, which could have a negative impact on our business.

Franchisees are independent business operators and are not our employees, and we do not exercise control over the day-to-day operations of their restaurants. We provide training and support to franchisees, and set and monitor operational standards, but the quality of franchised restaurants may be diminished by any number of factors beyond our control. Consequently, franchisees may not successfully operate restaurants in a manner consistent with our standards and requirements or may not hire and train qualified managers and other restaurant personnel. If franchisees do not operate to our expectations, our image and reputation, and the image and reputation of other franchisees, may suffer materially and system-wide sales could decline significantly, which would reduce our royalty and other revenues, and the impact on profitability could be greater than the percentage decrease in royalties and fees.

The challenging economic environment may affect our franchisees, with adverse consequences to us.

We rely in part on our franchisees and the manner in which they operate their locations to develop and promote our business. Due to the continuing challenging economic environment, it is possible that some franchisees could file for bankruptcy or become delinquent in their payments to us, which could have a significant adverse impact on our business due to loss or delay in payments of royalties, elimination of vendor rebates on franchisee purchases, contributions to our marketing development fund and brand development/advertising funds and other fees. Bankruptcies by our franchisees could prevent us from terminating their franchise agreements so that we can offer their territories to other franchisees, negatively impact our market share and operating results as we may have fewer well-performing restaurants, and adversely impact our ability to attract new franchisees.

We cannot be certain that the developers and franchisees we select will have the business acumen or financial resources necessary to open and operate successful franchises in their franchise areas, and state franchise laws may limit our ability to terminate or modify these franchise arrangements. Moreover, franchisees may not successfully operate restaurants in a manner consistent with our standards and requirements or may not hire and train qualified managers and other restaurant personnel. The failure of developers and franchisees to open and operate franchises successfully could have a material adverse effect on us, our reputation, our brand and our ability to attract prospective franchisees and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Franchisees may not have access to the financial or management resources that they need to open the restaurants contemplated by their agreements with us or be able to find suitable sites on which to develop them. Franchisees may not be able to negotiate an acceptable lease or purchase terms for restaurant sites, obtain the necessary permits and government approvals or meet construction schedules. Any of these problems could slow our growth and reduce our franchise revenues. Additionally, our franchisees typically depend on financing from banks and other financial institutions, which may not always be available to them, in order to construct and open new restaurants. For these reasons, franchisees operating under development agreements may not be able to meet the new restaurant opening dates required under those agreements.

Negative publicity could reduce sales at some or all of our restaurants.

We may, from time to time, be faced with negative publicity relating to food quality, the safety, sanitation and welfare of our restaurant facilities, customer complaints or litigation alleging illness or injury, health inspection scores, integrity of our or our suppliers’ food processing and other policies, practices and procedures, employee relationships and welfare or other matters at one or more of our restaurants. Negative publicity may adversely affect us, regardless of whether the allegations are valid or whether we are held to be responsible. In addition, the negative impact of adverse publicity relating to one restaurant may extend far beyond the restaurant involved, especially due to the high geographic concentration of many of our restaurants, to affect some or all of our other restaurants, including our franchised restaurants. The risk of negative publicity is particularly great with respect to our franchised restaurants because we are limited in the manner in which we can regulate them, especially on a real-time basis and negative publicity from our franchised restaurants may also significantly impact Company-operated restaurants. A similar risk exists with respect to food service businesses unrelated to us, if customers mistakenly associate such unrelated businesses with our operations. Employee claims against us based on, among other things, wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment or wrongful termination may also create not only legal and financial liability but negative publicity that could adversely affect us and divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit the future performance of our operations. These types of employee claims could also be asserted against us, on a co-employer theory, by employees of our franchisees. A significant increase in the number of these claims or an increase in the number of successful claims could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Food safety and quality concerns may negatively impact our business and profitability, our internal operational controls and standards may not always be met, and our employees may not always act professionally, responsibly and in our and our customers’ best interests. Any possible instances of food-borne illness could reduce our restaurant sales.

Food-borne illnesses, such as E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella, Cyclospora and Trichinosis, and food safety issues, such as food tampering, contamination (including with respect to allergens) and adulteration or food- or beverage-borne illness, occur or may occur within our system from time to time. Furthermore, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are now stricter health regulations and guidelines and increased public concern over food safety standards and controls. Any report or publicity linking us or one of our Concepts’ restaurants or linking our competitors or the retail food industry generally, to instances of food- or beverage-borne illness or food safety issues, could adversely affect us and possibly lead to product liability claims, litigation, governmental investigations or actions, and damages. Moreover, the reliance of our concepts’ restaurants on third-party food suppliers and distributors and increasing reliance on food delivery aggregators increases the risk that food or beverage-borne illness incidents and food safety issues could be caused by factors outside of our direct control. If a customer of one of our Concepts’ restaurants becomes ill from food or beverage-borne illnesses or as a result of food safety issues, restaurants in our system may be temporarily closed, which could disrupt our operations and materially and adversely affect our business. In addition, instances or allegations of food or beverage-borne illness or food safety issues, real or perceived, involving our restaurants, restaurants of competitors, or our suppliers or distributors (regardless of whether we use or have used those suppliers or distributors), or otherwise involving the types of food served at our restaurants, could result in negative publicity that could adversely affect either our or our concepts’ franchisees’ revenues and profits. The occurrence of food or beverage-borne illnesses or food safety issues could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected ingredients, which could result in disruptions in our supply chain and/or lower margins for us and our Concepts’ franchisees.

The volatile credit and capital markets could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition.

Our ability to manage our debt is dependent on our level of cash flow from Company-operated and franchised restaurants, net of costs. An economic downturn may negatively impact our cash flows. Credit and capital markets can be volatile, which could make it more difficult for us to refinance our existing debt or to obtain additional debt or equity financings in the future. Such constraints could increase our costs of borrowing and could restrict our access to other potential sources of future liquidity. Our failure to have sufficient liquidity to make interest and other payments required by our debt could result in a default of such debt and acceleration of our borrowings, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition. The lack of availability or access to build-to-suit leases and equipment financing leases could result in a decreased number of new restaurants and have a negative impact on our growth.

A military conflict or large troop deployment could affect our revenue at Company and franchise military locations in the future.

We have multiple Company-owned non-traditional military base locations. Our military base locations are built in support of “Operation Live Well” and the desire of the United States military to offer healthier eating options on its bases. In the event of a large troop deployment or military conflict, the total number of troops present on any given base could be materially reduced and therefore our total revenues in these locations would likely be reduced accordingly.

The personal information that we collect may be vulnerable to breach, theft or loss that could adversely affect our reputation, results of operation and financial condition.

In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, process, transmit and retain personal information regarding our employees and their families, our franchisees, vendors and consumers, which can include social security numbers, social insurance numbers, banking and tax identification information, health care information, usernames and passwords and credit card information and our franchisees collect similar information. Some of this personal information is held and managed by our franchisees and certain of our vendors. A third-party may be able to circumvent the security and business controls we use to limit access and use of personal information, which could result in a breach of employee, consumer or franchisee privacy. A major breach, theft or loss of personal information regarding our employees and their families, our franchisees, vendors or consumers that is held by us or our vendors could result in substantial fines, penalties, indemnification claims and potential litigation against us which could negatively impact our results of operations and financial condition. As a result of legislative and regulatory rules, we may be required to notify the owners of the personal information of any data breaches, which could harm our reputation and financial results, as well as subject us to litigation or actions by regulatory authorities. Furthermore, media or other reports of existing or perceived security vulnerabilities in our systems or those of our franchisees or vendors, even if no breach has been attempted or has occurred, can adversely impact our brand and reputation, and thereby materially impact our business.

Significant capital investments and other expenditures could be required to remedy a breach and prevent future problems, including costs associated with additional security technologies, personnel, experts and credit monitoring services for those whose data has been breached. These costs, which could be material, could adversely impact our results of operations during the period in which they are incurred. The techniques and sophistication used to conduct cyber-attacks and breaches, as well as the sources and targets of these attacks, change frequently and are often not recognized until such attacks are launched or have been in place for a period of time. Accordingly, our expenditures to prevent future cyber-attacks or breaches may not be successful.

Information technology system failures or interruptions or breaches of our network security may interrupt our operations, subject us to increased operating costs and expose us to litigation.

As our reliance on technology has increased, so have the risks posed to our systems. We rely heavily on our computer systems and network infrastructure across operations including, but not limited to, point-of-sale processing at our restaurants, online/web-based transactions at SuperFit Foods and third-party delivery and loyalty apps as well as the systems of our third-party vendors to whom we outsource certain administrative functions. Despite our implementation of security measures, all of our technology systems are vulnerable to damage, disruption or failures due to physical theft, fire, power loss, telecommunications failure or other catastrophic events, as well as from problems with transitioning to upgraded or replacement systems, internal and external security breaches, denial of service attacks, viruses, worms and other disruptive problems caused by hackers. If any of our technology systems were to fail, and we were unable to recover in a timely way, we could experience an interruption in our operations. Furthermore, if unauthorized access to or use of our systems were to occur, data related to our proprietary information could be compromised. The occurrence of any of these incidents could have a material adverse effect on our future financial condition and results of operations. To the extent that some of our reporting systems require or rely on manual processes, it could increase the risk of a breach due to human error.

In addition, we receive and maintain certain personal information about our customers, franchisees and employees, and our franchisees receive and maintain similar information. For example, in connection with credit card transactions, we and our franchisees collect and transmit confidential credit card information by way of retail networks. We also maintain important internal data, such as personally identifiable information about our employees and franchisees and information relating to our operation. Our use of personally identifiable information is regulated by applicable laws and regulations. If our security and information systems or those of our franchisees are compromised or our business associates fail to comply with these laws and regulations and this information is obtained by unauthorized persons or used inappropriately, it could adversely affect our reputation, as well as our restaurant operations and results of operations and financial condition. As privacy and information security laws and regulations change, we may incur additional costs to ensure that we remain in compliance.

Further, the standards for systems currently used for transmission and approval of electronic payment transactions, and the technology utilized in electronic payment themselves, all of which can put electronic payment data at risk, are determined and controlled by the payment card industry, not by us. If someone is able to circumvent our data security measures or that of third parties with whom we do business, including our franchisees, he or she could destroy or steal valuable information or disrupt our operations. Any security breach could expose us to risks of data loss, litigation, liability, and could seriously disrupt our operations. Any resulting negative publicity could significantly harm our reputation and could materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

A number of our systems and processes are not fully integrated and, as a result, require us to manually estimate and consolidate certain information that we use to manage our business. To the extent that we are not able to obtain transparency into our operations from our systems, it could impair the ability of our management to react quickly to changes in the business or economic environment.

We anticipate expanding, upgrading and developing our information technology capabilities. If we are unable to successfully upgrade or expand our technological capabilities, we may not be able to take advantage of market opportunities, manage our costs and transactional data effectively, satisfy customer requirements, execute our business plan or respond to competitive pressures.

We outsource certain aspects of our business to third-party vendors which subjects us to risks, including disruptions in our business and increased costs.

We have outsourced certain administrative functions for our business to third-party service providers. We also outsource certain information technology support services and benefit plan administration. Furthermore, we outsource delivery services to multiple third-party vendors including UberEats, DoorDash and GrubHub to fulfill delivery orders from both Company-owned and franchise locations. Our SuperFit Foods division outsources home and pick up location deliveries to independent contractors. Our Pokemoto division outsources online ordering and loyalty programs to Snackpass. In the future, we may outsource other functions to achieve cost savings and efficiencies. If the service providers to which we outsource these functions do not perform effectively or are negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we may not be able to achieve the expected cost savings and may have to incur additional costs in connection with such failure to perform. Depending on the function involved, such failures may also lead to business disruption, transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, the loss of sales and customers, the loss of or damage to intellectual property through security breach, and the loss of sensitive data through security breach or otherwise. Any such damage or interruption could have a material adverse effect on our business, cause us to face significant fines, customer notice obligations or costly litigation, harm our reputation with our customers or prevent us from paying our collective suppliers or employees or receiving payments on a timely basis.

The failure to enforce and maintain our trademarks and protect our other intellectual property could materially adversely affect our business, including our ability to establish and maintain brand awareness.

We have registered Muscle Maker Grill^®, Pokemoto^®, SuperFit Foods and certain other names used by our restaurants as trademarks or service marks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Muscle Maker Grill^® trademark is also registered in some form in one foreign country. Our current brand campaign, “Great Food with Your Health in Mind” has also been approved for registration with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We have also filed for the for the trademarks “get in the aloha state of mind” and “meal prep and chill”, which are currently pending with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In addition, the Muscle Maker Grill, Pokemoto and SuperFit Foods logos, recipes, trade dress, packaging, website names and addresses (www.musclemakergrill.com, www.pokemoto.com and www.superfitfoods.com) and Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media and internet accounts are our intellectual property. The success of our business strategy depends on our continued ability to use our existing trademarks and service marks in order to increase brand awareness and develop our branded products. If our efforts to protect our intellectual property are not adequate, or if any third-party misappropriates or infringes on our intellectual property, whether in print, on the Internet or through other media, the value of our brands may be harmed, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, including the failure of our brands and branded products to achieve and maintain market acceptance. There can be no assurance that all of the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property in the United States and in foreign countries will be adequate. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States.

We or our suppliers maintain the seasonings and additives for our food offerings, as well as certain standards, specifications and operating procedures, as trade secrets or confidential information. We may not be able to prevent the unauthorized disclosure or use of our trade secrets or information, despite the existence of confidentiality agreements and other measures. While we try to ensure that the quality of our brand and branded products is maintained by all of our franchisees, we cannot be certain that these franchisees will not take actions that adversely affect the value of our intellectual property or reputation. If any of our trade secrets or information were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Third-party claims with respect to intellectual property assets, if decided against us, may result in competing uses or require adoption of new, non-infringing intellectual property, which may in turn adversely affect sales and revenues.

There can be no assurance that third parties will not assert infringement or misappropriation claims against us, or assert claims that our rights in our trademarks, service marks, trade dress and other intellectual property assets are invalid or unenforceable. Any such claims could have a material adverse effect on us or our franchisees if such claims were to be decided against us. If our rights in any intellectual property were invalidated or deemed unenforceable, it could permit competing uses of intellectual property which, in turn, could lead to a decline in restaurant revenues. If the intellectual property became subject to third-party infringement, misappropriation or other claims, and such claims were decided against us, we may be forced to pay damages, be required to develop or adopt non-infringing intellectual property or be obligated to acquire a license to the intellectual property that is the subject of the asserted claim. There could be significant expenses associated with the defense of any infringement, misappropriation, or other third-party claims.

We depend on our executive officers, the loss of whom could materially harm our business.

We rely upon the accumulated knowledge, skills and experience of our executive officers and significant employees. Our executive officers and significant employees have significant experience in the food service industry. If they were to leave us or become incapacitated, we might suffer in our planning and execution of business strategy and operations, impacting our brand and financial results. We also do not maintain any key man life insurance policies for any of our employees.

Matters relating to employment and labor law may adversely affect our business.

Various federal and state labor laws govern our relationships with our employees and affect operating costs. These laws include employee classifications as exempt or non-exempt, minimum wage requirements, unemployment tax rates, workers’ compensation rates, citizenship requirements and other wage and benefit requirements for employees classified as non-exempt. Significant additional government regulations and new laws, including mandating increases in minimum wages, changes in exempt and non-exempt status, or mandated benefits such as health insurance could materially affect our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flow. Furthermore, if our or our franchisees’ employees unionize, it could materially affect our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flow.

We are also subject in the ordinary course of business to employee claims against us based, among other things, on discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination or violation of wage and labor laws. Such claims could also be asserted against us by employees of our franchisees. Moreover, claims asserted against franchisees may at times be made against us as a franchisor. These claims may divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit our operations. The ongoing expense of any resulting lawsuits, and any substantial settlement payment or damage award against us, could adversely affect our business, brand image, employee recruitment, financial condition, operating results or cash flows.

In addition, various states in which we operate are considering or have already adopted new immigration laws or enforcement programs, and the United States Congress and Department of Homeland Security from time to time consider and may implement changes to federal immigration laws, regulations or enforcement programs as well. Some of these changes may increase our obligations for compliance and oversight, which could subject us to additional costs and make our hiring process more cumbersome or reduce the availability of potential employees. Although we require all workers to provide us with government-specified documentation evidencing their employment eligibility, some of our employees may, without our knowledge, be unauthorized workers. Unauthorized workers are subject to deportation and may subject us to fines or penalties, and if any of our workers are found to be unauthorized, we could experience adverse publicity that negatively impacts our brand and may make it more difficult to hire and keep qualified employees. Termination of a significant number of employees who were unauthorized employees may disrupt our operations, cause temporary increases in our labor costs as we train new employees and result in additional adverse publicity. We could also become subject to fines, penalties and other costs related to claims that we did not fully comply with all recordkeeping obligations of federal and state immigration compliance laws. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Restaurant companies have been the target of class action lawsuits and other proceedings alleging, among other things, violations of federal and state workplace and employment laws. Proceedings of this nature are costly, divert management attention and, if successful, could result in our payment of substantial damages or settlement costs.

Our business is subject to the risk of litigation by employees, consumers, suppliers, franchisees, stockholders or others through private actions, class actions, administrative proceedings, regulatory actions or other litigation. The outcome of litigation, particularly class action and regulatory actions, is difficult to assess or quantify. In recent years, restaurant companies, including us, have been subject to lawsuits, including lawsuits, alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment conditions, discrimination and similar matters. A number of these lawsuits have resulted in the payment of substantial damages by the defendants. Similar lawsuits have been instituted from time-to-time alleging violations of various federal and state wage and hour laws regarding, among other things, employee meal deductions, overtime eligibility of managers and failure to pay for all hours worked.

Occasionally, our customers file complaints or lawsuits against us alleging that we are responsible for some illness or injury they suffered at or after a visit to one of our restaurants, including actions seeking damages resulting from food-borne illness or accidents in our restaurants. We are also subject to a variety of other claims from third parties arising in the ordinary course of our business, including contract claims. The restaurant industry has also been subject to a growing number of claims that the menus and actions of restaurant chains have led to the obesity of certain of their customers. We may also be subject to lawsuits from our employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or others alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment conditions, discrimination and similar matters.

Regardless of whether any claims against us are valid or whether we are liable, claims may be expensive to defend and may divert time and money away from our operations and result in increases in our insurance premiums. In addition, they may generate negative publicity, which could reduce customer traffic and sales. Although we maintain what we believe to have adequate levels of insurance, insurance may not be available at all or in sufficient amounts to cover any liabilities with respect to these or other matters. A judgment or other liability in excess of our insurance coverage for any claims or any adverse publicity resulting from claims could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

If we or our franchisees face labor shortages or increased labor costs, our results of operations and our growth could be adversely affected.

Labor is a primary component in the cost of operating our Company-operated and franchised restaurants. If we or our franchisees face labor shortages or increased labor costs because of increased competition for employees, higher employee-turnover rates, size of the available workforce, unionization of restaurant workers, or increases in the federally-mandated or state-mandated minimum wage, change in exempt and non-exempt status, or other employee benefits costs (including costs associated with health insurance coverage or workers’ compensation insurance), our and our franchisees’ operating expenses could increase and our growth could be adversely affected.

We have a substantial number of hourly employees who are paid wage rates at or based on the applicable federal or state minimum wage and increases in the minimum wage will increase our labor costs and the labor costs of our franchisees. Federally-mandated, state-mandated or locally-mandated minimum wages may be raised in the future. We may be unable to increase our menu prices in order to pass future increased labor costs on to our customers, in which case our margins would be negatively affected. Also, reduced margins of franchisees could make it more difficult to sell franchises. If menu prices are increased by us and our franchisees to cover increased labor costs, the higher prices could adversely affect transactions which could lower sales and thereby reduce our margins and the royalties that we receive from franchisees.

In addition, our success depends in part upon our and our franchisees’ ability to attract, motivate and retain a sufficient number of well-qualified restaurant operators, management personnel and other employees. Qualified individuals needed to fill these positions can be in short supply in some geographic areas. In addition, limited-service restaurants have traditionally experienced relatively high employee turnover rates. Our franchisees’ ability to recruit and retain such individuals may delay the planned openings of new restaurants or result in higher employee turnover in existing restaurants, which could increase our and our franchisees’ labor costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. If we or our franchisees are unable to recruit and retain sufficiently qualified individuals, our business and our growth could be adversely affected. Competition for these employees could require us or our franchisees to pay higher wages, which could also result in higher labor costs.

We are locked into long-term and non-cancelable leases and may be unable to renew leases at the end of their terms.

Many of our restaurant leases are non-cancelable and typically have initial terms up to between one and ten years and one to three renewal terms of one to ten years each that we may exercise at our option. Even if we close a restaurant, we are required to perform our obligations under the applicable lease, which could include, among other things, a provision for a closed restaurant reserve when the restaurant is closed, which would impact our profitability, and payment of the base rent, property taxes, insurance and maintenance for the balance of the lease term. In addition, in connection with leases for restaurants that we will continue to operate, we may, at the end of the lease term and any renewal period for a restaurant, be unable to renew the lease without substantial additional cost, if at all. As a result, we may close or relocate the restaurant, which could subject us to construction and other costs and risks. Additionally, the revenues and profit, if any, generated at a relocated restaurant may not equal the revenues and profit generated at the existing restaurant.

We and our franchisees are subject to extensive government regulations that could result in claims leading to increased costs and restrict our ability to operate or sell franchises.

We and our franchisees are subject to extensive government regulation at the federal, state and local government levels. These include, but are not limited to, regulations relating to the preparation and sale of food, zoning and building codes, franchising, land use and employee, health, sanitation and safety matters. We and our franchisees are required to obtain and maintain a wide variety of governmental licenses, permits and approvals. Difficulty or failure in obtaining them in the future could result in delaying or canceling the opening of new restaurants. Local authorities may suspend or deny renewal of our governmental licenses if they determine that our operations do not meet the standards for initial grant or renewal. This risk would be even higher if there were a major change in the licensing requirements affecting our types of restaurants.

These laws and regulations change regularly and are increasingly complex. For example, we are subject to:

Any failure or alleged failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations or related standards or guidelines could adversely affect our reputation, growth prospects and financial results or result in, among other things, litigation, revocation of required licenses, internal investigations, governmental investigations or proceedings, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil and criminal liability. Publicity relating to any such noncompliance could also harm our Concepts’ reputations and adversely affect our revenues. In addition, the compliance costs associated with complying with new or existing legal requirements could be substantial.

Our Company is subject to numerous laws, regulations, and mandates globally which could adversely affect our operating results and forward strategy.

Our Company does business globally, connecting crops and markets in various countries, and is required to comply with laws and regulations administered by the United States federal government as well as state, local, and non-U.S. governmental authorities in numerous areas including: accounting and income taxes, anti-corruption, anti-bribery, global trade, trade sanctions, environmental, product safety, and handling and production of regulated substances. Our Company might face challenges from U.S. and foreign tax authorities regarding the amount of taxes due including questions regarding the timing, amount of deductions, the allocation of income among various tax jurisdictions and further risks related to changing tax laws domestically and globally. Any failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations or appropriately resolve these challenges could subject our Company to administrative, civil, and criminal remedies, including fines, penalties, disgorgement, injunctions, and recalls of its products and damage to its reputation.

Government policies, mandates, and regulations specifically affecting the agricultural sector and related industries; regulatory policies or matters that affect a variety of businesses; taxation polices; and political instability could adversely affect our Company’s operating results.

Agricultural production and trade flows are subject to government policies, mandates, regulations and trade agreements, including taxes, tariffs, duties, subsidies, incentives, foreign exchange rates and import and export restrictions, including policies related to genetically modified organisms, traceability standards, sustainable practices, product safety and labeling, renewable fuels, and low carbon fuel mandates. These policies can influence the planting of certain crops; the location and size of crop production; whether unprocessed or processed commodity products are traded; the volume and types of imports and exports; the availability and competitiveness of feedstocks as raw materials; the viability and volume of production of certain of our products; and industry profitability. International trade regulations can adversely affect agricultural commodity trade flows by limiting or disrupting trade between countries or regions. Regulations of financial markets and instruments, including the Dodd-Frank Act, Consumer Protection Act, and the European Market Infrastructure Regulation, create uncertainty and may lead to additional risks and costs, and could adversely affect our futures commission merchant business and our agricultural commodity risk management practices. Future government policies may adversely affect the supply of, demand for, and prices of our products; adversely affect our ability to deploy adequate hedging programs; restrict our ability to do business in our existing and target markets; and adversely affect our revenues and operating results.

Our Company’s operating results could be affected by political instability and by changes in monetary, fiscal, trade, and environmental policies, laws, regulations, and acquisition approvals, creating risks including, but not limited to: changes in a country’s or region’s economic or political conditions, local labor conditions and regulations, and safety and environmental regulations; reduced protection of intellectual property rights; changes in the regulatory or legal environment; restrictions on currency exchange activities; currency exchange fluctuations; burdensome taxes and tariffs; enforceability of legal agreements and judgments; adverse tax, administrative agency or judicial outcomes; and regulation or taxation of greenhouse gases. International risks and uncertainties, including changing social and economic conditions as well as terrorism, political hostilities, and war, could limit our ability to transact business in these markets. Our Company benefits from the free flow of agricultural and food and feed ingredient products from the U.S. and other sources to markets around the world. Increases in tariff and restrictive trade activities around the world (e.g., the U.S.-China trade relations dispute, Iran sanctions) could negatively impact our ability to enter certain markets or the price of products may become less competitive in those markets.

Our strategy involves expanding the volume and diversity of crops it merchandises and processes, expanding the global reach of our core model, expanding our value-added product portfolio, and expanding the sustainable agriculture programs and partnerships it participates in. Government policies including, but not limited to, antitrust and competition law, trade restrictions, food safety regulations, sustainability requirements and traceability, can impact our ability to execute this strategy successfully.

Upon the expansion of our operations internationally, we could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and similar worldwide anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws.

We have expanded our operations outside the United States for both our restaurant divisions and Sadot. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and other similar anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws and regulations, generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in preventing our franchisees or other agents from taking actions in violation of these laws or regulations. Such violations, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The availability and prices of the agricultural commodities and agricultural commodity products we procure, transport, store, process, and merchandise can be affected by climate change, weather conditions, disease, government programs, competition, and various other factors beyond our control and could adversely affect our operating results.

The availability and prices of agricultural commodities are subject to wide fluctuations, including impacts from factors outside our control, such as changes in weather conditions, climate change, rising sea levels, crop disease, plantings, government programs and policies, competition and changes in global demand, which could adversely affect our operating results. Our Company uses a global network of procurement, processing, as well as robust communications between global commodity merchandiser teams, to continually assess price and basis opportunities. Management-established limits (including a corporate wide value-at-risk metric), with robust internal reporting, help to manage risks in pursuit of driving performance. Additionally, we depend globally on agricultural producers to ensure an adequate supply of agricultural commodities.

Reduced supply of agricultural commodities could adversely affect our profitability by increasing the cost of raw materials and/or limiting our ability to procure, transport, store, process, and merchandise agricultural commodities in an efficient manner. High and volatile commodity prices can place more pressures on short-term working capital funding. Conversely, if supplies are abundant and crop production globally outpaces demand for more than one or two crop cycles, price volatility is somewhat diminished. This could result in reduced operating results due to the lack of supply chain dislocations and reduced market spread and basis opportunities.

Advances in technology, such as seed and crop protection, farming techniques, storage and logistics, and speed of information flow, may reduce the significance of dislocations and arbitrage opportunities in the agricultural global markets, which may reduce the earnings potential of agricultural merchandisers and processors.

We are exposed to potential business disruption including, but not limited to, disruption of transportation services, disruption in the supply, and other impacts resulting from acts of terrorism or war, natural disasters, pandemics, severe weather conditions, accidents, or other planned disruptions, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Our operations rely on dependable and efficient transportation services the disruption of which could result in difficulties supplying materials to our facilities and impair our ability to deliver products to our customers in a timely manner. Certain factors which may impact the availability of agricultural commodity raw materials are out of our control including, but not limited to, disruptions resulting from weather, high or low river water conditions, economic conditions, manufacturing delays or disruptions at suppliers, shortage of materials, interruption of energy supply and unavailable or poor supplier credit conditions.

We are continuing to enhance and deploy additional food safety and security procedures and controls to appropriately mitigate the risks of any adulteration of the Company’s products in the supply chain.

We are exposed to the risk of natural disasters, unusual weather conditions, pandemic outbreaks, political events, war and terrorism that could disrupt business and result in lower sales, increased operating costs and capital expenditures.

Our headquarters, Company-operated and franchised restaurant locations, third-party sole distributor and our facilities, as well as certain of our vendors and customers, are located in areas which have been and could be subject to natural disasters such as floods, blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires or earthquakes. Adverse weather conditions or other extreme changes in the weather, including resulting electrical and technological failures may disrupt our and our franchisees’ business and may adversely affect our and our franchisees’ ability to obtain food and supplies and sell menu items. Our business may be harmed if our or our franchisees’ ability to obtain food and supplies and sell menu items is impacted by any such events, any of which could influence customer trends and purchases and may negatively impact our and our franchisees’ revenues, properties or operations. Such events could result in physical damage to one or more of our or our franchisees’ properties, the temporary closure of some or all of our Company-operated restaurants, franchised restaurants and third-party distributor, the temporary lack of an adequate work force in a market, temporary or long-term disruption in the transport of goods, delay in the delivery of goods and supplies to our Company-operated and franchised restaurants and third-party distributor, disruption of our technology support or information systems, or fuel shortages or dramatic increases in fuel prices, all of which would increase the cost of doing business. These events also could have indirect consequences such as increases in the costs of insurance if they result in significant loss of property or other insurable damage. Any of these factors, or any combination thereof, could adversely affect our operations. Some of our restaurants are located on military bases.

Our Company may fail to realize the benefits of or experience delays in the execution of its growth strategy, which encompasses organic and inorganic initiatives, including those outside the U.S. and in businesses where our Company does not currently have a large presence.

As we execute our growth strategy, through both organic and inorganic growth, we may encounter risks which could result in increased costs, decreased revenues and delayed synergies. Growth in new geographies outside the U.S. can expose us to volatile economic, political and regulatory risks that may negatively impact our operations and ability to achieve our growth strategy. Expanding businesses where we have limited presence may expose us to risks related to the inability to identify an appropriate partner or target and favorable terms, inability to retain/hire strategic talent or integration risks that may require significant management resources that would have otherwise been available for ongoing growth or operational initiatives. Acquisitions may involve unanticipated delays, costs and other problems. Due diligence performed prior to an acquisition may not identify a material liability or issue that could impact our reputation or adversely affect results of operations resulting in a reduction of the anticipated acquisition benefits. Additionally, acquisitions may involve integration risks such as: internal control effectiveness, system integration risks, the risk of impairment charges related to goodwill and other intangibles, ability to retain acquired employees and other unanticipated risks.

Our risk management strategies may not be effective.

Our business is affected by fluctuations in agricultural commodity cash prices and derivative prices, transportation costs, energy prices, interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates and equity markets. Our Company monitors position limits and counterparty risks and engages in other strategies and controls to manage these risks. Our Company has an established commodity merchandising governance process that ensures proper position reporting and monitoring, limits approvals and executes training on trade compliance, commodity regulatory reporting controls and other policies. Our risk monitoring efforts may not be successful at detecting a significant risk exposure. If these controls and strategies are not successful in mitigating our exposure to these fluctuations, it could adversely affect our operating results.

Human capital requirements may not be sufficient to effectively support global operations.

Our global operations function with trained individuals necessary for the warehousing, and shipping of raw materials for products used in other areas of manufacturing or sold as inputs or products to third-party customers. Our Company has various methods and tactics to mitigate potential shortfalls.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock and Lack of Liquidity

As a smaller reporting company, we are exempt from certain disclosure requirements, which could make our Common Stock less attractive to the potential investors.

Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act defines a “smaller reporting company” as an issuer that is not an investment company, an asset-backed issuer, or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent that is not a smaller reporting company and that:

As a smaller reporting company, we will not be required and may not include a Compensation Discussion and Analysis section in our proxy statements; we will provide only two years of financial statements; and we need not provide the table of selected financial data. We also will have other “scaled” disclosure requirements that are less comprehensive than issuers that are not smaller reporting companies which could make our Common Stock less attractive to potential investors, which could make it more difficult for our stockholders to sell their shares.

We are an emerging growth company and subject to less rigorous public reporting requirements and cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our Common Stock less attractive to investors.

We are a public reporting company under the Exchange Act, and thereafter publicly report on an ongoing basis as an “emerging growth company” (as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, which we refer to as the JOBS Act) under the reporting rules set forth under the Exchange Act. For so long as we remain an “emerging growth company”, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other Exchange Act reporting companies that are not “emerging growth companies”, including but not limited to:

We expect to take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Common Stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million, if we issue $1 billion or more in non-convertible debt during a three-year period, or if our annual gross revenues exceed $1 billion. We would cease to be an emerging growth company on the last day of the fiscal year following the date of the fifth anniversary of our first sale of common equity securities under an effective registration statement or a fiscal year in which we have $1 billion in gross revenues. Finally, at any time we may choose to opt-out of the emerging growth company reporting requirements. If we choose to opt out, we will be unable to opt back in to being an emerging growth company.

We cannot predict if investors will find our Common Stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our Common Stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our Common Stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

As an emerging growth company, our auditor is not required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls.

Our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting while we are an emerging growth company. This means that the effectiveness of our financial operations may differ from our peer companies in that they may be required to obtain independent registered public accounting firm attestations as to the effectiveness of their internal controls over financial reporting and we are not. While our management will be required to attest to internal control over financial reporting and we will be required to detail changes to our internal controls on a quarterly basis, we cannot provide assurance that the independent registered public accounting firm’s review process in assessing the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, if obtained, would not find one or more material weaknesses or significant deficiencies. Further, once we cease to be an emerging growth company, we will be subject to independent registered public accounting firm attestation regarding the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. Even if management finds such controls to be effective, our independent registered public accounting firm may decline to attest to the effectiveness of such internal controls and issue a qualified report.

As a public company, we will incur significant increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives.

As a public company, we have incurred significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. In addition, the rules of the SEC and those of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ “), NASDAQ Capital Market has imposed various requirements on public companies including requiring establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations have increased and will continue to increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costlier. For example, we expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, which could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we will incur as a public company or the timing of such costs.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. In particular, we must perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow management to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In addition, we will be required to have our independent registered public accounting firm attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting the later of our second annual report on Form 10-K or the first annual report on Form 10-K following the date on which we are no longer an emerging growth company. Our compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will require that we incur substantial accounting expense and expend significant management efforts. We currently do not have an internal audit group, and we will need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge. If we are not able to comply with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner, or if we or our independent registered public accounting firm identify deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses, the market price of our stock could decline and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the exchange we are listed on, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

Our ability to successfully implement our business plan and comply with Section 404 requires us to be able to prepare timely and accurate financial statements. We expect that we will need to continue to improve existing, and implement new operational and financial systems, procedures and controls to manage our business effectively. Any delay in the implementation of, or disruption in the transition to, new or enhanced systems, procedures or controls, may cause our operations to suffer and we may be unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective and to obtain an unqualified report on internal controls from our auditors as required under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This, in turn, could have an adverse impact on trading prices for our common stock, and could adversely affect our ability to access the capital markets.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) sales practice requirements may limit a stockholder’s ability to buy and sell our stock.

In addition to the “penny stock” rules described above, FINRA has adopted rules that require that in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for that customer. Prior to recommending speculative, low-priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. The FINRA requirements may make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our Common Stock, which may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in our Common Stock. As a result, fewer broker-dealers may be willing to make a market in our common stock, reducing a stockholder’s ability to resell shares of our Common Stock.

Our stock price may be volatile.

The market price of our Common Stock has been highly volatile and could fluctuate widely in price in response to various potential factors, many of which will be beyond our control, including the following:

In addition, the securities markets have from time-to-time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or publish negative reports about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will, to some extent, depends on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our shares or change their opinion of our shares, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future, which could reduce the attractiveness of our stock to some investors.

We currently intend to retain any future earnings to finance the operation and expansion of our business, and we do not expect to declare or pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. As a result, you may only receive a return on your investment in our common stock if the market price of our common stock increases. In addition, we may incur debt financing to further finance our operations, the governing documents of which may contain restrictions on our ability to pay dividends.

If we are unable to maintain listing of our securities on the NASDAQ Capital Market or another reputable stock exchange, it may be more difficult for our stockholders to sell their securities.

NASDAQ requires listing issuers to comply with certain standards in order to remain listed on its exchange. If, for any reason, NASDAQ should delist our securities from trading on its exchange and we are unable to obtain listing on another reputable national securities exchange, a reduction in some or all of the following may occur, each of which could materially adversely affect our stockholders.

As previously reported, on February 1, 2022, the Company received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of The NASDAQ therein indicating that, based upon the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock for the prior 30 consecutive business days, the Company was not in compliance with the requirement to the minimum bid price of $1.00 per share for continued listing on NASDAQ as set forth in NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (the “Minimum Bid Price Requirement”). Pursuant to NASDAQ Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company was granted 180 calendar days, or until August 1, 2022, to regain compliance. On August 2, 2022, the Company received a second letter from the Staff advising that the Company had been granted an additional 180 calendar days, or to January 30, 2023, to regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement, in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A).

On January 31, 2023, we received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of The NASDAQ notifying us that, based upon our non-compliance with the requirement to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share for continued listing on NASDAQ as set forth in NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (the “Minimum Bid Price Requirement”) as of January 31, 2023, we would need to request a hearing to appeal the determination.

We requested a hearing before a NASDAQ Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) on February 7, 2023. The hearing was scheduled for March 23, 2023. On March 2, 2023, the Company received notice from Nasdaq confirming that the Company has cured its bid price deficiency and has fully regained compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Rule.

If our shares of Common Stock become subject to the penny stock rules, it would become more difficult to trade our shares.

The Commission has adopted rules that regulate broker-dealer practices in connection with transactions in penny stocks. Penny stocks are generally equity securities with a price per share of less than $5.00, other than securities registered on certain national securities exchanges or authorized for quotation on certain automated quotation systems, provided that current price and volume information with respect to transactions in such securities is provided by the exchange or system. If we do not obtain or retain a listing on the NYSE American or NASDAQ Capital Market and if the price of our Common Stock is less than $5.00 per share, our Common Stock will be deemed a penny stock. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, before effecting a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document containing specified information. In addition, the penny stock rules require that, before effecting any such transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from those rules, a broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive; (i) the purchaser’s written acknowledgment of the receipt of a risk disclosure statement; (ii) a written agreement to transactions involving penny stocks; and (iii) a signed and dated copy of a written suitability statement. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the trading activity in the secondary market for our Common Stock, and therefore stockholders may have difficulty selling their shares.

Provisions in our articles of incorporation and bylaws and Nevada law may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our Company and, therefore, may depress the trading price of our stock.

Our articles of incorporation and bylaws contain certain provisions that may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control that our stockholders may consider favorable. These provisions:

We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.

In the past companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Litigation of this type could result in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could seriously hurt our business. Any adverse determination in litigation could also subject us to significant liabilities.

ITEM 1B.  UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

ITEM 2.  PROPERTIES

As of the year ended December 31, 2022, our corporate office is located at 1751 River Run, Ste 200 Fort Worth, TX 76107. We believe our current office space is suitable and adequate for its intended purposes and our near-term expansion plans.

Currently Operating System-Wide Restaurants

As of March 21, 2023, Company-operated, franchised and total system-wide restaurants by jurisdiction are:

ITEM 3.  LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we are a defendant or plaintiff in various legal actions that arise in the normal course of business. We record legal costs associated with loss contingencies as incurred and have accrued for all probable and estimable settlements.

We are currently involved in pending legal proceedings that have been previously disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Below is a summary of the legal proceedings that have become a reportable event, or which have had developments during the year ended December 31, 2022.

On or about March 7, 2019, the Company was listed as a defendant to a lawsuit filed by a contractor in the State of Texas in El Paso County #2019DCV0824. The contractor is claiming a breach of contract and is seeking $32,809 in damages for services claimed to be rendered by the contractor. As of December 31, 2022, the Company accrued $30,000 for the liability in accounts payable and accrued expenses.

On January 23, 2020, the Company was served a judgment issued by the Judicial Council of California in the amount of $130,185 for a breach of a lease agreement in Chicago, Illinois, in connection with a Company-owned store that was closed in 2018. As of December 31, 2022, the Company has accrued for the liability in accounts payable and accrued expenses.

ITEM 4.  MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

PART II

ITEM 5.  MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

The high and low per share closing sales prices of the Company’s stock on the NASDAQ Market (ticker symbol: GRIL) for each quarter for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 were as follows:

Transfer Agent

Our transfer agent is Computershare, Inc., located at, 462 South 4th Street, Suite 1600, Louisville, KY 40202, and its telephone number is 1-877-373-6374.

Holders

As of February 10, 2023, there were 6,383 holders of record of our common stock.

Dividends

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the expansion of our business. As a result, we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

Warrants

As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, we had warrants to purchase an aggregate of 18,033,640 and 20,284,016 shares of common stock, respectively, outstanding with a weighted average exercise price of $1.93 and $1.66 per share, respectively.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following table provides information, as of December 31, 2022, with respect to equity securities authorized for issuance under compensation plans:

Performance Graph

As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide the performance graph required by Item 201I of Regulation S-K.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

Issuance of Stock

On February 3, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 20,000 shares of common stock of the Company to a digital marketing consultant with an aggregate fair value of $42,600.

On February 3, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 16,126 shares of common stock of the Company to the members of the board of directors as compensation earned through the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.

On February 7, 2021, the Company entered into a Consulting Agreement with consultants as a strategy business consultant to provide the Company with business and marketing advice as needed. The term of the agreement is for five months from the effective date on February 7, 2021. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement the Company agreed to pay the consultant a total of 100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. The Company issued 60,000 shares of common stock upon the effective date of the agreement with the remaining 40,000 to be issued upon the successful completion of the agreement. As of December 31, 2022, the Company issued the remaining 40,000 shares of common with a grant date fair value of $42,400 pursuant to the terms of the agreement.

On February 11, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 221,783 shares of common stock the Company to various executives and an employee pursuant to the approval of the compensation committee under the 2020 Plan.

On March 8, 2021, the Company entered into a Consulting Agreement with consultants as a strategy business consultant to provide the Company with financial and business. The term of the agreement is for five months from the effective date on March 8, 2021. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement the Company agreed to pay the consultant a total of 100,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. The Company issued 70,000 shares of common stock upon the effective date of the agreement with the remaining 30,000 to be issued upon the successful completion of the agreement. As of December 31, 2022, the Company issued the remaining 30,000 shares of common with a grant date fair value of $31,800 pursuant to the terms of the agreement.

On March 22, 2021, the Company entered into a Consulting Agreement with consultants with experience in the area of investor relations and capital introductions. The term of the agreement is for six months from the effective date on March 22, 2021. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement the Company paid $250,000 in cash and issued 150,000 shares of the Company’s common stock.

On March 25, 2021, the Company entered into an asset purchase agreement with SuperFit Foods, LLC a Florida limited liability company and SuperFit Foods LLC, a Nevada limited liability company (the “SuperFit Acquisition”). The purchase price of the assets and rights was $1,150,000 which included $475,000 that was paid at closing and the remaining $625,000 paid in 268,240 shares of common stock. The remaining $25,000, which was to be issued in the Company’s common stock, was forfeited as the Company and former owner agreed that not all obligations were met.

On March 31, 2021, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 12,711 shares of common stock to the members of the board of directors as compensation earned during the first quarter of 2021.

On April 7, 2021, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with an accredited investor for a private placement pursuant to which the investor agreed to purchase from the Company for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $10,000,000 (i) 1,250,000 shares of common stock of the Company (ii) a common stock purchase warrant to purchase up to 4,115,227 shares of common stock (the “common warrant”) and (iii) a pre-funded common stock purchase warrant to purchase up to 2,865,227 shares of common stock (the “pre-funded warrant”). Each share and accompanying common warrant were sold together at a combined offering price of $2.43 per share and common warrant, and each pre-funded warrant and accompanying common warrant is being sold together at a combined offering price of $2.42 per pre-funded warrant and accompanying common warrant. The pre-funded warrant is immediately exercisable, at a nominal exercise price of $0.01 per share, and may be exercised at any time until the pre-funded warrant is fully exercised. The common warrant has an exercise price of $2.43 per share, are immediately exercisable and will expire 5.5 years from the date of issuance. The private placement closed on April 9, 2021.

On April 30, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 10,000 shares of common stock of the Company to a digital marketing consultant, pursuant to their service agreement, with an aggregate fair value of $14,700.

On May 6, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 150,000 shares of common stock of the Company to a digital marketing consultant with an aggregate fair value of $214,500. The Company accrued for the liability as accrued compensation expense on the books as of June 30, 2021, as the share were fully earned pursuant to their service agreement.

On May 14, 2021, the Company and the former owners of the Poke Entities II (as defined below) entered into a Membership Interest Exchange Agreement pursuant to which the Company acquired Poke Co Holdings LLC, GLL Enterprises LLC, and TNB Holdings II, LLC, each a Connecticut limited liability company (collectively, the Poke Entities II”) in exchange for shares of common stock of the Company valued at $1,250,000. The Company issued 880,282 shares of common stock of the Company. The price per share was determine by using the 10-day trading average preceding the date of closing.

On May 27, 2021, the Company cancelled 11,879 shares of common stock previously issued to an investor pursuant to a settlement agreement. The cancellation of the 11,879 shares was part of the settlement agreement.

On August 24, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 15,000 shares of common stock of the Company to a digital marketing consultant, pursuant to their service agreement, with an aggregate fair value of $20,999.

On August 24, 2021, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 20,829 shares of common stock to the members of the board of directors as compensation earned during the second quarter of 2021.

On August 26, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 1,100 shares of common stock of the Company to an investor in the Company.

On October 11, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 40,000 shares of common stock of the Company to a consultant for general consulting services, pursuant to their service agreement, with an aggregate fair value of $40,800.

On October 21, 2021, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 24,275 shares of common stock to the members of the board of directors as compensation earned during the third quarter of 2021.

On October 22, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 15,000 shares of common stock of the Company to a digital marketing consultant, pursuant to their service agreement, with an aggregate fair value of $15,150.

On November 17, 2021, the Company entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement with accredited investors for a private placement pursuant to which the investors (the “Purchasers”) purchased from the Company for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $15,000,000 (i) 6,772,000 shares (the “shares”) of common stock of the Company, (ii) a common stock purchase warrant to purchase up to 10,830,305 shares of common stock (the “November common warrant”) and (iii) a pre-funded common stock purchase warrant to purchase up to 4,058,305 shares of common stock (the “pre-funded warrant”). Each share and accompanying November common warrant was sold together at a combined offering price of $1.385 per share and November common warrant, and each pre-funded warrant and accompanying November common warrant was sold together at a combined offering price of $1.3849 per pre-funded warrant and accompanying November common warrant. The November pre-funded warrant is immediately exercisable, at a nominal exercise price of $0.0001 per share, and may be exercised at any time until the November pre-funded warrant is fully exercised. The November common warrant will have an exercise price of $1.385 per share, are immediately exercisable and will expire 5 years from the date of issuance. The private placement closed on November 22, 2021.

On December 3, 2021, the Company issued 82,500 shares of common stock of the Company to a consultant for business strategy consulting with a fair value of $84,975.

On December 7, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 160,000 shares of common stock of the Company to a consultant for strategic advisory and digital marketing services with an aggregate fair value of $177,600.

On December 27, 2021, the Company issued 10,000 shares of common stock of the Company to a consultant with a fair value of $7,400.

On January 3, 2022, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 1,200,000 shares of common stock in connection with the cashless exercise of the pre-funded warrants. Pursuant to the terms of the pre-funded warrants a total of 1,200,215 warrants were exercised.

On January 6, 2022, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 39,573 shares of common stock to the members of the board of directors as compensation earned during the fourth quarter of 2021. The Company accrued for the liability as of December 31, 2021.

On January 18, 2022, the Company issued an aggregate of 30,000 shares of common stock of the Company to a consultant that assisted with the acquisition of SuperFit Foods and Pokemoto, with an aggregate fair value amount of $15,600. The Company accrued for the liability as of December 31, 2021.

On February 24, 2022, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 1,209,604 shares of common stock in connection with the cashless exercise of the pre-funded warrants. Pursuant to the terms of the pre-funded warrants a total of 1,210,110 warrants were exercised.

On March 31, 2022, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 53,961 shares of common stock to the members of the board of directors as compensation earned during the first quarter of 2022.

On April 4, 2022, the Company authorized the issuance of 20,000 shares of common stock to a member of the executive team per the employment agreement. The stock was not fully earned until April 4, 2022.

On June 8, 2022, the Company authorized the issuance of 5,000 shares of common stock to a contractor for work done at a Company owned location.

On June 30, 2022, the Company recognized 30,910 shares of common stock for book purposes to reconcile the shares outstanding to the transfer agent report.

On July 14, 2022, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 74,019 shares of common stock to the members of the board of directors as compensation earned during the second quarter of 2022.

On October 12, 2022, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 75,792 shares of common stock to the members of the board of directors as compensation earned during the third quarter of 2022.

On November 29, 2022, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 438,085 shares of common stock in connection with the exercise of pre-funded warrants.

On January 5, 2023, the Company authorized the issuance of an aggregate of 31,308 shares of common stock to the members of the board of directors as compensation earned during the fourth quarter of 2022. The Company accrued for the liability as of December 31, 2022.

The offers, sales, and issuances of the securities described above were deemed to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act or Regulation D promulgated thereunder as transactions by an issuer not involving a public offering. The recipients of securities in each of these transactions acquired the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof and appropriate legends were affixed to the securities issued in these transactions. Each of the recipients of securities in these transactions was an accredited or sophisticated person and had adequate access, through employment, business or other relationships, to information about us.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

ITEM 6.  RESERVED

Not applicable.

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of the results of operations and financial condition of Muscle Maker, Inc. (“Muscle Maker”), together with its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 and for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes to those financial statements that are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K following Item 16. References in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations to “us,” “we,” “our,” and similar terms refer to Muscle Maker. “Muscle Maker Grill”, “SuperFit Foods”, “Pokemoto”, and “Sadot” refers to the names under which our corporate and franchised restaurants do business depending on the concept. This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the federal securities laws. The events described in forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report may not occur. Generally, these statements relate to business plans or strategies, projected or anticipated benefits or other consequences of our plans or strategies, projected or anticipated benefits from acquisitions to be made by us, or projections involving anticipated revenues, earnings or other aspects of our operating results. The words “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “forecast,” “model,” “proposal,” “should,” “may,” “intend,” “estimate,” and “continue,” and their opposites and similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are subject to a number of uncertainties, risks and other influences, many of which are beyond our control, which may influence the accuracy of the statements and the projections upon which the statements are based. Reference is made to “Factors That May Affect Future Results and Financial Condition” in this Item 7 for a discussion of some of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements.

OVERVIEW

The Company operates under the name Muscle Maker Grill, Pokemoto, SuperFit Foods and Sadot and is a franchisor and owner operator of Muscle Maker Grill restaurants, Pokemoto restaurants, SuperFit Foods Meal Prep and Sadot. As of December 31, 2022, the Company’s restaurant and meal prep system included 19 Company-owned restaurants, 25 franchise restaurants and 34 SuperFit Foods pick up locations. As of December 31, 2022, the Company has franchise agreements for 46 Pokemoto franchises that have sold but have not opened. In addition to these restaurants, the Company also operates with the following brand names under our ghost kitchen model: Meal Plan AF, Muscle Maker Burger Bar, Bowls Deep, Burger Joe’s, Wrap It Up, Salad Vibes, Mr. T’s House of Boba and Gourmet Sandwich. Our direct mail to consumer meal prep/plan program operates under the musclemakerprep.com and superfitfoods.com websites.

As of December 31, 2022, MMI consisted of five operating segments:

Muscle Maker, Inc. is our parent company. We own and operate three unique “healthier for you” restaurant concepts within our portfolio of companies: Muscle Maker Grill restaurants, SuperFit Foods and Pokemoto restaurants. Non-Traditional (Hybrid) Division is a combination of the aforementioned brands and provides its own unique experience for the customer. Non-Traditional (Hybrid) locations are designed for unique locations such as universities and military bases. Our Company was founded on the belief of taking every-day menu options and converting them into “healthier for you” menu choices. Consumers are demanding healthier choices, customization, flavor and convenience. We believe our portfolio of companies directly satisfy these consumer needs. We take focus on lean proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables, proprietary sauces, whole grains and various other items like protein shakes, meal plans, specialty drinks and super foods. Each of our three concepts offers different menus that are tailored to specific consumer segments. We operate in the fast-casual and meal prep segments of the restaurant industry. We believe our “healthier for you” inspired concepts deliver a highly differentiated customer experience. In 2022 Muscle Maker, Inc created the Sadot Division. Sadot is focused on international food commodity shipping, farming, sourcing and production of key ingredients such as soy meal, corn, wheat, food oils, etc. Sadot was formed as part of the Company’s diversification strategy to own and operate, through its subsidiaries, the business lines throughout the whole spectrum of the food chain.

On October 19, 2022, MMI formed Sadot LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of MMI. Sadot is focused on international food commodity shipping, farming, sourcing and production of key ingredients such as soy meal, corn, wheat, food oils, etc. A typical shipment contains 25,000 to 75,000 metric tons of product, although some transactions can be smaller. Sadot was formed as part of the Company’s diversification strategy to own and operate, through its subsidiaries, the business lines throughout the whole spectrum of the food chain.

On November 14, 2022, MMI, Sadot and Aggia LLC FC, a company formed under the laws of United Arab Emirates (“Aggia”) entered into a Services Agreement whereby Sadot engaged Aggia to provide certain advisory services to Sadot for creating, acquiring and managing Sadot’s business of wholesaling food and engaging in the purchase and sale of physical food commodities. As consideration for Aggia providing the services to Sadot, the Company agreed to issue shares of common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share, to Aggia subject to Sadot generating net income measured on a quarterly basis at per share price of $1.5625, subject to equitable adjustments for any combinations or splits of the Common Stock. The Company may only issue authorized, unreserved Shares of Common Stock. The Company will not issue Aggia in excess of 14,424,275 shares representing 49.999% of the number of issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock. Further, once Aggia has been issued a number of Shares constituting 19.99% of the issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock of the Company, no additional Shares shall be issued to Aggia unless and until this transaction has been approved by the shareholders of the Company. In the event that the Shares Cap has been reached, then the remaining portion of the net income, if any, not issued as Shares shall accrue as debt payable by Sadot to Aggia until such Debt has reached a maximum of $71,520,462.

We believe our healthy-inspired restaurant concept delivers a highly differentiated customer experience by combining the quality and hospitality that customers commonly associate with our full service and fast-casual restaurant competitors with the convenience and value customers generally expect from traditional fast-food restaurants. The foundation of our brand is based on our core values of quality, empowerment, respect, service and value.

In striving for these goals, we aspire to connect with our target market and create a great brand with a strong and loyal customer base.

As of December 31, 2022, the Company had a cash balance, a working capital surplus and an accumulated deficit of $9,898,420, $4,032,888, and $79,355,064, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred a Pre-tax net loss of $7,937,657 and Net cash used in operations of $198,629. The Company believes that our existing cash on hand and future cash flows from our franchise operations, will be sufficient to fund our operations, anticipated capital expenditures and repayment obligations over the next 12 months.

Key Financial Definitions

Total Revenues

Our revenues are derived from four primary sources: Physical Commodity sales, Company restaurant sales, Franchise revenues and vendor rebates from Franchisees. Franchise revenues are comprised of Franchise royalty revenues collected based on 2% to 6% of franchisee net sales and other franchise revenues which include initial and renewal franchisee fees. Vendor rebates are received based on volume purchases or services from franchise owned locations. In addition, we have Other revenues which consists of gift card breakage, which is recognized when we determine that there is no further legal obligation to remit the unredeemed gift card balance.

Commodity Operating Expenses

Commodity Cost

Commodity cost include the direct cost associated with purchasing the physical food commodities. The cost includes cost of the inventory, insurance, shipping and other cost associated with transporting the physical food commodity. The components of Commodity cost are variable in nature, change with sales volume, logistics and are subject to fluctuations in Commodity costs.

Labor

Commodity labor cost consists of consulting fees paid for traders, logistics, and operations personal to perform the purchases and sale of physical food commodities. Similar to other cost items, we expect total Commodity labor costs to increase as our Commodity sales revenues grows.

Other Commodity Operating Expenses

Other commodity operating expenses, consist of food commodity purchase and sales expenses not inclusive of Commodity cost and Labor. These expenses are generally travel and office expense.

Restaurant Operating Expenses

Food and Beverage Costs

Food and beverage costs include the direct costs associated with food, beverage and packaging of our menu items at Company-operated restaurants partially offset by vendor rebates from Company-owned stores. The components of food, beverages and supplies are variable in nature, change with sales volume, are affected by menu mix and are subject to fluctuations in Commodity costs.

Labor

Restaurant labor costs, consists of Company-operated restaurant-level management and hourly labor costs, including salaries, wages, payroll taxes, workers’ compensation expense, benefits and bonuses paid to our Company-operated restaurant-level team members. Like other cost items, we expect total restaurant labor costs at our Company-operated restaurants to increase due to inflation and as our Company restaurant revenues grow. Factors that influence labor costs include minimum wage and employer payroll tax legislation, mandated health care costs and operational productivity established by the management team. Our labor costs in 2021 was partially offset by employee retention tax credits provided by the Internal Revenue Service due to the impact of COVID-19.

Rent

Restaurant rent, consist of Company-operated restaurant-level rental or lease payments applicable to executed rental or lease agreements. In many cases these rental payments may include payments for common area maintenance as well as property tax assessments. Our rent strategy in some locations consists of a variable rent structure calculated on net sales of the restaurant. While this can have a negative effect on higher volume locations where we cannot leverage a fixed rent, it provides downside protection for lower volume locations.

Other Restaurant Operating Expenses

Other restaurant operating expenses, consist of Company-operated restaurant-level ancillary expenses not inclusive of Food and beverage, Labor and Rent expense. These expenses are generally marketing, advertising, merchant and bank fees, utilities, leasehold and equipment repairs, insurance and maintenance. A portion of these costs are associated with third party delivery services such as Uber Eats, Grub Hub, DoorDash and others. The fees associated with these third-party delivery services can range up to 25% of the total order being delivered. Management believes delivery is a critical component of our business model and industry trends will continue to push consumers towards delivery. We have adjusted our cost structure to reflect different pricing models, portion sizes, menu offerings and other considerations to potentially partially offset these rising costs of delivery.

Impairment of Intangible Assets

Impairment of intangible assets consist of an amount by which the carry amount of the intangible assets exceeds its fair value. This is recognized by us when the carry amount of an intangible asset is greater than the projected future undiscounted cash flows, as the asset is not fully recoverable.

Impairment of Goodwill

Impairment of goodwill consist of an amount by which the carry amount of the goodwill assets exceeds its fair value. This is recognized by us when the carry amount of goodwill is greater than the projected future discounted cash flows, as the asset is not fully recoverable.

Depreciation and Amortization Expenses

Depreciation and amortization expenses primarily consist of the depreciation of property and equipment and amortization of intangible assets.

Franchise Advertising Expenses

In accordance with Topic 606, the Company recognizes sales-based advertising contributions from franchisees as franchise revenue when the underlying franchisee incurs the corresponding advertising expense. The Company records the related advertising expenses as incurred under Sales, general and administrative expenses.

Preopening Expenses

Preopening expense primarily consist of expenses associated with opening a Company-operated location and expenses related to Company-operated locations prior to the location opening.

Post-Closing Expenses

Post-closing expense primarily consist of expenses associated with closing a Company-operated location and expenses related to Company-operated locations after the location has closed.

Stock-based Consulting Expenses

Stock-based consulting expenses are related to consulting fees due to Aggia for Sadot operations. Based on the servicing agreement with Aggia, the consulting fees are calculated at approximately 80% of the Net income generated by the Sadot business segment. For the year ended December 31, 2022, $3,601,987 is recorded as Stock-based consulting expense in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations and a corresponding liability is recorded as Accrued stock-based consulting expense in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. This expense is expected to be paid in stock in 2023.

Sales, General and Administrative Expenses

Sales, general and administrative expenses include expenses associated with corporate and administrative functions that support our operations, including wages, benefits, travel expense, stock-based compensation expense, legal and professional fees, training, investor relations and other corporate costs. We incur incremental Sales, general and administrative expenses as a result of being a publicly listed company on the NASDAQ capital market. A certain portion of these expenses are related to the preparation of an initial stock offering and subsequent capital raises and should be considered one-time expenses.

Other (Expense) / Income

Other (expense) / income consists of amortization of debt discounts on the convertible notes, interest expense related to notes payable, Change in fair value of accrued compensation and gains on debt extinguishments in connection with the Paycheck Protection Program, (“PPP”) loan forgiveness.

Income Taxes

Income taxes represent federal, state and local current and deferred income tax expense.

Consolidated Results of Operations

The following table represents selected items in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively:

Year Ended December 31, 2022 Compared with Year Ended December 31, 2021

Revenues

Our revenues totaled $161,698,417 for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $10,349,636 for the year ended December 31, 2021. The $151,348,781 increase is primarily attributed to an increase in Commodity sales as a direct result of the formation of Sadot.

We generated Commodity sales of $150,585,644 for the year ended December 31, 2022. We did not have any Commodity sales for the year ended December 31, 2021. This represented an increase of $150,585,644, or 100%, which is attributable to the formation of Sadot, and the sales generated from physical food related commodities.

We generated Company restaurant sales, net of discounts, of $10,300,394 for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $9,320,920 for the year ended December 31, 2021. This represented an increase of $979,474, or 10.51%, which is mainly attributable to a full year of sales for Pokemoto restaurants and SuperFit Foods compared to 2021.

Franchise royalties and fees for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $726,854 compared to $778,181, respectively. This represents a decrease of $51,327, or 6.60%. In 2021, the franchise fees were higher, primarily due to the closing of several Muscle Maker Grill Franchise restaurants, which corresponds to accelerating the recognition of initial franchise fees.

Franchise advertising fund contributions for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $80,536 compared to $188,539, respectively. In accordance with Topic 606, the Company recognizes these sales-based advertising contributions from franchisees as franchise revenue when the underlying franchisee Company incurs the corresponding advertising expense. The decrease of $108,003 or 57.28%, is a direct result of the decrease in Muscle Maker Grill franchises and the national advertising services to benefit the brand as a whole.

Other revenues for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $4,989 and $61,996, respectively. Other revenues consisted of gift card breakage recognized.

Operating Costs and Expenses

Operating costs and expenses primarily consist of Commodity costs, Restaurant food and beverage costs, Restaurant labor expense, Restaurant rent expense, Other restaurant operating expenses, Depreciation and amortization expenses and Sales, general and administrative expenses.

Commodity costs for the year ended December 31, 2022, totaled $145,671,454 or 96.74% as a percentage of Commodity sales. There was no Commodity cost for the year ended December 31, 2021. The $145,671,454 increase resulted from a new line of business operated by Sadot.

Commodity labor costs for the year ended December 31, 2022, totaled $346,750 or 0.23% as a percentage of Commodity sales. There were no Commodity labor costs for the year ended December 31, 2021. The $346,750 increase resulted from a new line of business operated by Sadot.

Other commodity operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022 totaled $19,000 or 0.01% as a percentage of Commodity sales There was no Other commodity operating expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021. The $19,000 increase resulted from a new line of business operated by Sadot.

Restaurant food and beverage costs for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $3,940,321 or 38.25% as a percentage of Company restaurant net sales, and $3,532,907 or 37.90%, as a percentage of Company restaurant net sales, respectively. The $407,414 increase resulted from a full year of sales for Pokemoto restaurants and SuperFit Foods during the current year as compared to the prior year resulting in higher sales. Total restaurant food and beverage cost as a percentage of sales increased by 0.35% as a result of higher commodity prices in 2022.

Restaurant labor expense for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $3,844,140, or 37.32%, as a percentage of Company restaurant net sales, and $1,917,979, or 20.58%, as a percentage of Company restaurant net sales, respectively. The $1,926,161 increase resulted from a reduction in Labor expense in 2021 as a result of approximately $1,920,000 in employee retention credits that were made available to us due to the effects of COVID-19. Without the employee retention credit restaurant labor for the year ended December 31, 2021, totaled $3,837,979 or 41.17% as a percentage of Company restaurant net sales. Notwithstanding the positive effect of the tax credits on our 2021 Labor costs we were able to reduce our overall labors as a percentage of sales by 3.85% due to increased sales and also due to improvements in operations.

Restaurant rent expense for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $1,190,903, or 11.56% as a percentage of restaurant sales, and $1,261,096, or 13.53%, as a percentage of restaurant sales, respectively. The decrease of $70,193 is directly attributed to the closure of nonperforming corporate location. The percent of total sales decreased by 1.97% as sales increased overall, and we are able to leverage fixed rent against these higher sales levels in conjunction with closing underperforming stores.

Other restaurant operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $2,294,688, or 22.28% as a percentage of restaurant sales, and $2,343,137, or 25.14% as a percentage of restaurant sales, respectively. The $48,449 decrease is primarily due to a decrease in insurance cost resulting from a consolidation in insurance companies and a decrease in third party processing fees, partially offset by an increase in delivery orders and a full year of sales for Pokemoto restaurants and SuperFit Foods during the year as compared to the prior year. The Other restaurant operating expenses as a percent of total sales reduced by 2.86%.

Impairment of intangible assets for the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021 totaled $347,110 and $1,139,908, respectively. We performed a recoverability test on the Muscle Maker Grill trademark and franchise agreements based on its projected future undiscounted cash flows. The forecast was based on actual revenues, and we also considered recent developments as well as our strategic plans and intentions. Based on the forecasts we recorded an aggregate impairment charge. The impairment charges are directly attributed to the closure of our Muscle Maker Grill Company-owned restaurants and our franchise locations as compared to the prior periods.

We had no Impairment of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2022. For the year ended December 31, 2021 Impairment of goodwill totaled $86,348. We performed an impairment test on the Muscle Maker Grill goodwill based on its projected future undiscounted cash flows. The forecast was based on actual revenues of the location the goodwill was recorded on. The 2021 impairment charge was directly attributed to the Muscle Maker Grill Midtown location that was closed in late 2022.

Depreciation and amortization expenses for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $2,015,048 and $1,206,505, respectively. The $808,543 increase is mainly attributed to amortization expense due to the transition of the trademark of Muscle Maker Grill from an infinite life asset to a finite life asset and a full year of amortization expense of intangibles acquired in 2021 of approximately $788,867.

Preopening expenses for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, totaled $116,728 and $31,829, respectively. The increase in preopening expense resulted from expenses incurred prior to the opening of our new Company-owned stores.

Post-closing expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022 totaled $197,101. There were no Post-closing expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in Post-closing expenses resulted from expenses incurred after the closing of underperforming Company-owned stores.

Stock-based consulting expenses for the year ended December 31, 2022, totaled $3,601,987. There were no Stock-based consulting expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021. The increase in Stock-based consulting expenses is the result of consulting fees due to Aggia for Sadot operations. Based on the servicing agreement with Aggia, the consulting fees are calculated at approximately 80% of the Net income generated by the Sadot business segment. This expense is expected to be paid in stock in 2023.

Sales, general and administrative expenses for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $6,149,801, or 3.80% of total revenue, and $8,088,682, or 78.15% of total revenue, respectively. The $1,938,881 decrease was primarily attributable to a reduction in consulting expenses of approximately $1,471,056, which is mainly due to stock-based compensation expense recorded for services rendered in the prior year as compared to the current year and a decrease in professional fees of approximately $1,173,900. The decrease was offset by an increase in salaries, wages and benefits of approximately $483,762 due to a full year of salary for additional staff members as a result of our acquisitions in 2021. The remainder of the variance was attributed to various other expenses including insurance, recruiting, marketing and computer expenses.

Loss from Operations

Our loss from operations for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $8,117,150, or 5.02% of total revenues and $9,447,294, or 91.28% of total revenue, respectively. The decrease of $1,330,144 in Loss from operations is primarily attributable to the increase of Total revenues of $151,348,781, partially offset by the increase in Total cost and expenses of $150,018,637 as discussed above.

Other Income

Other income for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 totaled $179,493 and $1,277,197, respectively. The $1,097,704 decrease in Other income was primarily attributable to a decrease in the Gain on extinguishment of debt of $1,087,028 due to the forgiveness of our PPP loans, a decrease of $127,500 in the Change in fair value of accrued compensation, partially offset by a $62,783 decrease in Interest expense and a $54,041 increase in Other income.

Net Loss

Our Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2022, was $7,962,428 which was an improvement of $213,702 as compared to a Net loss of $8,176,130 for the year ended December 31, 2021, resulting from an increase in our Total revenue of $151,348,781, partially offset by an increase of our Total cost and expenses of $150,018,637 and a decrease in Other income of $1,097,704.

The following table represents selected items in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2022, by our operating segments: