Tattooed Chef, Inc. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

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

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021

OR

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

For the transition period from ______________ to                           

Commission File Number: 001-38615

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

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

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 4l5 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 ☒

Note – Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act from their obligations under those Sections.

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

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

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

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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, 2021, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates, computed by reference to the closing sales price of $21.45 reported on The Nasdaq Capital Market, was approximately $1,034 million.

As of March 10, 2022, there were 82,237,813 shares of the registrant’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, issued and outstanding. 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement relating to its annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2022 (the “2022 Annual Meeting”), to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year to which this Annual Report on Form 10-K relates, are incorporated herein by reference where indicated. Except with respect to information specifically incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, such proxy statement is not deemed to be filed as part hereof.

TATTOOED CHEF, INC.

FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Each of the terms the “Company,” “Tattooed Chef,” “we,” “our,” “us” and similar terms used herein refer collectively to Tattooed Chef, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise stated.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements (including within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning us and other matters. These statements may discuss goals, intentions and expectations as to future plans, trends, events, results of operations or financial condition, or otherwise, based on current beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Forward-looking statements may be accompanied by words such as “achieve,” “aim,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “drive,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “future,” “grow,” “improve,” “increase,” “intend,” “may,” “outlook,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” or similar words, phrases or expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside our control. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following:

Additional factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those set forth in Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and Part II, Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” below and for the reasons described elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, our information may be incomplete or limited, and we cannot guarantee future results. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available in the future.

Item 1. Business.

We were initially formed on May 4, 2018 for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. On August 7, 2018, we consummated our initial public offering. From the time of our formation to the time of the consummation of the Business Combination (defined below), our name was “Forum Merger II Corporation” (also referred to as “Forum”). On October 15, 2020, we acquired all the equity of Myjojo, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Ittella Parent”) pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated June 11, 2020, as amended on August 10, 2020 with Sprout Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and our wholly owned subsidiary, Ittella Parent, and Salvatore Galletti, in his capacity as the holder representative. The business combination between Ittella Parent and Forum is referred to as the “Business Combination”. Effective upon the closing of the Business Combination, we changed our name to Tattooed Chef, Inc. In May 2021, we acquired New Mexico Food Distributors, Inc. (“NMFD”) and Karsten Tortilla Factory LLC (“Karsten”) and on December 21, 2021, we acquired substantially all of the assets and assumed certain liabilities from Belmont Confections, Inc. (“Belmont”).

Overview

We are a rapidly growing plant-based food company primarily offering a broad portfolio of innovative frozen foods. We supply plant-based products to leading retailers in the United States, with signature products such as ready-to-cook bowls, zucchini spirals, riced cauliflower, acai and smoothie bowls, plant- based burgers and cauliflower crust pizza. Our products are available both in private label and our “Tattooed Chef™” brand in the frozen food section of retail food stores. According to IBIS World, the expected market size, measured by revenue, of the US frozen food production industry in 2022 is $35.6 billion.

We believe our innovative food offerings converge with consumer trends and demands for great-tasting, wholesome, plant-based foods made from sustainably sourced ingredients, including preferences for flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, organic, and gluten-free lifestyles. Various industry studies indicate that consumers want healthier and more convenient food options. As of December 31, 2021, our products were sold in approximately 14,000 retail outlets in the United States. Our brand strategy is to introduce the attributes of a plant-based lifestyle to build a connection with a broad array of consumers that are seeking delicious, sustainably sourced, plant-based foods. Our diverse offering of plant-based meals includes certified organic, non-GMO, certified Kosher, gluten-free, as well as plant protein elements that we believe provide health-conscious consumers an affordable, great tasting, clean label food option.

To capture this significant market opportunity, we focus on manufacturing, product innovation and distinctive flavor profiles that appeal to a broad range of consumers. We create and develop new products to address emerging market demands and food trends for healthy, plant-based foods. We also seek to create what we believe are unique meals and snacks by taking regular or “plain” versions of our products and integrating spices and flavors. We believe that our track record of delivering innovative food concepts in both branded and private label has strengthened and expanded relationships with our existing customers and as well as attracting new customers. As of December 31, 2021, we had 78 SKUs and over 200 plant-based food concepts and recipes under development and testing.

We are led by our President and CEO, Salvatore “Sam” Galletti, who has over 35 years of experience in the food industry as both a manager and an investor, and Sarah Galletti, our Creative Director and the creator of the Tattooed Chef brand, who was instrumental in changing our focus to plant-based food products in 2017.

We continue to experience strong revenue growth over prior periods. Revenue increased to $213.4 million in the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2021 (“Fiscal 2021”) as compared to $148.5 million in the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2020 (“Fiscal 2020”) and $84.9 million in the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2019 (“Fiscal 2019”), representing a year over year growth rate of 43.7% and 74.9%, respectively. We generated net loss of $87.4 million in Fiscal 2021, as compared to net income before noncontrolling interest of $69.0 million in Fiscal 2020 and $5.4 million in Fiscal 2019. The significant change was primarily driven by following two factors: 1) $47.9 million income tax expense was recognized in 2021 due to the full valuation allowance of deferred tax assets, compared to $40.3 million in tax benefits recognized in 2020 (see Note 16 to the consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K); and 2) $37.2 million nonrecurring gain was recognized in 2020, from the settlement of a contingent consideration derivative liability upon the release of the Holdback Shares to certain stockholders. Adjusted EBITDA was negative $26.1 million in Fiscal 2021 as compared to $8.5 million in Fiscal 2020 and $6.7 million in Fiscal 2019 See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for further discussion on this non-GAAP measure and a reconciliation to net income, the most closely comparable GAAP measure.

Our Market Opportunity

We operate in the large global food industry. Sales of plant-based food globally are expected to be $162 billion by 2030 according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Annual sales in the United States of plant-based alternatives have exceeded $5.0 billion and we believe will continue to grow. Data from the Plant Based Foods Association indicates that the growth of United States retail sales of plant-based foods has outpaced the growth of total food sales during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to IRI/Spins, in the 52 weeks ended August 8, 2021, sales of frozen food products totaled approximately $57.3 billion (excluding frozen meat & poultry). Frozen entrees, which include, prepared meals, pizza and pasta, accounted for over 23% of total frozen food sales in the 52 weeks ended August 8, 2021, comprising one of the largest food categories within frozen foods, behind frozen meat and poultry.   According to Mintel Research sales in prepared meals which include frozen foods experienced substantial growth in 2020 compared to 2019 rising by nearly 14% year-over-year. Mintel sees opportunity for positive trends in the category post-pandemic through improved quality and greater menu variety. Additionally, according to the Plant Based Foods Association one-third of Americans are actively reducing their meat and dairy consumption. While a small number of Americans identify as vegetarian or vegan, flexitarians represent the largest growth opportunity for plant-based foods.  In 2020, 57% of all U.S. households purchased plant-based foods up from 53% in 2019.

Further, we believe that our products are well-positioned to benefit from the growth in frozen food sales and in particular, plant-based food sales. As a group, the categories in which we compete such as entrees, snacks & appetizers, breakfast and vegetables, comprise approximately 40% of all frozen food categories.  Excluding frozen meat and poultry, we offer products in 73% of the frozen food category.  Other frozen food sectors where we do not currently compete, such as desserts (which represents approximately 15% of all frozen food categories), present additional growth opportunities for us.

Our Competitive Strengths

Brand Mission Aligned with Consumer Trends

We believe that our products align with current major food trends, with our broad portfolio of plant-based food products meeting the demands of consumers who seek to follow a natural and “cleaner-label” diet. Moreover, most of our products are certified organic, non-GMO, and gluten-free, which we believe will broaden our appeal to those consumers and to those who wish to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.

We believe that our “Tattooed Chef” brand, which we launched in 2017, will continue to grow by appealing to younger consumers seeking food products that are sustainable and ethically sourced, wholesome, and delicious. Revenue attributed to the Tattooed Chef brand has grown from $18.3 million in Fiscal 2019 to $84.6 million in Fiscal 2020, then to $132.5 million in Fiscal 2021. We currently sell ready-to-cook bowls, zucchini spirals, riced cauliflower, acai and smoothie bowls, cauliflower crust pizza and plant-based burgers under Tattooed Chef. The brand’s tagline, “Serving Plant-Based Foods to People Who Give a Crop”, aims to convey the brand’s mission to deliver plant-based foods to consumers who care about sustainable and ethically sourced foods.

Track Record of Innovation

We have invested resources in the development of our innovative plant-based food products, which is demonstrated by products such as the Buddha Bowl, Acai Bowl, Cauliflower Mac n’ Cheese Bowl, Organic Zucchini Spirals, and Mexican Style Street Corn. Our innovation efforts are led by Sarah Galletti and focus on identifying popular food trends that we believe we can successfully bring to market. We can quickly develop prototype versions of a product to present internally and ultimately to various retail customers for feedback. We released 40 new SKUs during 2021 bringing our total as of December 31, 2021 to 78 SKUs. In addition, we have built a library of over 200 new product concepts and recipes, ready for further development and testing. In particular, we believe that we excel at taking regular or “plain” versions of our products and integrating new and appealing spices and flavors to create unique meals and snacks. For example, we currently offer plain riced cauliflower and value-added riced cauliflower options such as Riced Cauliflower Stir Fry and Riced Cauliflower Buddha Bowl. 

Our processing facility in Paramount, California manufactures an array of plant-based products including pizzas, acai and smoothie bowls and other value-add rice cauliflower bowls. In addition, our innovation and product development personnel reside in this facility. By housing our product innovation capabilities in the same location as our primary manufacturing operation, we believe we are able to transition from product concept to prototype (including real-time feedback from retail customers), to commercial manufacturing faster and more efficiently.

Established Branded and Private Label Presence at Leading Retailers

The Tattooed Chef brand was created in 2017 and was initially introduced into the club store channel. We believe that our high-quality, clean-label, ready-to-cook, plant-based products fill a void in the marketplace and are well received by our target customers. Our retail partners are attracted to the breadth of our product portfolio and view us as an innovation partner that delivers great tasting products with distinctive flavor profiles at a competitive price. The Tattooed Chef brand seeks to be young, edgy, yet friendly, and appeal to consumers who prefer a plant-based lifestyle. As noted above, revenue from Tattooed Chef branded products grew from approximately 22% of our total revenue in Fiscal 2019 ($18.3 million) to approximately 57% of our total revenue in Fiscal 2020 ($84.6 million), then to approximately 63% of our total revenue in Fiscal 2021 ($132.5 million).

In addition, we have a strong base of private label customers, with private label revenue of $75.6 million in Fiscal 2021, $62.9 million in Fiscal 2020 and $63.8 million in Fiscal 2019. Our initial focus beginning in 2009 was to establish a strong private label customer base due to lower sales and marketing costs. We believe that our private label customers are some of the best run retailers in North America and we provide these customers high quality product, support and high service levels.

See “— Customer Overview” and “— Innovation and Product Development” below for more information.

Integrated Sourcing, Manufacturing and Product Development

Our processing facility in Prossedi, Italy is located in close proximity to many of the growers that supply us product. This facility opened in 2017 and manufactures various products, including riced cauliflower (plain and value-added), diced squash/zucchini, and vegetable spirals. Italy’s climate and fertile growing regions of organic and non-GMO produce provide us with high-quality raw materials. Due to the location of the facility, we are able to transport raw materials to the facility, process them, and manufacture products within a relatively short time. Prior to each growing season, we obtain written commitments as to quantity and price from various growers, who commit to supply our projected needs, which commitments are then followed by written purchase orders closer to the start of the harvest season. When necessary (whether as a result of greater than anticipated demand from our customers, or poor crop yields due to inclement weather, infestation and the like), we have been able to obtain alternative raw material supply from other sources or on the spot market on satisfactory terms. The Prossedi plant was originally leased from a third party. During the past couple years, we upgraded our internal cold storage capabilities to allow us to better manage inventory and take advantage of seasonal purchases of raw materials during the peak harvest season. In April 2021, we spent approximately $4.9 million to acquire this facility to secure and upgrade our frozen food manufacture capabilities.

We have a processing facility in Paramount, California that also serves as our headquarters. This facility manufactures an array of products including pizzas, acai and smoothie bowls and value-add rice cauliflower bowls. Our innovation and product development personnel also reside in this facility. By housing our product innovation capabilities in the same location as our primary manufacturing operation, we are able to transition quickly from product concept to prototype (which can in turn be shared with retail customers for feedback), to commercial manufacturing.

In 2021, we completed two business acquisitions, NMFD and Karsten transaction and Belmont transaction. See “Expand through Investments and Acquisitions” below for more information.

Proven and Experienced Management Team

Our executive management team, led by Salvatore “Sam” Galletti, includes individuals who possess substantial industry experience. Cumulatively, our management team has over 160 years of industry experience, with an average of 25 years’ experience in the food industry, and an average tenure with us of seven years. We believe that the depth of experience of our management team demonstrates our capability to continue growing our business.

Our Growth Strategy

Continue to Grow the Tattooed Chef Brand

We believe the growth of our Tattooed Chef branded products will be a key driver of revenue growth through new product launches and additional customers. We believe that as this product line grows, we should be able to achieve economies of scale and continuing margin improvement.

The Tattooed Chef brand was created in 2017 and is the brainchild of Sarah Galletti, our Creative Director, based on her experiences with various food cultures while travelling internationally. She recognized a lack of readily available, high-quality, clean-label, ready-to-cook, plant-based products, which formed the foundation of Tattooed Chef.

Tattooed Chef products are sold in the frozen food section of retail stores and club stores. We initially approached club stores to carry Tattooed Chef products recognizing the demanding volume requirements associated with these customers. We believe our success with club stores across an array of Tattooed Chef branded products indicates that the Tattooed Chef brand resonates with our target consumer and is attractive to conventional retail grocery customers.

In addition, while Tattooed Chef products are available in all 50 states through club stores and certain other retail outlets, we have primarily used social media and product demonstrations to introduce Tattooed Chef to consumers. We believe there is significant opportunity to increase brand awareness, trial rate, and ultimately revenue attributed to Tattooed Chef products with an expanded marketing effort, including through additional advertising channels. In our efforts to continue to improve our brand, we expect to develop, and execute a detailed marketing strategy for Tattooed Chef products. In 2021, we engaged a national marketing firm to develop and implement a comprehensive marketing campaign.

Continue to Expand Demand from Existing Customers

We remain focused on addressing existing demand from current customers and expanding our business with these customers. In addition, with certain customers we have the opportunity to convert select existing products that are seasonal or promotional into “everyday” items that will be stocked on shelves on a continual basis, which we expect will increase our overall revenue.

Attract New Customers

We believe that the reputation and popularity of our products has attracted interest from new customers for Tattooed Chef products as well as our private label products. We believe there is a significant opportunity to continue to expand our business with new customers. We intend to invest in the development of our sales and marketing capabilities to support new customer additions. See “Sales and Marketing” below for additional details on our expansion plans.

Expand Product Offerings

We believe that there is significant consumer demand for plant-based products as evidenced by the successful launch of a variety of our products. In addition, we believe that we have been successful in identifying meaningful consumer trends and translating these preferences into products that meet our customers’ requirements. We intend to leverage this knowledge and experience to continue to build our new concept library and expand our existing portfolio of products by creating new products and line extensions. For example, new product launches in Fiscal 2021 include the Plant Based Burrito Bowl, Pesto Harvest Bowl, Riced Cauliflower Risotto with Asparagus, Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Plant Based Butter and Sage, PB Spaghetti Bolognese, Quattro Formaggi Cauliflower Gnocchi, Plant Based Burrito Blend, Plant Based Sausage Ragu, Riced Cauliflower Stuffing, Pad Thai Riced Cauliflower, Meatless Meat Lover’s Pizza Bowl, Maple Plant Based Sausage Sweet Potato Hash Bowl, Plant Based Cheeseburger Bowl, multiple flavors of plant based pizzas, Almond Butter Banana Smoothie Bowl, and Shakshuka Bowl, to just name a few. We intend to continue to solicit the feedback of our larger retail customers on our new product concept ideas in order to further deepen our relationship and trust with these customers and ensure that we are meeting their particular demands and needs for plant-based frozen food products.

Furthermore, we intend to increase our investment in product development and production capabilities to continue to innovate within our core product categories. We anticipate this expansion to include acquiring additional production facilities as well as increasing employee head count to handle additional production.

Expand to New Geographic Markets

We intend to explore opportunities to expand Tattooed Chef internationally within next two to three years. In 2021, approximately 1% of our total sales were sold to international customers. In the long term, we believe our current product offerings and existing production resources in Italy will enable us to global frozen food market, which we estimate to be an approximately $380 billion opportunity.

Expand through Investments and Acquisitions

We had approximately $92.4 million in cash as of December 31, 2021. In addition to investing in operating activities to expand recognition of Tattooed Chef branded products, we are selectively considering investments in fixed assets, acquisitions, and other investments to enhance our growth and profitability. In 2021, we completed three acquisitions including one asset acquisition of our processing facility located in Italy and two business acquisitions in US. In April 2021, we spent approximately $4.9 million on our Italy facility to acquire the building, land and machinery to secure and upgrade our frozen food processing capabilities. In May 2021, we acquired NMFD and Karsten for a total purchase price amounting to approximately $34.1 million. In December 2021, we acquired substantially all of the assets and assumed certain liabilities from Belmont for a total purchase price of approximately $17.0 million. These acquisitions will support us to develop more ambient and refrigerated Tattooed Chef branded products, unlock more shelf space and expand our market channels. Both NMFD and Belmont currently only manufacture private label products. NMFD is expected to be fully operational and manufacturing both private label and Tattooed Chef branded products during 2022. The Karsten facility is not currently in operation and is expected to become active during the second quarter of 2022. The Belmont facility is expected to start manufacturing Tattooed Chef branded products during the second quarter of 2022.

Product Offerings Overview

We sell a range of branded and private label plant-based products across its core platforms of ready-to-cook bowls, cauliflower crust pizza, vegetable spirals and ready-to-eat acai and smoothie bowls. Our products are found primarily in the frozen food section of retail customers.

Branded Products

Revenue of Tattooed Chef branded products in Fiscal 2021 was approximately $132.5 million (approximately 63% of total revenue), an increase of 56.7% from approximately $84.6 million (approximately 57% of total revenue) in Fiscal 2020. Tattooed Chef Branded products include ready to cook meals and snacks such as the Buddha Bowl, Mexican Style Street Corn, Organic Zucchini Spirals, Cauliflower Crust Pizza, Buffalo Cauliflower, Cauliflower Mac & Cheese Bowl and Acai and Smoothie Bowls.

Private Label Products

Revenue from private label products in Fiscal 2021 was approximately $75.6 million (approximately 35% of total revenue), and approximately $62.9 million (approximately 42% of total revenue) in Fiscal 2020. Private label products include cauliflower pizza crusts and pizzas, riced cauliflower, acai and smoothie bowls, bulk vegetables (plain and value-added), and riced cauliflower stuffing. Depending on the customer, we may make exclusive products for that customer. The difference between an exclusive product for a particular customer compared to another primarily relates to product sizing or a specific set of ingredients.

Customer Overview

Our products (both branded and private label) are available at leading club stores and other major retailers. As of December 31, 2021, our products were available in approximately 14,000 retail outlets in the United States, compared to 4,300 retail outlets as of December 31, 2020.

Club store customers often require different sizes or value packs while other retailers may have different requirements in terms of desired margins, allowance of promotional spend, and early payment discounts. These customer-specific parameters (which includes customers who purchase branded and private label products) are typical in the industry and we believe we will be able to price products appropriately for new retail customers. The process of placing products on shelves for new grocery customers can take anywhere from nine months to one year, from obtaining initial approvals to stocking products on shelves.

For Fiscal 2021, our three largest customers accounted for approximately 73% of total revenue. Fiscal 2021 revenue from these customers accounted for approximately 34%, 28%, and 11%, respectively, of total revenue. For Fiscal 2020, our three largest customers accounted for approximately 88% of total revenue. Fiscal 2020, revenue from these customers accounted for approximately 39%, 32%, 17%, respectively, of total revenue. We have increased the number of our sales team personnel to focus on conventional retail customers (i.e., retailers that are not club stores) and to expand our customer base.

In addition, for Fiscal 2021, three customers accounted for approximately 63% of our accounts receivable. These three customers individually accounted for approximately 38%, 13%, and 12% of our accounts receivable at December 31, 2021.

While we believe our relationships with these customers are strong, and none have indicated any intent to cease or reduce the volume of business they do with us, loss or significant reduction in business from any of these customers could adversely affect our business. See “Risk Factors — We are subject to substantial customer concentration. If we fail to retain existing customers, derive revenue from existing customers consistent with historical performance or acquire new customers cost-effectively, our business could be adversely affected.” See “— Our Growth Strategy — Continue to Grow the Tattooed Chef Brand” for discussion regarding growing sales of branded products to new customers. As we grow sales of branded products to new customers, we believe our customer base will become more diversified and that our customer concentration will be reduced.

We utilize food brokers to assist in establishing and maintaining relationships with certain key customers, which represent the bulk of our revenue. Pursuant to these agreements, each of our brokers is entitled to a commission based on the revenue it facilitates between us and the customer. See “Risk Factors — If we experience the loss of one or more of our food brokers that cannot be replaced in a timely manner, results of operations may be adversely affected.”

Supply Chain

Sourcing and Suppliers

We primarily source our vegetables from Italy, which is one of the largest organic crop areas in the European Union.

We engage the services of an agronomist to help with forecasting and scheduling. Based in part on these forecasts, we obtain written commitments from a number of growers and cooperatives to grow certain crops in specified amounts for agreed upon prices, confirmed by purchase orders issued closer to the start of each harvesting season. In addition, we utilize multiple growers across various regions in Italy and are not dependent on any single grower for any single commodity. These commitments provide us with consistent supply throughout the growing season to support our year-round production schedule.

We source strawberries and certain other crops in the United States but are not bound by purchase agreements for the crops sourced in the United States. Acai purée was primarily sourced from Brazil through an American supplier. While we substantially single source this ingredient, we believe there to be ample supply in the market. In 2021, we developed two additional suppliers to supply Acai purée and we are currently in process to contract another supplier which is expected to be our fourth supplier in 2022.

We continue to expand our supply chain to ensure the certainty of supply of the highest quality raw materials that meet our demanding requirements for quality.

We rely on a sole supplier for liquid nitrogen, Messer LLC, which is used to freeze products during the manufacturing process. We have entered into an agreement that expires in 2025 with our sole supplier of liquid nitrogen to provide up to 120% of our monthly requirements of liquid nitrogen.

Social Responsibility

Our corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) management system has several elements, including environmental, health and safety compliance, ethics, and governance.

We focus on reducing our environmental impact, conserving natural resources and promoting sustainability across our supply chain.

The safety and well-being of our employees is paramount. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly and continuously adopted and implemented safety measures to protect our employees. We are focused on fostering a culture of caring and safety; we are continuously striving toward zero injuries and accidents.

Social responsibility is also an area of increasing regulation, such as the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (the “Supply Chain Act”), which requires every retail seller and manufacturer doing business in California having annual worldwide gross receipts that exceed $100 million to disclose its efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from its direct supply chain for tangible goods offered for sale. We are currently subject to the Supply Chain Act and are implementing a supply chain monitoring program.

In addition, California law requires that publicly held corporations whose principal executive offices are located in California must have, by December 31, 2021, a minimum of three female directors and one director from an “underrepresented community” if the corporation’s number of directors is six or more. As of December 31, 2020, women represented three of the nine members of our board of directors and one of our directors are from underrepresented communities. We value diversity at all levels and continue to focus on enhancing our diversity and inclusion initiatives across our entire workforce.

Manufacturing

We have a processing facility in Prossedi, Italy, comprising over 100,000 square feet. We leased the facility since October 2017 and purchased the facility and its machinery in April 2021 for total purchase price approximately $4.9 million. The main products processed at this facility are riced cauliflower (plain and value-added), diced squash/zucchini, and vegetable spirals. Over the past two years, we upgraded the internal cold storage capabilities at the Prossedi plant. In December 2021, we leased a small cold storage facility in Ceccano, Italy.

We lease multiple buildings in Paramount, California that serve as a processing facility and as our headquarters. This facility is over 50,000 square feet. The main products processed at this facility are Cauliflower Crust Pizzas, Acai Bowls, Smoothie Bowls, Mexican Style Street Corn, and other riced cauliflower bowls.

Upon the completion of our business acquisitions in New Mexico (NMFD and Karsten) and Ohio (Belmont), we took over or entered lease agreements to lease the manufacturing facilities in New Mexico and Ohio. We are integrating our manufacturing capabilities to develop and produce more ambient and frozen Tattooed Chef branded products. See “Expand through Investments and Acquisitions” above.

The manufacturing process is similar across all product lines and we have been able to be produce new products without significant re-tooling costs or material equipment upgrades. We regularly make capital investment in our facilities to meet increased volumes resulting from growing demand of our products. During Fiscal 2021, our aggregate capital expenditures for continuing operations were $16.9 million. We expect to spend approximately $20.0 million to $25.0 million on capital projects in fiscal year 2022.

Our riced cauliflower and vegetable spirals are processed and packaged in our Prossedi, Italy facility. From this facility, the products are either held locally in cold storage or directly transported to United States for distribution.

Our bowls, smoothies, tray products (such as pizza crusts), and other products with more complex flavor profiles (such as Mexican Style Street Corn) are manufactured and processed in our Paramount, California facility.

We utilize outside suppliers on an as-needed basis for certain products or components of our products. One of our signature products, cauliflower pizza crust, is provided by outside suppliers. The termination of a supplier relationship may leave us with periods during which we have limited or no ability to manufacture these products or product components.

Facilities

In 2021, we purchased our processing facility in Prossedi, Italy. We currently lease processing facilities in Paramount, California, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Youngstown, Ohio, a small cold storage facility in Ceccano, Italy and have a small office suite lease in San Pedro, California. The Paramount facility also serves as our headquarters. Ittella Properties, LLC, a California limited liability company (“Ittella Properties”), a related entity controlled by Mr. Galletti, owns one of the buildings that comprise the Paramount facility and Deluna Investments, Inc., a California corporation (“Deluna”), a related party controlled by Mr. Galletti, owns the San Pedro building. We believe that the lease terms with Ittella Properties and Deluna are on an arms-length basis.

We believe that our current facilities are adequate to meet ongoing needs and that, if we require additional space, we will be able to obtain additional facilities on commercially reasonable terms.

Competition

We operate in a highly competitive environment. We compete with companies that produce products in the plant-based, vegetarian, and frozen food categories, such as Sweet Earth (Nestle), Birds Eye (Conagra Brands), Amy’s, and Green Giant (B&G Foods). Additionally, a number of United States and international companies are working on developing or promoting plant-based products.

We believe that consumers consider the following product qualities in their purchasing decisions:

We believe we compete effectively with respect to each of these factors. However, many companies in our industry have substantially greater financial resources, more comprehensive product lines, broader market presence, longer-standing relationships with distributors, retailers, and suppliers, longer operating histories, greater production and distribution capabilities, stronger brand recognition and greater marketing resources than us.

Seasonality and Working Capital

We have historically experienced moderate revenue seasonality, with the third and fourth fiscal quarters generating higher sale amounts due to product demonstration schedules, new SKU promotions and retailers allotting additional freezer space for holiday items. As our business grows and additional products are introduced, we expect that seasonality in revenue will decrease. We manage our inventory levels to meet the demand forecasts from select customers as well as our own internal forecasts. We believe our customers’ payment terms are customary for our industry.

Impact of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our business operations. While our manufacturing facilities remain operational, we have implemented physical distancing protocols and comprehensive preventative hygienic measures. The employees are operating at low density, and all are being monitored for COVID-19 symptoms, including temperature screening of our California employees and of all personnel entering our California facility. We are following strict COVID-19 suggested Personal Protective Equipment guidelines per United States Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organization, including mandatory face coverings, increased hand washing and significantly increased sanitation of hard surfaces. 

Due to restrictions on commercial operations instituted by government authorities, we are working to ensure compliance while also maintaining business continuity for essential operations in our facilities.

Our senior management team meets regularly and continually monitors and tracks relevant data, including guidance from local, national, and international health agencies and is committed to continuing to communicate with employees as more information is available to share. Neither our Italy facility nor California facility has shut down as a result of COVID-19.

We follow applicable federal, state, and local guidelines regarding exposure to someone with COVID-19 and manage this through our crisis management team.

While the ultimate health and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are remaining uncertain, we believe that our business operations and results of operations, including revenue, earnings and cash flows, will not be adversely impacted during 2022. To mitigate any potential impact of COVID-19 on our business operations and results, we have expanded our supplier base so that we no longer rely on a sole source supplier for any of our raw materials and keep close contact with them to anticipate any problems with keeping up with the demand for our products. In this way, we anticipate being able to obtain raw materials at competitive prices and reduce the risk of supply interruptions. To date, there has been no material impact on our liquidity, and we have not had the need to raise capital, reduce our capital expenditures, or modify any terms or contractual arrangements in response to COVID-19.

Order Fulfillment

We receive orders either by purchase orders pursuant to a previously agreed upon customer commitment or by a stand-alone purchase order from the customer. In either situation, the product is manufactured, packaged, and shipped either to a third-party cold storage facility or directly to the customer utilizing a third-party freight company. We utilize multiple third-party common carriers for all of our shipping needs.

Sales and Marketing

General

Sam Galletti and Sarah Galletti have historically led our sales and marketing efforts. Matt Williams serves as our Chief Growth Officer, where he is responsible for overseeing and managing our sales function. Each has extensive experience in food product sales to grocery retailers. Ms. Galletti, as the creator of the Tattooed Chef brand, is uniquely suited to work with retailers to educate them about the brand, respond quickly to their concerns, and consult on food trends.

As we grow our Tattooed Chef brand, we expect to expand our sales and marketing team by adding dedicated personnel to service new retail customers. We may also add outside sales representatives and/or brokers to extend our sales efforts.

We anticipate that marketing expenditures will primarily be on product demonstration allowances, slotting fees (as we expand into conventional retail grocery stores), and other similar in-store marketing costs, which we believe will be effective. Some of these expenses will be categorized as deductions to revenue under GAAP as opposed to marketing expense.

Sarah Galletti continues to lead our marketing efforts with respect to the Tattooed Chef brand. As we expand and grow our business, we anticipate building out a broader brand management team with a focus on digital marketing and social media.

We utilize food brokers in conjunction with our internal sales team to establish and manage customer relationships.

Digital Marketing and Social Media

We drive consumer awareness and interest in our brand via (i) social and digital media, (ii) a public relations/marketing services firm that provides assistance in scheduling interviews and various news articles, (iii) ambassador and influencer activations, and (iv) customer media. We increased spending in 2021 and anticipate increase spending in 2022 on search engine marketing and campaign commercials. We maintain a registered domain website at www.tattooedchef.com. The website is used as a platform to promote our Tattooed Chef brand and products, provide information about the brand, as well as where to purchase products in stores. In addition, we launched our direct-to-consumer platform in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2020 through our website. We use social media platforms to build customer engagement and to directly reach desirable target demographics such as millennials and “Generation Z.” Below is a summary of our various social media platforms.

Employees

As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately 600 full-time employees in the United States and 200 full-time employees in Italy, including workers hired through staffing agencies. None of our employees are represented by a labor union, and we have never experienced a labor-related work stoppage. We believe our employee relations are good. Employment in Italy is either direct with us or through an agency similar to the United States. There are no labor unions representing our Italian employees.

Innovation and Product Development

We invest significant resources in innovating food concepts and creating new plant-based food products, based on market trends.

Our product development process begins with identifying popular food trends that we believe we can successfully bring to market. We then develop several prototype versions of each product and present these ideas internally and ultimately to various retail customers for feedback. We integrate this feedback into further product refinement, often in an iterative process, until we believe the product formulation is finalized. We do not utilize third-party product development firms to innovate products on our behalf.

Furthermore, we intend to increase our investment in product development and production capabilities to continue to innovate within our core product categories.

Trademarks and Other Intellectual Property

We own domestic copyrights and domestic and foreign trademarks, trademark applications, registrations, and other proprietary rights that are important to our business. Depending upon the jurisdiction, trademarks and their corresponding registrations are valid if they are used in the regular course of trade and/or their registrations are properly maintained. Our primary trademarks include the Tattooed Chef^® and People Who Give a Crop™.

We aggressively protect our intellectual property rights by relying on trademark, copyright, trade dress and trade secret laws. We own the domain names: www.ittellafoods.com and www.tattooedchef.com.

We do not have any issued patents and we are not pursuing any patent applications.

We consider our marketing, promotions and products as a trade secret and thus, keep this information confidential. In addition, we consider as proprietary any information related to recipes, formulas, processes, know-how and methods used in production and manufacturing as trade secrets. We believe we have taken reasonable measures to keep the aforementioned items, as well as our business and marketing plans, customer lists and contracts, reasonably protected, and they are, accordingly, not readily ascertainable by the public.

Government Regulation

We are subject to extensive laws and regulations in the United States by federal, state and local government authorities and in Italy and the European Union.

Our activities in the United States are subject to regulation by various governmental agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the United States Department of Agriculture/national organic program (“USDA/NOP”), the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), and the Departments of Commerce and Labor, as well as voluntary regulation by other bodies. Various state and local agencies also regulate our activities.

In Italy, our food production activities are regulated by specific legislation and compliance is overseen and regulated by the Italian Ministry of Health (“MOH”), with administrative authority further delegated to local agencies, each referred to as an Azienda Sanitaria Locale (“ASL”). The MOH, among other legal and regulatory regimes, prescribe the requirements and establish the standards for quality and safety and regulate ingredients, manufacturing, labeling and other marketing and advertising to consumers.

The facilities in which our products and ingredients are manufactured must register with the FDA and MOH, comply with current good manufacturing practices, or cGMPs, and comply with a range of food safety requirements established by, and implemented under, the Food Safety and Modernization Act of 2011 (the “FSMA”) and applicable foreign food safety and manufacturing requirements. Federal, state, local and foreign regulators have the authority to inspect our facilities to evaluate compliance with applicable requirements. Regulatory authorities also require that certain nutrition and product information appear on product labels, that product labels and labeling be truthful and non-misleading, and that our marketing and advertising be truthful, non-misleading and not deceptive to consumers. We are also prohibited from making certain types of claims about our products (including for example, in the United States, nutrient content claims and health claims, whether express or implied), unless we satisfy certain regulatory requirements.

In addition to federal regulatory requirements in the United States, California imposes its own manufacturing and labeling requirements. California requires facility registration with the relevant state food safety agency, and those facilities are subject to state inspection as well as federal inspection. We believe that our products are manufactured and labeled in material compliance with all relevant state requirements. We monitor developments at the state and country (United States federal and European Union) level that could apply to our products.

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

We are also subject to disclosure requirements regarding abusive labor practices in portions of our supply chain under the California Supply Chain Act and are in the process of implementing and expanding a supply chain monitoring program.

Quality Control/Food Safety

We utilize a comprehensive food safety and quality management program, which employs strict manufacturing procedures, expert technical knowledge on food safety science, employee training, ongoing process innovation, use of quality ingredients and both internal and independent auditing.

Our Paramount, California and Prossedi, Italy facilities each has a Food Safety Plan (“FSP”) that focuses on preventing food safety risks and is compliant with the requirements set forth under the FSMA. In addition, each facility has at least one Preventive Controls Qualified Individual who has successfully completed training in the development and application of risk-based preventive controls at least equivalent to that received under a standardized curriculum recognized by the FDA and by MOH.

All of our manufacturing sites and suppliers comply with the Global Food Safety Initiative. All of our manufacturing sites are certified against a standard recognized by Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standards (“BRCG”). These standards are integrated food safety and quality management protocols designed specifically for the food sector and offer a comprehensive methodology to manage food safety and quality. Certification provides an independent and external validation that a product, process or service complies with applicable regulations and standards.

In addition to third-party inspections of our co-manufacturers, we have instituted audits to address topics such as allergen control; ingredient, packaging and product specifications; and sanitation. Under FSMA, each of our co-manufacturers is required to have a FSP, a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points plan that identifies critical pathways for contaminants and mandates control measures that must be used to prevent, eliminate or mitigate relevant food-borne hazards.

Independent Certification

In the United States, our organic products are certified in accordance with the USDA’s National Organic Program through Quality Assurance International, a third-party certifying agency. In Italy, our organic products are certified by the ICEA (Icea Istituto Per La Certificazione Etica Ed Ambientale).

Our facilities have obtained certain important certifications or verifications, including the BRC Food Safety certification, Non-GMO Project verification, USDA Organic certification, a gluten-free certification from the Gluten-Free Certification Organization, OneCert Organic certification, and OU Kosher certification from the Orthodox Union. Our facility located in Italy is certified Kosher under the supervision of OK Kosher Certification.

Available Information

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Our SEC filings are available to the public over the internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Our SEC filings are also available free of charge on the Investor Information page of our website at www.tattooedchef.com as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the SEC. Our website and the information contained on or through that site are not incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties including those described below. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, in addition to other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently believe are not material, may also become important factors that adversely affect our business. If any of the following risks or others not specified below materialize, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline.

Risk Factors Related Our Business and Industry

Failure to retain our senior management may adversely affect operations.

Our success is substantially dependent on the continued service of certain members of senior management, including Salvatore “Sam” Galletti, our founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephanie Dieckmann, our Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Galletti, the “Tattooed Chef” and our Creative Director, Giuseppe Bardari, President of Ittella Italy and Gaspare (“Gasper”) Guarrasi, our Chief Operating Officer. These executives have been primarily responsible for determining the strategic direction of our business and for executing our growth strategy and are integral to our brand, culture, product development and the reputation we enjoy with suppliers, co-manufacturers, distributors, customers and consumers. In particular, Ms. Galletti is responsible for leading our branding initiatives, creative strategy, and product development, and there is no other current employee who can lead these functions if Ms. Galletti is unable to provide these services to us. In addition, Mr. Galletti and Ms. Galletti have historically been the primary sales and marketing contacts for our customers. The loss of the services of any of these executives could adversely affect our business, relationship with key customers and suppliers, branding, creative strategies, and prospects, as we may not be able to find suitable individuals to replace them on a timely basis, if at all. In addition, any such departure could be viewed in a negative light by investors and analysts, which may cause the price of any of our publicly traded securities to decline. We do not currently carry key-person life insurance for any of our management team.

Food safety and food-borne illness incidents or advertising or product mislabeling may adversely affect our business by exposing us to lawsuits, product recalls or regulatory enforcement actions, increasing operating costs and reducing demand for product offerings.

Selling food for human consumption involves inherent legal and other risks, and there is increasing governmental scrutiny of and public awareness regarding food safety. Our internal processes, training and quality control and food safety procedures and compliance may not be effective in preventing contamination of food products that could lead to food-borne illness incidents (such as e. coli, salmonella or listeria). Unexpected side effects, illness, injury or death related to allergens, food-borne illnesses or other food safety incidents caused by products we sell or manufacture, or involving our suppliers, could result in the discontinuance of sales of these products or our relationships with our suppliers, increased operating costs, regulatory enforcement actions or harm to our reputation. If consumers lose confidence in the safety and quality of our products or plant-based products generally, even in the absence of a recall or a product liability case, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Shipment of adulterated or mislabeled products, even if inadvertent, can result in criminal or civil liability. These incidents could also expose us to product liability, negligence or other lawsuits, including consumer class action lawsuits. Any claims brought against us may exceed or be outside the scope of our existing or future insurance policy coverage or limits. Any judgment against us that is more than our policy limits or not covered by our policies or not subject to insurance would have to be paid from our cash reserves, which would reduce our capital resources.

The occurrence of food-borne illnesses or other food safety incidents, whether real or perceived, could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected ingredients, resulting in higher costs, disruptions in supply and a reduction in sales. Furthermore, any instances of food contamination or regulatory noncompliance, whether or not caused by us, could compel us, our suppliers and our customers, depending on the circumstances, to conduct a recall in accordance with FDA or the MOH regulations, comparable state and locality laws, or international laws. If we are found to be out of compliance with respect to food safety regulations, an enforcement authority could issue a warning letter and/or institute enforcement actions that could result in additional costs, substantial delays in production or even a temporary shutdown in manufacturing and product sales while the non-conformances are rectified. Also, we may have to recall the product or otherwise remove the product from the market, and temporarily cease our manufacturing and distribution process, which would increase our costs and reduce our revenues. Food recalls could result in significant losses due to their costs, the destruction of product inventory, lost sales due to the unavailability of the product for a period of time, potential loss of existing distributors or customers and a potential negative impact on our ability to attract new customers due to negative consumer experiences or because of an adverse impact on our brand and reputation. The costs of a recall could exceed or be outside the scope of our existing or future insurance policy coverage or limits. Any product liability claims resulting from the failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations would be expensive to defend and could result in substantial damage awards against us or harm our reputation. Any of these events would negatively impact our revenues and costs of operations.

In addition, food companies have been subject to targeted, large-scale tampering as well as to opportunistic, individual product tampering, and we, like any food company, could be a target for product tampering. Forms of tampering could include the introduction of foreign material, chemical contaminants and pathological organisms into consumer products as well as product substitution. Recently issued FDA regulations require companies like us to analyze, prepare and implement mitigation strategies specifically to address tampering (i.e., intentional adulteration) designed to inflict widespread public health harm. If we do not adequately address the possibility, or any actual instance, of intentional adulteration, we could face possible seizure or recall of its products and the imposition of civil or criminal sanctions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Further, if we are forced, or voluntarily elect, to recall certain products, the public perception of the quality of our food products may be diminished. We may also be adversely affected by news reports or other negative publicity, regardless of their accuracy, regarding other aspects of our business, such as public health concerns, illness, safety, security breaches of confidential consumer or employee information, employee related claims relating to alleged employment discrimination, health care and benefit issues or government or industry findings concerning our retailers, distributors, suppliers or others across the food industry supply chain.

We are subject to substantial customer concentration. If we fail to retain existing customers, derive revenue from existing customers consistent with historical performance or acquire new customers cost-effectively, our business could be adversely affected.

We are subject to substantial customer concentration risk, with three customers accounting for approximately 73% of our revenue for the year ended December 31, 2021. The three customers individually accounted for approximately 34%, 28%, and 11% of our 2021 total revenue, respectively. In addition, three customers accounted for approximately 63% of our accounts receivable as of December 31, 2021. These three customers individually accounted for approximately 38%, 13%, and 12% of our total accounts receivables. Accordingly, any factor adversely affecting sales generally in these customers (such as competitive pressures, declining sales, or store closings, among others), or any reduction or elimination by these customers of carrying our products, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and the result of our operations.

Our success, and our ability to increase revenues and operate profitably, depends in part on our ability to retain and keep existing customers, particularly those noted above, engaged so that they continue to purchase products from us, and to acquire new customers cost-effectively. We intend to continue to expand our number of retail customers as part of our growth strategy. If we fail to retain existing customers and to attract and retain new customers, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Further, if customers do not perceive our product offerings to be of sufficient value, quality, or innovation, or if we fail to offer innovative and relevant product offerings, we may not be able to attract or retain customers or engage existing customers so that they continue to purchase products from us or increase the amount of products purchased from us. We may lose current customers to competitors if the competitors offer products superior to ours or if we are unable to satisfy our customers’ orders in a timely manner. The loss of any large customer or the reduction of purchasing levels or the cancellation of business from such customers could adversely impact our business. Furthermore, as retailers consolidate, they may reduce the number of branded products they offer in order to accommodate private label products and generate more competitive terms from branded suppliers competing for limited retailer shelf space. While we produce private label products and might benefit from a shift towards private label products, our long-term strategy is to grow sales of branded products. Consequently, financial results may fluctuate significantly from period to period based on the actions of one or more significant retailers. A retailer may take actions that affect us for reasons that we cannot always anticipate or control, such as the retailer’s financial condition, changes in its business strategy or operations, the introduction of competing products or the perceived quality of our products.

Our products are primarily manufactured in our facilities in Paramount, California, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Youngstown, Ohio and Prossedi, Italy and any damage or disruption at these facilities may harm our business.

A significant portion of our operations are located in our Paramount, California, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Youngstown, Ohio and Prossedi, Italy facilities. A natural disaster, fire, power interruption, work stoppage, outbreaks of pandemics or contagious diseases (such as the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic) or other calamity at one or both of these facilities would significantly disrupt our ability to deliver products and operate our business. If any material amount of machinery or inventory were damaged, we may be unable to meet our contractual obligations and to predict when, if at all, we could replace or repair such machinery, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

In addition, we have not developed any contingency plans to address disruptions such as natural disaster, fire, power interruption, work stoppage, outbreaks of pandemics or contagious diseases, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, or other calamity in our operations. Please see “The COVID-19 pandemic could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition” for a discussion of our current response to COVID-19. If such a disruption occurs, our operations and results of operations could be harmed.

Our corporate offices, research and development functions, and certain manufacturing and processing functions are located in Paramount, California, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Youngstown, Ohio and Prossedi, Italy. The impact of a major natural disaster in these areas on our facilities and overall operations is difficult to predict, but a natural disaster could disrupt our business. Our insurance may not adequately cover losses and expenses in the event of such a natural disaster. As a result, natural disasters could lead to substantial losses.

Failure to introduce new products or successfully improve existing products may adversely affect our ability to continue to grow.

A key element of our growth strategy depends on our ability to develop and market new products and improvements to our existing products that meet our standards for quality and appeal to continuously changing consumer preferences. The success of our innovation and product development efforts is affected by our ability to anticipate changes in consumer preferences, accurately predict taste preferences and purchasing habits of consumers in new geographic markets, the technical capability of our innovation staff in developing and testing product prototypes (including complying with applicable governmental regulations), and the success of our management and sales and marketing teams in introducing and marketing new products. Failure to develop and market new products that appeal to consumers may lead to a decrease in growth, sales and profitability. Furthermore, if we are unsuccessful in meeting our objectives with respect to new or improved products, our business could be harmed.

Consumer preferences for our products are difficult to predict and may change, and, if we are unable to respond quickly to new trends, our business may be adversely affected.

Our business is focused on the development, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of a portfolio of plant-based products. Consumer demand could change based on a number of possible factors, including dietary habits and nutritional values, concerns regarding the health effects of ingredients, and shifts in preference for various product attributes. If consumer demand for our products decreased, our business and financial condition would suffer. In addition, sales of plant-based products are subject to evolving consumer preferences to which we may not be able to accurately predict or respond. Consumer trends that we believe favor sales of our products could change based on a number of possible factors, including economic factors and social trends. Views towards healthy eating and plant-based products are trendy in nature, with constantly changing consumer perceptions.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to anticipate the tastes and dietary habits of consumers and other consumer trends and to offer products that appeal to their needs and preferences on a timely and affordable basis. A change in consumer discretionary spending, due to economic downturn or other reasons, may also adversely affect our sales and our business, financial condition and results of operations. A significant shift in consumer demand away from our products could reduce sales or market share and the perception of the Tattooed Chef brand, which would harm our business and financial condition.

Our revenue growth rate may not be indicative of future performance and may slow over time.

Although we have grown rapidly over the last several years, our revenue growth rate may slow over time for a number of reasons, including increasing competition, market saturation, slowing demand for our offerings, increasing regulatory costs and challenges, the impact of COVID-19, and failure to capitalize on growth opportunities.

We currently utilize third-party suppliers for select products, including our cauliflower pizza crust. Loss of these suppliers could harm our business and impede growth.

The crust component of one of our signature products, cauliflower crust cheese pizza, is supplied by third parties. The termination of a supplier relationship may leave us with periods during which we have limited or no ability to manufacture certain products. An interruption in, or the loss of operations at, any of these manufacturing facilities, which may be caused by work stoppages, production disruptions, product quality issues, disease outbreaks or pandemics (such as the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic), acts of war, terrorism, fire, earthquakes, weather, flooding or other natural disasters, could delay, postpone or reduce production of some of our products, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition until the interruption is resolved or an alternate source of production is secured.

We believe there are a limited number of competent, high-quality suppliers in the industry that meet our quality and control standards, and as we seek to obtain additional or alternative supply arrangements in the future, or alternatives to bring this manufacturing capability in-house, there can be no assurance that we would be able to do so on satisfactory terms, in a timely manner, or at all. Therefore, the loss of one or more suppliers, any disruption or delay at a supplier or any failure to identify and engage a supplier for products could delay, postpone or reduce production of products, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

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

Our success depends in part on our ability to attract, train and retain a sufficient number of employees who understand and appreciate our culture and can represent our brand effectively and establish credibility with our business partners and customers. We believe a critical component of our success has been our company culture and long-standing core values. We have invested substantial time and resources in building our team. Furthermore, as sales grow and customers are acquired, we will need to add employees to serve in the production, finance and accounting, and sales and marketing functions. If we are unable to hire and retain employees capable of meeting our business needs and expectations, or if we fail to preserve our company culture among a larger number of employees dispersed in various geographic regions as we continue to grow and develop the infrastructure associated with being a public company, our business and brand image may be impaired. Any failure to meet staffing needs or any material increase in turnover rates of employees may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

In order to meet demand, we rely on temporary employees procured through staffing agencies. In the future, we may be unable to attract and retain employees with the required skills, whether or not through staffing agencies, which could impact our ability to expand operations or meet customer demand.

We may be unable to sustain our revenue growth rate and, as our costs increase, generate sufficient revenue to return to profitability over the long term.

From 2020 to 2021, our revenue grew from $148.5 million to $213.4 million, which represents a year over year growth rate of 43.7%. We expect that, in the future, our revenue growth rate will decline, and we may not be able to generate sufficient revenue to sustain profitability. We also anticipate that our operating expenses and capital expenditures will increase substantially in the foreseeable future as we invest to increase our customer base, expand our marketing channels, invest in distribution and manufacturing facilities, pursue expansion, hire additional employees, and enhance our technology and production capabilities. In addition, commencing in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2020, we began incurring additional costs as a public company, which will continue. These expansion efforts may prove more expensive than anticipated and may not succeed in increasing revenues and margins sufficiently to offset the anticipated higher expenses. We incur significant expenses in developing our innovative products, securing an adequate supply of raw materials, obtaining and storing ingredients and other products and marketing the products we offer. In addition, many expenses, including some of the costs associated with existing and any future manufacturing facilities, are fixed. Accordingly, we may not be able to return to profitability, and may continue to incur losses in the foreseeable future.

If we fail to expand manufacturing and production capacity effectively, forecast demand for products accurately, or respond to forecast changes quickly, our business and operating results and our brand reputation could be harmed.

As demand increases, we will need to expand our operations, supply, and manufacturing capabilities. However, there is a risk that we will be unable to scale production processes effectively and manage our supply chain requirements effectively. We must accurately forecast demand for products and inventory needs in order to ensure we have adequate available manufacturing capacity and to ensure we are effectively managing inventory.

Our forecasts are based on multiple assumptions that may cause estimates to be inaccurate and affect our ability to obtain adequate manufacturing capacity and adequate inventory supply in order to meet the demand for products, which could prevent us from meeting increased customer demand and harm our brand and business.

In addition, if we overestimate demand and overbuild our capacity, we may have significantly underutilized assets and will experience reduced gross margins and will have excess inventory that we may be required to write-down. If we do not accurately align our manufacturing capabilities and inventory supply with demand, if we experience disruptions or delays in our supply chain, or if we cannot obtain raw materials of sufficient quantity and quality at prices that are consistent with our current pricing and in a timely manner, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property adequately, which may harm the value of our brand.

We believe that our intellectual property has substantial value and has contributed significantly to the success of our business. Our trademarks, including “Tattooed Chef” and “People Who Give a Crop”, are valuable assets that reinforce our brand and consumers’ favorable perception of our products. We also rely on unpatented proprietary expertise, recipes and formulations and trade secret protection to develop and maintain our competitive position. Our continued success depends, to a significant degree, upon our ability to protect and preserve our intellectual property, including our trademarks, trade dress, and trade secrets. We rely on confidentiality agreements and trademark and trade secret law to protect our intellectual property rights. As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we do not have any issued patents and have forgone pursuing any patent applications. As a result, we cannot rely on any protection provided under applicable patent laws.

Our confidentiality agreements with our suppliers who use our formulations to manufacture some products generally require that all information made known to them be kept strictly confidential. Nevertheless, trade secrets are difficult to protect. Although we attempt to protect our trade secrets, our confidentiality agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of proprietary information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of our proprietary information or any reverse engineering. In addition, we cannot guarantee that we have entered into confidentiality agreements with all suppliers addressing each of our recipes. From time to time, we share product concepts with customers who are not under confidentiality obligations. In addition, others may independently discover our trade secrets, in which case we would not be able to assert trade secret rights against these parties.

We cannot provide assurances that the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights are adequate, that our intellectual property rights can be successfully defended and asserted in the future, that third parties will not infringe upon or misappropriate any such rights, or that we own the rights to all improvements or modifications of recipes we have provided to suppliers. In addition, our trademark rights and related registrations may be challenged in the future and could be canceled or narrowed. Failure to protect our trademark rights could prevent us in the future from challenging third parties who use names and logos similar to our trademarks, which may in turn cause consumer confusion or negatively affect consumers’ perception of our brand and products. In addition, if we do not keep our trade secrets confidential, others may produce products with our recipes or formulations. Sophisticated suppliers and food companies can replicate or reverse engineer our recipes fairly easily. Moreover, intellectual property disputes and proceedings and infringement claims may result in a significant distraction for management and significant expense, which may not be recoverable regardless of whether or not we are successful. These proceedings may be protracted with no certainty of success, and an adverse outcome could subject us to liabilities, force us to cease use of certain trademarks or other intellectual property or force us to enter into licenses with others. Any one of these occurrences may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may not be able to obtain raw materials on a timely basis or in quantities sufficient to meet the demand for our products.

Our financial performance depends in large part on our ability to purchase raw materials in sufficient quantities and of acceptable quality at competitive prices. There can be no assurance on the availability of continued supply or stable pricing of raw materials. Any of our suppliers could discontinue or seek to alter their relationship with us. While we do have commitments with many of our suppliers of raw materials, these commitments do not extend past the growing season and do not insulate our committed crops from inclement weather, insects, disease, or other harvesting problems.

Events that adversely affect our suppliers could impair our ability to obtain raw material inventory in the quantities or of a quality we desire. We currently source most of our raw materials from Italy. Though we are not dependent on any single Italian grower for our supply of a certain crop, events generally affecting these growers could adversely affect our business. Such events include problems with our suppliers’ businesses, finances, labor relations, ability to import raw materials, product quality issues, costs, production, insurance and reputation, as well as disease outbreaks or pandemics (such as the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic), acts of war, insect infestations, terrorism, natural disasters, fires, earthquakes, weather, flooding or other catastrophic occurrences. We continuously seek alternative sources of raw materials, but we may not be successful in diversifying the suppliers of raw materials we use in our products.

If we need to replace an existing supplier, there can be no assurance that supplies of raw materials will be available when required on acceptable terms, or at all, or that a new supplier would allocate sufficient capacity to us in order for us to meet requirements, fill orders in a timely manner or meet quality standards. If we are unable to manage our supply chain effectively and ensure that our products are available to meet consumer demand, costs of goods sold could increase and sales and profit margins could decrease.

We do not have contracts with customers that require the purchase of a minimum amount of our products.

None of our customers provide us with firm, long-term or short-term volume purchase commitments. As a result, we could have periods during which we have no or limited orders for our products but will continue to have fixed costs. We may not be able to find new customers in a timely manner if we experience no or limited purchase orders. Periods of no or limited purchase orders for our products, particularly from one or more of our five largest customers, could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to implement our growth strategy successfully.

Our future success depends on our ability to implement our growth strategy of expanding supply and distribution, improving placement of our products, attracting new consumers to our brand and introducing new products and product extensions, and expanding into new geographic markets. Our ability to implement this growth strategy depends, among other things, on our ability to:

We may not be able to do any of the foregoing successfully. Our sales and operating results will be adversely affected if we fail to implement our growth strategy or if we invest resources in a growth strategy that ultimately proves unsuccessful.

We may require additional financing to achieve our goals including acquiring businesses, product lines, and/or facilities, and a failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed on acceptable terms, or at all, may negatively impact our product manufacturing and development, and other operations. 

We plan to continue to expend substantial resources for the foreseeable future as we expand into additional markets we may choose to pursue. These expenditures are expected to include costs associated with research and development, the acquisition or expansion of manufacturing and supply capabilities, as well as marketing and selling existing and new products. In addition, other unanticipated costs may arise.

Our operating plan may change because of factors currently unknown to us, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned, including through public equity or debt financings or other sources, such as strategic collaborations. Such financing may result in dilution to stockholders, imposition of debt covenants and repayment obligations, or other restrictions that may adversely affect our business. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we has sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans.

Our future capital requirements depend on many factors, including:

Additional funds may not be available when we need them, on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all. If adequate funds are not available on a timely basis, we may be required to:

The “Tattooed Chef” brand has limited awareness among the general public.

We have not conducted a dedicated and significant marketing campaign to educate consumers on the Tattooed Chef brand and we still have limited awareness among the general public. In addition, Tattooed Chef products are available in a limited number of retail stores in the United States.

We will need to dedicate significant resources in order to effectively plan, coordinate, and execute a marketing campaign and to add additional sales and marketing staff. Substantial advertising and promotional expenditures may be required to improve our brand’s market position or to introduce new products to the market. An increase in our marketing and advertising efforts may not maintain our current reputation, or lead to an increase in brand awareness.

Further, we compete against other large, well-capitalized food companies who have significantly more resources than we do. Therefore, we may have limited success, or none at all, in increasing brand awareness and favorability around the Tattooed Chef brand.

Maintaining, promoting and positioning this brand and our reputation will depend on, among other factors, the success of our plant-based product offerings, food safety, quality assurance, marketing and merchandising efforts, and our ability to provide a consistent, high-quality customer experience. Any negative publicity, regardless of its accuracy, could adversely affect our business. Brand value is based on perceptions of subjective qualities, and any incident that erodes the loyalty of customers or suppliers, including adverse publicity, product recall or a governmental investigation or litigation, could significantly reduce the value of the Tattooed Chef brand and significantly damage our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to manage our future growth effectively, our business could be adversely affected.

We have grown rapidly and anticipate further growth. For example, our revenue increased from $148.5 million in 2020 to $213.4 million in 2021. Our full-time employee count at December 31, 2021 (including employees hired through staffing agencies) was approximately 800, compared to approximately 500 at December 31, 2020. This growth has placed significant demands on our management, financial, operational, technological and other resources. The anticipated growth and expansion of our business and our product offerings will continue to place significant demands on our management and operations teams and require significant additional resources to meet our needs, which may not be available in a cost-effective manner, or at all. If we do not effectively manage our growth, we may not be able to execute on our business plan, respond to competitive pressures, take advantage of market opportunities, satisfy customer requirements or maintain high-quality product offerings, any of which could harm our business, brand, results of operations and financial condition.

Ingredient, packaging, freight and storage costs are volatile and may rise significantly, which may negatively impact the profitability of our business.

We purchase large quantities of raw materials outside of the United States, including from Italy and Brazil. In addition, we purchase and use significant quantities of cardboard, film, and plastic to package our products.

Costs of ingredients, packaging, freight and storage are volatile and can fluctuate due to conditions that are difficult to predict, including global competition for resources, weather conditions, consumer demand and changes in governmental trade and agricultural programs. Volatility in the prices of raw materials and other supplies we purchase and in the freight and storage cost could increase our cost of sales and reduce our profitability. Moreover, we may not be able to implement price increases for our products to cover any increased costs, and any price increases we do implement may result in lower sales volumes. If we are not successful in managing our ingredient, packaging, freight and storage costs, if we are unable to increase our prices to cover increased costs or if these price increases reduce sales volumes, then these increases in costs could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our operations in United States may be exposed to inflation risk, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

In the latter part of fiscal 2021 and the early part of fiscal 2022, some of our ingredients, packaging, freight and storage costs have increased at a rapid rate. We expect the pressures of cost inflation to continue into fiscal 2022. In addition, the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, including international sanctions in response to that conflict, could result in further inflationary pressures and increase disruption to supply chains, all of which could result in additional increases in our ingredients, packaging, freight and storage costs.

The Company uses a variety of strategies to seek to offset the cost inflation. However, we may not be able to generate sufficient productivity improvements or implement price increases to fully offset these cost increases, or do so on an acceptable timeline. Our inability or failure to do so could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our operations in Italy may expose us to the risk of fluctuation in currency exchange rates and rates of foreign inflation, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

We currently incur some costs and expenses in Euros and expect in the future to incur additional expenses in this currency. As a result, our revenues and results of operations are subject to foreign exchange fluctuations, which we may not be able to manage successfully. There can be no assurance that the Euro will not significantly appreciate or depreciate against the United States dollar in the future. We bear the risk that the rate of inflation in the foreign countries where we incur costs and expenses or the decline in value of the United States dollar compared to these foreign currencies will increase our costs as expressed in United States dollars. Future measures by foreign governments to control inflation, including interest rate adjustments, intervention in the foreign exchange market and changes to the fixed value of their currencies, may trigger increases in inflation. We may not be able to adjust the prices of our products to offset the effects of inflation on our cost structure, which could increase our costs and reduce our net operating margins. While we attempt to mitigate these risks through hedging or other mechanisms, if we do not successfully manage these risks our revenues and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our revenues and earnings may fluctuate as a result of promotional activities.

We offer sales discounts and promotions through various programs to customers that may occasionally result in reduced revenues or margins. These programs include in-store demonstrations, product discounts, temporary on shelf price reductions, off-invoice discounts, sales samples, retailer promotions, product coupons, and other trade activities we may implement in the future, depending on the customer. We anticipate needing to offer more trade and promotion discounting in order to grow the Tattooed Chef brand, primarily within the conventional retail channel. At times, these promotional activities may adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.

Fluctuations in results of operations for third and fourth quarters may impact, and may have a disproportionate effect on, overall financial condition and results of operations.

Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations that may have a disproportionate effect on our results of operations. We have historically experienced moderate revenue seasonality, with the third and fourth fiscal quarters generating higher sale amounts due to product demonstration schedules, new stock keeping unit (“SKU”) promotions and retailers allotting additional freezer space for holiday items. Any factors that harm our third and fourth quarter operating results, including disruptions in our supply chain, adverse weather or unfavorable economic conditions, may have a disproportionate effect on our results of operations for the entire year.

Litigation or legal proceedings could expose us to significant liabilities and negatively impact our reputation or business.

From time to time, we may be party to various claims and litigation proceedings. We evaluate these claims and litigation proceedings to assess the likelihood of unfavorable outcomes and to estimate, if possible, the amount of potential losses. Based on these assessments and estimates, we may establish reserves, as appropriate. These assessments and estimates are based on the information available to management at the time and involve a significant amount of management judgment. Actual outcomes or losses may differ materially from our assessments and estimates.

An indirect subsidiary of ours, Ittella Italy, is involved in certain litigation related to the death of an independent contractor who fell off the roof of Ittella Italy’s premises while performing pest control services. The case was brought by five relatives of the deceased worker. The five plaintiffs are seeking collectively 1,869,000 Euros from the defendants. In addition to Ittella Italy, the pest control company for which the deceased was working at the time of the accident is a co-defendant. Furthermore, under Italian law, the president of an Italian company is automatically criminally charged if a workplace death occurs on site. Ittella Italy has engaged local counsel, and while local counsel does not believe it is probable that Ittella Italy or its president will be found culpable, Ittella Italy cannot predict the ultimate outcome of the litigation. Procedurally, the case remains in a very early stage of the litigation. Ultimately, a trial will be required to determine if the defendants are liable, and if they are liable, a second separate proceeding will be required to establish the amount of damages owed by each of the co-defendants. Both co-defendants have insurance policies that may be at issue in the case. Ittella Italy believes any required payment could be covered by its insurance policy; however, it is not possible to determine the amount at which the insurance company will reimburse Ittella Italy or whether any reimbursement will be received at all. Based on information received from its Italian lawyers, Ittella Italy believes that the litigation may continue for a number of years before it is finally resolved.

Generally, while we maintain insurance for certain potential liabilities, such insurance does not cover all types and amounts of potential liabilities and is subject to self-insured retentions, various exclusions as well as caps on amounts recoverable. Even if we believe a claim is covered by insurance, insurers may dispute our entitlement to recovery for a variety of potential reasons, which may affect the timing and, if the insurers prevail, the amount of our recovery.

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

We currently rely upon numerous third-party transportation providers for all product shipments. Our utilization of delivery services for shipments is subject to risks, including increases in fuel prices, which would increase shipping costs, employee strikes, disease outbreaks or pandemics (such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic), and inclement weather, which may impact the ability of providers to provide delivery services that adequately meet our shipping needs, if at all. If we need to source alternative transportation methods, we may not be able to obtain terms as favorable as those we receive from the third-party transportation providers that we currently use, which in turn would increase costs and thereby adversely affect operating results.

We rely on independent certification for a number of our products.

We rely on independent third-party certifications, such as certifications of our products as “USDA organic,” “BRC,” “gluten free,” “Non-GMO” or “kosher,” to differentiate our products from others. We must comply with the requirements of independent organizations or certification authorities in order to label our products with these certifications, and there can be no assurance that we will continue to meet these requirements. The loss of any independent certifications could adversely affect our business.

We rely on information technology systems and any inadequacy, failure, interruption or security breaches of those systems may harm our ability to operate our business effectively.

We are dependent on various information technology systems, including, but not limited to, networks, applications and outsourced services in connection with the operation of its business. A failure of our information technology systems to perform as we anticipate could disrupt our business and result in transaction errors, processing inefficiencies and loss of sales, causing our business to suffer. In addition, our information technology systems may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including fire, natural disasters, systems failures, viruses and security breaches. As of December 31, 2021, we didn’t have any cyber breaches occurred. However any such damage or interruption could adversely affect our business.

Our geographic focus makes us particularly vulnerable to economic and other events and trends in the United States.

We operate mainly in the United States and sell our products primarily in the United States and, therefore, are particularly susceptible to adverse regulations, economic climate, consumer trends, market fluctuations, and other adverse events in the United States. The concentration of our businesses in the United States could present challenges and may increase the likelihood that an adverse event in the United States would adversely affect our product sales, financial condition and operating results.

If we experience the loss of one or more of our food brokers that cannot be replaced in a timely manner, results of operations may be adversely affected.

We utilize food brokers to assist in establishing and maintaining relationships with certain key customers, which represent the bulk of our revenue. We have written agreements with several different brokers, each of whom facilitates our relationship with a different key customer. Pursuant to these agreements, our brokers are entitled to a commission based on the revenue they facilitate between us and our key customers. Commissions range from 1.5% to 3.0% of sales, with the exception of one broker to whom we owe commissions up to 5.0% until sales through that broker exceed a certain threshold. The loss of any one of these food brokers could negatively impact the customer relationship resulting in our business, results of operation and financial condition being adversely affected.

Identifying new brokers can be time-consuming and any resulting delay may be disruptive and costly to our business. While we believe we may be able to continue to supply these key customers without broker relationships, we believe that doing so could consume a significant amount of management’s time and attention. There is no assurance that we will be able to establish and maintain successful relationships with new brokers. We may have to incur significant expenses to attract and maintain brokers.

We rely on a single supplier for liquid nitrogen.

We rely on a sole supplier, Messer LLC, for liquid nitrogen, which is used in production to freeze products during the manufacturing process. The agreement with this supplier provides for up to 120% of our monthly requirements of liquid nitrogen and does not expire until 2025. We also believe we can obtain liquid nitrogen from an alternate supplier on commercially reasonable terms. Nonetheless, there is no guarantee that our supply of liquid nitrogen will not be disrupted due to various risks, including increases in fuel prices, employee strikes and inclement weather, or disruptions in the supplier’s operations.

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting and may not be able to establish appropriate internal controls in a timely manner. Failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting could lead to misstatements in our financial reporting and adversely affect our business.

Ineffective internal control over financial reporting could result in errors or misstatements in our financial statements, reduce investor confidence, and adversely impact our stock price. As discussed in Part II, Item 9A “Controls and Procedures” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, in connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021, we have identified a number of material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting, including not maintaining appropriately designed entity-level controls impacting the control environment, risk assessment procedures and effective monitoring controls to prevent or detect material misstatements to the consolidated financial statements. These deficiencies were attributed to:

Additionally, we did not adequately design and implement effective control activities, general controls over information technology and effective policies and procedures, resulting in additional material weaknesses within certain business processes. These deficiencies attributed to the following individual control activities:

The deficiencies above resulted in material errors in our previously issued financial statements for the 2021 first, second, and third quarters. Internal controls over financial reporting are important to accurately reflect our financial position and results of operations in our financial reports.

We are in the process of remediating the material weaknesses. If the additional controls and processes that we have implemented while we work to remediate the material weakness are not sufficient, or if we identify additional control deficiencies that individually or together constitute significant deficiencies or material weaknesses, our ability to accurately record, process, and report financial information and consequently, our ability to prepare financial statements within required time periods, could be adversely affected. Failure to properly remediate the material weaknesses or the discovery of additional control deficiencies could result in violations of applicable securities laws, stock exchange listing requirements, subject us to litigation and investigations, negatively affect investor confidence in our financial statements, and adversely impact our stock price and ability to access capital markets.

We need to implement an Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) system. Significant additional costs, cost overruns and delays in connection with the implementation of an ERP system may adversely affect results of operations.

We are in the process of implementing a company-wide ERP system. Ittella International, our major subsidiary, has completed the initial installation and implementation and started operating under the ERP system in January 2022. We will implement the ERP system to the remaining active subsidiaries. This is a lengthy and expensive process that will result in a diversion of resources from other operations. Any disruptions, delays or deficiencies in the design and/or implementation of the new ERP system, particularly any disruptions, delays or deficiencies that impact operations, could adversely affect our ability to run and manage our business effectively.

The implementation of an ERP system has and will continue to involve substantial expenditures on system hardware and software, as well as design, development and implementation activities. There can be no assurance that other cost overruns relating to the ERP system will not occur. Our business and results of operations may be adversely affected if we experience operating problems, additional costs, or cost overruns during the ERP implementation process.

Risk Factors Related to Regulations

Our operations are subject to FDA, FTC and other foreign, federal, state and local regulation, and there is no assurance that we will be in compliance with all regulations.

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA, FTC, and other foreign, federal, state and local authorities. Specifically, for products manufactured or sold in the United States, we are subject to the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and regulations promulgated thereunder by the FDA. This comprehensive regulatory program governs, among other things, the manufacturing, composition and ingredients, packaging, labeling and safety of food. Under this program, the FDA requires that facilities that manufacture food products comply with a range of requirements, including hazard analysis and preventive controls regulations, current good manufacturing practices, or cGMPs, and supplier verification requirements including foreign supplier verification program. Our processing facilities, as well as those of our suppliers, are subject to periodic inspection by foreign, federal, state and local authorities. We do not control the manufacturing processes of, and rely upon, suppliers for compliance with cGMPs for the manufacturing of some products by our suppliers. If we or our suppliers cannot successfully manufacture products that conform to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA or other regulators, we or our suppliers may be subject to adverse inspectional findings or enforcement actions, which could impact our ability to market our products, could result in our suppliers’ inability to continue manufacturing for us, or could result in a recall of our product that has already been distributed. In addition, we rely upon our suppliers to maintain adequate quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. If the FDA or a comparable state, local or foreign regulatory authority determines that we or our suppliers have not complied with the applicable regulatory requirements, our business may be impacted. The FTC and other authorities regulate how we market and advertise our products, and we could be the target of claims relating to alleged false or deceptive advertising under federal, state, and foreign laws and regulations. Changes in these laws or regulations or the introduction of new laws or regulations could increase the costs of doing business for us or our customers or suppliers or restrict our actions, causing our operating results to be adversely affected. 

In Italy, food safety is regulated by specific legislation and compliance by the MOH, with administrative authority further delegated to ASLs. The MOH is organized into 12 directorates-general and the directorate-general and monitors, among others, the health and safety of food production and marketing, nutrition labeling, and food additives. While the ASLs administer compliance of the food safety laws through, among other things, inspections, the MOH may also conduct inspections under the purview of the relevant directorate-general. If products manufactured in Italy do not conform to local requirements, production in our Italy facility could be suspended until this facility is brought into compliance.

Failure by us or our suppliers to comply with applicable laws and regulations or maintain permits, licenses or registrations relating to us or our suppliers’ operations could subject us to civil remedies or penalties, including fines, injunctions, recalls, withdraw or seizures, warning letters, restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of products, or refusals to permit the import or export of products, as well as potential criminal sanctions, which could result in increased operating costs resulting in an adverse effect on our operating results and business.

We are subject to international regulations that could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We are subject to extensive regulations internationally where we manufacture, distribute and/or sell products. A significant portion of our products are manufactured in our facility in Italy. Our products are subject to numerous food safety and other laws and regulations relating to the sourcing, manufacturing, composition and ingredients, storing, labeling, marketing, advertising and distribution of these products. In addition, enforcement of existing laws and regulations, changes in legal requirements and/or evolving interpretations of existing regulatory requirements may result in increased compliance costs and create other obligations, financial or otherwise, that could adversely affect our business, financial condition or operating results. In addition, with expanding international operations, we could be adversely affected by violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and similar worldwide anti-bribery laws, which generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials or other third parties for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. While our policies mandate compliance with these anti-bribery laws, our internal control policies and procedures may not protect us from reckless or criminal acts committed by our employees, contractors or agents. Violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and adversely affect our operations, cash flows and financial condition.

Legal claims, government investigations or other regulatory enforcement actions could subject us to civil and criminal penalties.

We operate in a highly regulated environment with constantly evolving legal and regulatory frameworks. Consequently, we are subject to heightened risk of legal claims, government investigations or other regulatory enforcement actions. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with existing laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our employees, temporary workers, contractors or agents will not violate our policies and procedures. Moreover, a failure to maintain effective control processes could lead to violations, unintentional or otherwise, of laws and regulations. Legal claims, government investigations or regulatory enforcement actions arising out of failure or alleged failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject us to civil and criminal penalties that could adversely affect our product sales, reputation, financial condition and operating results. In addition, the costs and other effects of defending potential and pending litigation and administrative actions against us may be difficult to determine and could adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

Changes in existing laws or regulations, or the adoption of new laws or regulations may increase costs and otherwise adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The manufacture and marketing of food products is highly regulated. We and our suppliers are subject to a variety of laws and regulations. These laws and regulations apply to many aspects of our business, including the manufacture, composition and ingredients, packaging, labeling, distribution, advertising, sale, quality and safety of products, as well as the health and safety of employees and the protection of the environment.

In the United States, we are subject to regulation by various government agencies, including the FDA, the FTC, OSHA, laws related to product labeling and advertising and marketing, and the EPA, as well as the requirements of various state and local agencies, including, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (“Proposition 65”). We are also regulated outside the United States by various international regulatory bodies. In addition, we are subject to certain third-party private standards, including Global Food Safety Initiative (“GFSI”) related certifications such as British Retail Consortium standards. We could incur costs, including fines, penalties and third-party claims, because of any violations of, or liabilities under, such requirements, including any competitor or consumer challenges relating to compliance with such requirements.

The regulatory environment in which we operate could change significantly and adversely in the future. Any change in manufacturing, labeling or packaging requirements for our products may lead to an increase in costs or interruptions in production, either of which could adversely affect our operations and financial condition. New or revised government laws and regulations could result in additional compliance costs and, in the event of non-compliance, civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, withdrawals, recalls or seizures and confiscations, as well as potential criminal sanctions, any of which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Failure by suppliers to comply with food safety, environmental or other laws and regulations, or with the specifications and requirements of our products, may disrupt our supply of products and adversely affect our business.

If our suppliers fail to comply with food safety, environmental or other laws and regulations, or face allegations of non-compliance, their operations may be disrupted. Additionally, our suppliers are required to maintain the quality of our products and to comply with our product specifications, and these suppliers must supply ingredients that meet quality standards. In the event of actual or alleged non-compliance, our supply of raw materials or finished inventory could be disrupted, or our costs could increase, which would adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. The failure of any supplier to produce products that conform to our standards could adversely affect our reputation in the marketplace and result in product recalls, product liability claims and economic loss. Additionally, actions we may take to mitigate the impact of any disruption or potential disruption in the supply of raw materials or finished inventory, including increasing inventory in anticipation of a potential supply or production interruption, may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Good manufacturing practice standards and food safety compliance metrics are complex, highly subjective and selectively enforced.

The federal regulatory scheme governing food products establishes guideposts and objectives for complying with legal requirements rather than providing clear direction on when particular standards apply or how they must be met. For example, FDA regulations referred to as Hazard Analysis and Risk Based Preventive Controls for Human Food require that we evaluate food safety hazards inherent to our specific products and operations. We must then implement “preventive controls” in cases where we determine that qualified food safety personnel would recommend that we do so. Determining what constitutes a food safety hazard, or what a qualified food safety expert might recommend to prevent such a hazard, requires evaluating a variety of situational factors. This analysis is necessarily subjective, and a government regulator may find our analysis or conclusions inadequate. Similarly, the standard of “good manufacturing practice” to which we are held in our food production operations relies on a hypothesis regarding what individuals and organizations qualified in food manufacturing and food safety would find to be appropriate practices in the context of our operations. Government regulators may disagree with our analyses and decisions regarding the good manufacturing practices appropriate for our operations.

Decisions made or processes adopted by us in producing our products are subject to after the fact review by government authorities, sometimes years after the fact. Similarly, governmental agencies and personnel within those agencies may alter, clarify or even reverse previous interpretations of compliance requirements and the circumstances under which they will institute formal enforcement activity. It is not always possible to accurately predict regulators’ responses to actual or alleged food production deficiencies due to the large degree of discretion afforded regulators. We may be vulnerable to civil or criminal enforcement action by government regulators if they disagree with our analyses, conclusions, actions or practices. This could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Risk Factors Relating to Ownership of Our Securities

Mr. Galletti has significant influence or control over us, and his interests may conflict with those of other stockholders.

As of December 31, 2021, Mr. Galletti and Project Lily LLC, which is controlled by Mr. Galletti, own approximately 38.2% of our outstanding common stock. As such, Mr. Galletti has significant influence, including over the election of the members of our Board, and thereby may significantly influence our policies and operations, including the appointment of management, future issuances of our common stock or other securities, the payment of dividends, if any, the incurrence or modification of debt, amendments to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, and the entering into of extraordinary transactions, and Mr. Galletti’s interests may not in all cases be aligned with those of other stockholders.

We have adopted policies and procedures, specifically a Code of Ethics and a Related Party Transactions Policy, to identify, review, consider and approve such conflicts of interest. In general, if an affiliate of a director, executive officer or significant stockholder, including Mr. Galletti, intends to engage in a transaction involving us, that director, executive officer or significant stockholder must report the transaction for consideration and approval by our audit committee. However, there are no assurances that our efforts and policies to eliminate the potential impacts of conflicts of interest will be effective.

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our charter and proposed bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.

Our charter contains provisions that may hinder unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

Sales of shares by existing stockholders could cause our stock price to decline.

We filed on November 5, 2020 a registration statement with the SEC covering the resale of up to 46,605,329 shares of our common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, warrants included in the private placement units issued in the concurrent placement at the time of our initial public offering to purchase up to 655,000 shares of common stock (“Private Placement Warrants”), and up to 20,000,000 shares of common stock underlying the warrants included in the units issued in our initial public offering (“Public Warrants”). These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares of common stock intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock. As of December 31, 2021, all of the public warrants have been exercised and sold. As of December 31, 2021, private placement warrants to purchase up to 115,160 shares of our common stock remained outstanding. See Note 18 to the consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

General Risk Factors

The COVID-19 pandemic could adversely impact our business, results of operations and financial condition.

 Although we have experienced challenges in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, including slowdowns of our production facilities, employee illnesses, and increased costs, the pandemic has not to-date had a net negative impact on our liquidity or results of operations. However, the continued spread of COVID-19 could negatively impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations in a number of ways in the future. These impacts could include, but are not limited to:

The duration and extent of the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic depends on future developments that cannot be accurately predicted at this time, such as the severity and transmission rate of the virus, the emergence and spread of variants, infection rates in areas where we operate, the extent and effectiveness of containment actions, including the continued availability and effectiveness of vaccines in the markets where we operate, and the impact of these and other factors on our employees, customers, suppliers, distributors, and manufacturers. Should these conditions persist for a prolonged period, the COVID-19 pandemic, including any of the above factors and others that are currently unknown, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks and uncertainties described in this “Risk Factors” section.

We may not be able to compete successfully in our highly competitive market.

We compete with conventional frozen food companies such as Nestle, Conagra Brands, B&G Foods and Amy’s Kitchen that may have substantially greater financial and other resources than we do. They may also have lower operational costs, and as a result may be able to offer products at lower costs than our plant-based products. This could cause us to lower prices, resulting in lower profitability or, in the alternative, cause us to lose market share if we fail to lower prices. Views towards plant-based products may also change, which may result in lower consumption of these products. If other foods or other plant-based products become more popular, we may be unable to compete effectively. Generally, the food industry is dominated by multinational corporations with substantially greater resources and operations than ours. We cannot be certain that we will successfully compete with larger competitors that have greater financial, sales, and technical resources. Conventional food companies may acquire competitors or launch their own plant-based products, and they may be able to use their resources and scale to respond to competitive pressures and changes in consumer preferences by introducing new products, reducing prices, or increasing promotional activities, among other things. Retailers also may market competitive products under their own private labels, which are generally sold at lower prices and may compete with some of our products. Competitive pressures or other factors could cause us to lose market share, which may require us to lower prices, increase marketing and advertising expenditures, or increase the use of discounting or promotional campaigns, each of which would adversely affect our margins and could result in a decrease in our operating results and profitability.

Our growth may be limited if we are unable to expand our distribution channels and secure additional retail space for our products.

Our results will depend on our ability to drive revenue growth, in part, by expanding the distribution channels for our products and the number of products carried by each retailer. Our ability to do so, however, may be limited by an inability to secure additional retail space for our products. Retail space for frozen products is limited and is subject to competitive and other pressures, and there can be no assurance that retail stores will provide sufficient space to enable us to meet our growth objectives.

Historical results are not indicative of future results.

Historical quarter-to-quarter and period-over-period comparisons of our sales and operating results are not necessarily indicative of future quarter-to-quarter and period-over-period results. Investors should not rely on the results of a single quarter or period as an indication of our annual results or our future performance.

A cybersecurity incident, other technology disruptions or failure to comply with laws and regulations relating to privacy and the protection of data relating to individuals could negatively impact our business, reputation and relationships with customers.

We use computers in substantially all aspects of business operations, including using mobile devices, social networking and other online activities to connect with our employees, suppliers, distributors, customers and consumers. This use, as is present with nearly all companies, gives rise to cybersecurity risks, including security breaches, espionage, system disruption, theft and inadvertent release of information. Our business involves the storage and transmission of numerous classes of sensitive and/or confidential information and intellectual property, including customers’ and suppliers’ information, private information about employees and financial and strategic information about us and our business partners. Further, as we pursue new initiatives that improve our operations and cost structure, potentially including acquisitions, we may also expand our information technologies, resulting in a larger technological presence and corresponding exposure to cybersecurity risk. If we fail to assess and identify cybersecurity risks associated with new initiatives or acquisitions, we may become increasingly vulnerable to such risks. Additionally, while we have implemented measures to prevent security breaches and cyber incidents, these preventative measures and incident response efforts may not be entirely effective. The theft, destruction, loss, misappropriation, or release of sensitive and/or confidential information or intellectual property, or interference with our information technology systems or the technology systems of third parties on which we rely, could result in business disruption, negative publicity, brand damage, violation of privacy laws, loss of customers, potential liability, and competitive disadvantage, all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

In addition, we are subject to laws, rules and regulations in North America and the European Union relating to the collection, use and security of personal information and data. These data privacy laws, regulations and other obligations may require us to change our business practices and may negatively impact its ability to expand its business and pursue business opportunities. We may incur significant expenses to comply with the laws, regulations and other obligations that apply to us. Additionally, the privacy and data protection related laws, rules and regulations applicable to us are subject to significant change. Several jurisdictions have passed new laws and regulations in this area, and other jurisdictions are considering imposing additional restrictions. For example, our operations are subject to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which imposes data privacy and security requirements on companies doing business in the European Union, including substantial penalties for non-compliance. In addition, the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), which went into effect on January 1, 2020, imposes similar requirements on companies handling data of California residents and creates a new and potentially severe statutory damages framework for violations of the CCPA and businesses that fail to implement reasonable security procedures and practices to prevent data breaches. Privacy and data protection related laws and regulations also may be interpreted and enforced inconsistently over time and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Any actual or perceived inability to comply with applicable privacy or data protection laws, regulations, or other obligations could result in significant cost and liability, litigation or governmental investigations, damage our reputation, and adversely affect our business.

We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. Although we haven’t occurred any cyber breaches, such incidents could have a material adverse effect on us in the future. In order to address risks to our information systems, we continue to make investments in personnel, technologies and training. Data protection laws and regulations around the world often require “reasonable,” “appropriate” or “adequate” technical and organizational security measures, and the interpretation and application of those laws and regulations are often uncertain and evolving; there can be no assurance that our security measures will be deemed adequate, appropriate or reasonable by a regulator or court. Moreover, even security measures that are deemed appropriate, reasonable or in accordance with applicable legal requirements may not be able to protect the information we maintain. In addition to potential fines, we could be subject to mandatory corrective action due to a cybersecurity incident, which could adversely affect our business operations and result in substantial costs for years to come. We maintain an information risk management program which is supervised by information technology management. As part of this program, we provide security trainings to employees and regularly monitor the systems to identify any emerging risks, as well as present to our senior management. As an early-stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

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

The global economy can be negatively impacted by a variety of factors such as the spread or fear of spread of contagious diseases (such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic) in locations where our products are sold, man-made or natural disasters, actual or threatened war (such as the escalation in conflict between Russia and Ukraine), terrorist activity, political unrest, civil strife and other geopolitical uncertainty. In addition, Italian operations could be affected by criminal violence, primarily due to the activities of organized crime that Italy has experienced and may continue to experience. These adverse and uncertain economic conditions may impact distributor, retailer, foodservice and consumer demand for our products. In addition, our ability to manage normal commercial relationships with our suppliers, distributors, customers and consumers and creditors may suffer. Consumers may shift purchases to lower-priced or other perceived value offerings during economic downturns as a result of various factors, including job losses, inflation, higher taxes, reduced access to credit, change in federal economic policy and international trade disputes. A decrease in consumer discretionary spending may also result in consumers reducing the frequency and amount spent on food prepared away from home. Distributors and customers may become more conservative in response to these conditions and seek to reduce their inventories. Our results of operations depend upon, among other things, our ability to maintain and increase sales volume with our existing customers, our ability to attract new consumers, the financial condition of consumers and our ability to provide products that appeal to consumers at the right price. Decreases in demand for products without a corresponding decrease in costs would put downward pressure on margins and would negatively impact financial results. Prolonged unfavorable economic conditions or uncertainty may adversely affect our sales and profitability and may result in consumers making long-lasting changes to their discretionary spending behavior on a more permanent basis.

Future acquisitions or investments could disrupt our business and harm our financial condition.

In the future, we may continually pursue acquisitions of companies or of production capacity or make investments that we believe will help us achieve our strategic objectives. Although we completed three acquisitions including two business acquisitions (See Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) in the United States and one asset purchase in Italy during 2021, the Company’s management team still lacks significant experience negotiating acquisitions of other companies and integrating acquired companies. We may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates, and even if we do, we may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. If we do complete acquisitions, we may not ultimately achieve our goals or realize anticipated benefits. Pursuing acquisitions and any integration process related to acquisitions will require significant time and resources and could divert management time and focus from operation of our then-existing business, and we may not be able to manage the process successfully. Any acquisitions we complete could be viewed negatively by customers or consumers. An acquisition, investment or business relationship may result in unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures, including disrupting ongoing operations and subjecting us to additional liabilities, increasing expenses, and adversely impacting our business, financial condition and operating results. Moreover, we may be exposed to unknown liabilities related to the acquired company or product, and the anticipated benefits of any acquisition, investment or business relationship may not be realized if, for example, we fail to successfully integrate an acquisition into our business. To pay for any such acquisitions, we would have to use cash, incur debt, or issue equity securities, each of which may affect our financial condition or value. If we incur more debt it would result in increased fixed obligations and could also subject us to covenants or other restrictions that would impede our ability to manage our operations. Our acquisition strategy could require significant management attention, disrupt our business and harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Climate change may negatively affect our business and operations.

There is growing concern that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather patterns, and the frequency and severity of extreme weather and natural disasters. In the event that such climate change has a negative effect on agricultural productivity, we may be subject to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for certain commodities that are necessary for our products, such as cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, and a wide array of other vegetables. Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters can reduce crop size and crop quality, which in turn could reduce our supplies of raw materials, lower recoveries of usable raw materials, increase the prices of our raw materials, increase our cost of transporting and storing raw materials, or disrupt our production schedules.

We may also be subjected to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for water as a result of such change, which could impact our manufacturing and distribution operations. In addition, natural disasters and extreme weather conditions may disrupt the productivity of our facilities or the operation of our supply chain. The increasing concern over climate change also may result in more regional, federal, and/or global legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases. In the event that such regulation is enacted and is more aggressive than the sustainability measures that we are currently undertaking to monitor our emissions and improve our energy efficiency, we may experience significant increases in our costs of operation and delivery. In particular, increasing regulation of fuel emissions could substantially increase the distribution and supply chain costs associated with our products. As a result, climate change could negatively affect our business and operations.

The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (“Brexit”) may negatively affect global economic conditions, financial markets and our business.

Following a national referendum and enactment of legislation by the government of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom formally withdrew from the European Union (“Brexit”) on January 31, 2020 and the transition period ended in January 2021. Although Ittella Italy sources raw materials from suppliers located in Italy and other European countries, approximately 98% of Ittella Italy’s sales have been made to the United States. As of December 31, 2021, Brexit has not had a significant impact on us. However, Brexit may continue to adversely affect global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets, and may significantly reduce global market liquidity, restrict the ability of key market participants to operate in certain financial markets, restrict our access to capital, or negatively impact the financial conditions in Italy. Any of these factors could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any increase in interest rates may negatively affect our net operating results.

We maintain a level of debt that we consider prudent based on our cash flows, interest coverage ratio and percentage of debt to capital. This exposes us to adverse changes in interest rates during times, if any, that we avail ourselves of our credit facility. On December 31, 2021, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, the governing body responsible for regulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”), ceased to publish certain LIBOR reference rates. However, other LIBOR reference rates, including U.S. dollar overnight, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month and 12-month maturities, will continue to be published through June 2023. In preparation for the discontinuation of LIBOR, we will amend, our LIBOR-referencing agreements to either reference the Secured Overnight Financing Rate or include mechanics for selecting an alternative rate, but it is possible that these changes may have an adverse impact on our financing costs as compared to LIBOR in the long term.

Our stock price may be volatile and may decline regardless of our operating performance.

Our stock price is likely to be volatile. The trading prices of the securities of companies in our industry have been highly volatile. As a result of this volatility, investors may not be able to sell their common stock at or above their purchase price. The market price of our common stock and warrants may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:

In addition, the stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many companies in our industry. Stock prices of such companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies.

In the past, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management, and harm our business.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 2. Properties.

Our principal properties include our manufacturing and storage facilities, as well as our corporate headquarters.

We lease processing facilities in Paramount, California, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Youngstown, Ohio and have an office suite lease in San Pedro, California. The Paramount facility also serves as our headquarters. Ittella Properties, a related entity controlled by Mr. Galletti, owns one of the buildings that comprise the Paramount facility and Deluna, a related party controlled by Mr. Galletti, owns the San Pedro building. We believe that the lease terms with Ittella Properties and Deluna are on an arms-length basis.

 In April 2021, we acquired the processing facility in Prossedi, Italy with approximately 7.0 acres of land and over 100,000 square feet manufacturing facility with machinery and equipment. In December 2021, we leased a small cold storage facility in Ceccano, Italy, which allows us to better manage inventory and take advantage of seasonal purchases of raw materials during the peak harvest season.

 On November 12, 2021, we entered into a 10-year lease expiring December 31, 2031 with two 5-year renewal options. Under the terms of the lease, we will lease approximately 46,510 square feet freestanding industrial building situated on 76,230 square feet of land for our distribution center in Vernon, California. Due to the owner is still occupying and cleaning up the facility, the lease commence date is to be determined by both parties. We expect it will start at the beginning of the second quarter of 2022.

In addition, we lease various cold storage spaces in the US which allows for effective promoting and presenting our products to more wide and distant markets.

We believe that our current facilities are adequate to meet ongoing needs and that, if we require additional space, we will be able to obtain additional facilities on commercially reasonable terms.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

From time to time, we may be involved in litigation relating to claims arising out of our operations in the normal course of business.

An indirect subsidiary of ours, Ittella Italy, is involved in certain litigation related to the death of an independent contractor who fell off of the roof of Ittella Italy’s premises while performing pest control services. The case was brought by five relatives of the deceased worker. The five plaintiffs are seeking collectively 1,869,000 Euros (approximately $2.1 million as of December 31, 2021) from the defendants. In addition to Ittella Italy, the pest control company for which the deceased was working at the time of the accident is a co-defendant. Furthermore, under Italian law, the president of an Italian company is automatically criminally charged if a workplace death occurs on site. Ittella Italy has engaged local counsel, and while local counsel does not believe it is probable that Ittella Italy or its president will be found culpable, Ittella Italy cannot predict the ultimate outcome of the litigation. Procedurally, the case remains in a very early stage of the litigation. Ultimately, a trial will be required to determine if the defendants are liable, and if they are liable, a second separate proceeding will be required to establish the amount of damages owed by each of the co-defendants. Both co-defendants have insurance policies that may be at issue in the case. Ittella Italy believes any required payment could be covered by its insurance policy; however, it is not possible to determine the amount at which the insurance company will reimburse Ittella Italy or whether any reimbursement will be received at all. Based on information received from its Italian lawyers, Ittella Italy believes that the litigation may continue for a number of years before it is finally resolved.

Except as set forth above, we are not currently a party to any legal proceeding that we believe would adversely affect our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows and are not aware of any material legal proceedings contemplated by governmental authorities.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

None.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “TTCF.”

Holders

As of March 10, 2022, there were 34 holders of record of our shares of common stock. The actual number of stockholders of our common stock is greater than this number of record holders and includes stockholders who are beneficial owners but whose shares of common stock are held in street name by banks, brokers and other nominees.

Dividends

We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial. The payment of any cash dividends will be within the discretion of our board of directors. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Equity Securities

On October 22, 2021, we entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets and assume certain liabilities from Belmont (See Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K). We issued 241,546 shares of our common stock to the sole stockholder of Belmont as partial consideration for the transaction. The value of issued shares amounted to approximately $4.00 million. The number of shares payable at closing was determined based on the average closing price of our common stock over the three days preceding the closing date of the acquisition (December 21, 2021). The shares were issued pursuant to and in accordance with exemptions from registration under the Securities Act, under Section 4(a)(2) of and/or Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act.

Item 6. Reserved.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical consolidated financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those set forth in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” and under the heading “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Prior to October 15, 2020, we were known as Forum Merger II Corporation. On October 15, 2020, Forum completed the Business Combination with Myjojo, Inc., a private company.

The Business Combination was accounted for as a reverse merger in accordance with GAAP. Under this method of accounting, Forum was treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the financial statements of the combined entity, including those included in this Annual Report, represent a continuation of the financial statements of Ittella Parent with the acquisition being treated as the equivalent of Ittella Parent issuing stock for the net assets of Forum, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of Forum are stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded.

Overview

We are a rapidly growing plant-based food company with operations in the United States and Italy, offering a broad portfolio of frozen, plant-based food products in private label and under the “Tattooed Chef” brand. We provide plant-based meals and snacks including, but not limited to, acai and smoothie bowls, zucchini spirals, riced cauliflower, burritos, vegetable bowls and cauliflower crust pizza, to leading club store and food retailers in the United States.

Our revenue in Fiscal 2021 was $213.4 million, which represents a 43.7% increase from Fiscal 2020 revenue of $148.5 million. As of December 31, 2021, our products were sold in approximately 14,000 retail outlets in the United States. Our innovative plant-based products offer consumers a diverse portfolio of wholesome, clean label items that are convenient, without sacrificing on quality, nutritional value or freshness and that are great tasting.

During Fiscal 2021, we sold a substantial portion of our products to three customers, which accounted for approximately 73% of Fiscal 2021 revenue. These three customers individually accounted for approximately 34%, 28%, and 11% of our Fiscal 2021 total revenue, respectively. Management believes our relationships with these customers are strong, and none have indicated any intent to cease or reduce the volume of business they do with us. As we grow “Tattooed Chef,” we continue to expand our sales and marketing team by adding more dedicated personnel to service additional retail customers and adding outside sales representatives and/or brokers to extend our sales efforts. These efforts to add retail customers could partially mitigate customer concentration risk.

Segment Information

We have one operating segment and one reportable segment, as our chief decision maker, our Chief Executive Officer, reviews financial information on an aggregate basis for purposes of allocating resources and evaluating financial performance.

Trends and Other Factors Affecting Our Operating Performance

Our management team monitors the following trends and factors that could impact our operating performance.

To help mitigate any potential impact of COVID-19 on our business operations and results thereof, we have diversified our suppliers of raw materials and keep close contact with them to anticipate any problems with keeping up with the demand for our products. We have expanded our supplier base so that we no longer rely on a sole source supplier for any of our raw materials. In this way, we are able to ensure we are getting competitive prices and reduce the risk of supply interruptions. To date, there has been no impact on our liquidity, and we have not needed to raise capital, reduce our capital expenditures, or modify any terms or contractual arrangements in response to COVID-19. Except for the preventative and protective measures described above, any changes in our operations have been due to the growth of our business, which was planned prior to the pandemic.

Use of Adjusted EBITDA

We seek to achieve profitable, long term growth by monitoring and analyzing key operating metrics, including Adjusted EBITDA, as defined below in “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”. Our management uses this non-GAAP financial metric and related computations to evaluate and manage our business and to plan and make near and long-term operating and strategic decisions. Our management team believes this non-GAAP financial metric is useful to investors to provide supplemental information in addition to the GAAP financial results. Management reviews the use of our primary key operating metrics from time-to-time. Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a substitute for any GAAP financial measure and, as calculated, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of performance of other companies in other industries or within the same industry. Our management team believes it is useful to provide investors with the same financial information that it uses internally to make comparisons of historical operating results, identify trends in underlying operating results, and evaluate our business. Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are provided in “Non-GAAP Financial Measures,” which appears later in this section.

Results of Operations

The following table sets forth selected items in our consolidated financial data in dollar amounts and as a percentage of revenue for the period represented:

Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019

Results of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2021 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2020.

Revenue

Revenue increased by $64.9 million, or 43.7%, to $213.4 million for Fiscal 2021 as compared to $148.5 million for Fiscal 2020. The revenue increase was due to an increase of $47.9 million in volume for Tattooed Chef branded products, primarily driven by expansion in the number of United States distribution points, increased revenue at existing club channel customers and new product introductions. Private label products revenue increased by $12.7 million. Other revenue increased by $4.3 million, mainly driven by the food production service provided by NMFD, which we acquired in May 2021. We anticipate continued growth in Tattooed Chef branded products primarily due to new product introductions, further expansion with current customers and increased sales to new retail customers. While we are primarily focused on growing our branded business, we will continue to support our current private label business and will evaluate new opportunities with private label customers as they arise.

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of goods sold increased $64.5 million, or 50.9%, to $191.3 million for Fiscal 2021 as compared to $126.8 million for Fiscal 2020. Cost of goods sold as a percentage of revenue, increased to 89.6% for Fiscal 2021 from 85.4% for Fiscal 2020. The increase of cost of goods sold in dollar amount is primarily due to the increase in sales volume and the increase as a percentage of revenue is primarily due to increases in freight and container expenses. Freight and container expenses increased as a percentage of revenue by 2.3% compared to Fiscal 2020. Freight and container expenses were $31.3 million (14.7% of revenue) for Fiscal 2021 compared with $18.4 million (12.4% of revenue) for Fiscal 2020.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Gross profit increased $0.4 million, or 2.0%, to $22.1 million for Fiscal 2021 as compared to $21.7 million for Fiscal 2020. Gross margin for Fiscal 2021 was 10.4% as compared to 14.6% for Fiscal 2020. The increase in gross profit is due to higher sales volume. The decrease in gross margin in Fiscal 2021 is attributable to the building out of our infrastructure to support the current and expected growth in operations, increases in raw materials, packaging, and particularly the freight and container costs due to inflation, the acquisition (NMFD and Karsten) in New Mexico that was completed in May 2021 and the acquisition (Belmont) in Ohio that was completed in December 2021. Both NMFD and Belmont currently only manufacture private label products, which have a lower margin when compared to our Tattooed Chef branded products. NMFD is expected to be fully operational and manufacturing both private label and Tattooed Chef branded products during 2022. The Karsten facility is not currently in operation and is expected to become active during the second quarter of 2022. The Karsten facility is expected to manufacture Tattooed Chef branded salty snacks and other alternative Tattoed Chef branded and private label products. Belmont is expected to start manufacturing Tattooed Chef branded products during the second quarter of 2022. 

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased $27.5 million, or 86.9%, to $59.1 million for Fiscal 2021 as compared to $31.6 million for Fiscal 2020. As a percentage of revenue, total operating expenses increased to 27.7% for Fiscal 2021 from 21.3% for Fiscal 2020.  Compared to Fiscal 2020, the increase for Fiscal 2021 is primarily due to a $12.0 million increase in marketing expenses, a $5.0 million increase in advertising expenses, a $1.2 million increase in sales commission expenses, a $1.6 million increase in post-manufacture cold storage expenses, a $7.3 million increase in professional expenses, a $1.8 million increase in stock compensation expense, a $4.2 million increase in employee payroll benefits and recruiting expense, a $2.0 million increase in general liability insurance, a $0.5 million increase in ERP software expenses, a $0.5 million in resolution of a dispute and related fees, and $3.6 million operating expenses for entities that were newly acquired in Fiscal 2021, offset by a $13.6 million one-time, merger-related compensation expense recognized in Fiscal 2020.

The significant increase in advertising, marketing, sales commission, and post-manufacture cold storage expenses are due to our heavy investment in the Tattooed Chef brand, in order to increase distribution, raise brand awareness, and drive sales in the new stores that are launching our products. The increase in professional expenses is mainly due to the legal, accounting and auditing fees attributable to being a public company since October 15, 2020 and the acquisitions (see Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) we completed in 2021. The increase in stock compensation expense, payroll benefits and recruiting expense, and liability insurance expense are primarily due to our efforts to grow our business and expand the Tattooed Chef brand, as well as increased payroll and other administration expenses of recruiting and retaining key employees needed to meet the additional compliance requirements of being a public company. In Fiscal 2021, we spent approximately $0.5 million to start the implementation of an ERP software system to improve our financial reporting control environment.

We expect operating expenses to decrease over time as a percentage of revenue as certain relatively fixed operating expenses will be spread over increasing revenue.

Other Income and Interest Expense, Net

Other income and interest expense, net, reflected a loss of $2.5 million for Fiscal 2021 versus income of $38.7 million for Fiscal 2020. Interest expense decreased by $0.5 million for Fiscal 2021 to $0.3 million versus $0.7 million for Fiscal 2020 due to lower average debt balances outstanding during Fiscal 2021. In Fiscal 2021, we recorded $2.8 million in realized and unrealized net loss on forward foreign currency contracts compared to $1.0 million in realized and unrealized gain in Fiscal 2020. Starting in Fiscal 2020, we have purchased forward foreign currency contracts for the Euro to mitigate potential impact on our manufacturing costs in Italy. In Fiscal 2021, we recognized a $0.6 million gain from warrant liabilities settlements and remeasurements compared to a $1.2 million gain recognized in Fiscal 2020. In Fiscal 2020, we recognized a nonrecurring gain of $37.2 million on settlement of a contingent consideration derivative liability related to the Holdback Shares which was remeasured with changes in fair value recognized in earnings of $37.2 million upon release of the Holdback Shares to certain stockholders in November 2020.

Income Tax Benefit (Expense)

In October 2020, in anticipation of the Business Combination, UMB’s and Ittella International’s prior ownership were exchanged for interests in Myjojo (Delaware) shares.  This taxable pre-merger exchange resulted in a step-up in the tax bases of intangible assets of approximately $140.0 million.  As a result of this transaction, in 2020 Myjojo (Delaware) recorded a one-time tax benefit of $39.3 million resulting from Myjojo (Delaware)’s change in tax status from an S-corporation to a C-corporation.

In Fiscal 2021, management assessed the available positive and negative evidence to estimate whether sufficient future taxable income will be generated to permit use of the existing deferred tax assets. A significant piece of objective negative evidence evaluated was the cumulative loss incurred over the past three-year periods. Such objective evidence limits the ability to consider other subjective evidence, such as our projections for future growth. Primarily based on the objective evidence as described above, a full valuation allowance was recorded on the net deferred tax asset. During Fiscal 2020, we recognized a $47.5 million in deferred tax asset and a $40.3 million tax benefit. During Fiscal 2021, we recorded a full valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset resulting in a corresponding tax expense of $47.9 million. See note 16 to the consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Net (Loss) Income

Net operating results decreased by $156.4 million, to negative $87.4 million for Fiscal 2021 as compared to net income of $69.0 million for Fiscal 2020, due primarily to derivative gain discussed in the section “—Other Income and Interest Expense, Net” and the income tax expense and benefit discussed in the section “—Income Tax Benefit (Expense)”. Excluding the non-recurring gain on derivative related to the settlement of contingently redeemable equity, the one-time tax benefit resulting from the change in tax status, and the one-time compensation expense described in “—Operating Expenses”, the increase of net loss in Fiscal 2021 was mainly driven by the increase in operating expenses and the realized and unrealized loss from forward foreign currency contracts, as discussed above.

Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net

Other comprehensive income (loss), net, represents the effect of the Euro currency translation resulting from income statement accounts that are translated to United States dollars based on an average monthly exchange rate. Balance sheet accounts are translated to United States dollars at the balance sheet date. For Fiscal 2021, we recorded loss of $1.0 million on translation versus a $0.8 million gain in Fiscal 2020.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA decreased by $34.6 million to negative $26.1 million for Fiscal 2021 as compared to positive $8.5 million for Fiscal 2020. The decline in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to a significant increase in spending on sales and marketing expenses to support the growth in revenue and brand recognition for Tattooed Chef, the increase of professional expense related to being a public company, accounting costs and acquisition transaction costs that were not fully present during Fiscal 2020, and the increased payroll and other administration expenses to recruit and retain key employees as discussed above.

Year Ended December 31, 2020 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2019

Revenue

Revenue increased by $63.6 million, or 74.9%, to $148.5 million for Fiscal 2020 as compared to $84.9 million for Fiscal 2019. The revenue increase was due to an increase of $66.3 million in volume for Tattooed Chef branded products, primarily driven by expansion in the number of United States distribution points, increased revenue at existing club channel customers and new product introductions. The increase in branded product sales was partially offset by a $0.9 million decline in private label products and a $1.8 million decline in legacy products that are expected to be phased out in future periods.

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of goods sold increased $55.1 million, or 76.8%, to $126.8 million for Fiscal 2020 as compared to $71.7 million for Fiscal 2019, primarily due to the increase in volume of products manufactured, stored and shipped, resulting in increased costs of raw materials (in absolute dollars), direct labor and additional freight and storage costs. Cost of goods sold was relatively flat as a percentage of revenue, constituting 85.4 % of revenue for Fiscal 2020 compared to 84.5% of revenue for Fiscal 2019.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Gross profit increased $8.5 million, or 64.4%, to $21.7 million for Fiscal 2020 as compared to $13.2 million for Fiscal 2019. Gross margin for Fiscal 2020 was 14.6% as compared to 15.5% for Fiscal 2019. The slight decrease in gross margin was due to increased cost of raw materials and other manufacturing expenses offset by production efficiencies associated with larger sales volume in Fiscal 2020 compared to Fiscal 2019.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses increased $24.5 million, or 343.8%, to $31.6 million for Fiscal 2020 as compared to $7.1 million for Fiscal 2019, primarily due to first time grants of stock based compensation; a one-time, merger-related bonus (stock plus cash) to our Chief Operating Officer of approximately $13.0 million; increases in sales and marketing expenses resulting from a shift in focus to building the Tattooed Chef brand; increases in general and administrative expenses resulting from higher wages and related expenses; headcount additions required to manage the increase in revenue, and increased rent due to facility expansion.

Other Income and Interest Expense, Net

Other income and interest expense, net, reflected income of $38.7 million for Fiscal 2020 versus an expense of $0.5 million for Fiscal 2019. The increase is primarily driven by a nonrecurring gain of $37.2 million on settlement of a contingent consideration derivative liability. Interest expense increased by $0.2 million for Fiscal 2020 to $0.7 million versus $0.5 million for Fiscal 2019 due to slightly higher average debt balances outstanding during Fiscal 2020. In Fiscal 2020, we recognized $1.2 million gain from the settlement and remeasurement of warrant liabilities. In Fiscal 2020, we recorded an unrealized gain of $1.0 million on foreign currency contracts that had not been settled as of December 31, 2020, whereby we purchased forward contracts for the Euro to mitigate potential impact on our manufacturing costs in Italy. There was no comparable other income from warrant liabilities and foreign currency contract in Fiscal 2019 because we did not engage in such transactions for Fiscal 2019.

Income Tax Benefit (Expense)

In October 2020, in anticipation of the Business Combination, UMB’s and Ittella International’s prior ownership were exchanged for interests in Myjojo (Delaware) shares. This taxable pre-merger exchange resulted in a step-up in the tax bases of intangible assets of approximately $140.0 million. As a result of this transaction, Myjojo (Delaware) recorded a one-time tax benefit of $39.1 million resulting from Myjojo (Delaware)’s change in tax status from an S-corporation to a C-corporation. For the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2020, we recorded a $47.5 million deferred tax asset and a $40.3 million tax benefit. For the year ending December 31, 2019, we had an income tax expense of $0.2 million.

Prior to the completion of the Business Combination, we elected to be taxed as an S-corporation for federal and state income tax purposes. Accordingly, our taxable income for federal and certain state purposes was attributed to, and reported by, our stockholders. We were subject to state franchise taxes and limited (reduced rate) state income taxes in California.

Our Italian operations are subject to foreign taxes applicable to its income derived in Italy. These taxes include income tax. Prior to the pre-merger exchange, we had a 70% interest in our Italian subsidiary, which was taxed as a partnership for U.S. income tax purposes. Following the pre-merger exchange, our Italian subsidiary is classified as a wholly owned disregarded entity for U.S. income tax purposes. As such, its operations are also subject to U.S. income taxes, with respect to which the associated Italian taxes may be claimed as a foreign tax deduction or credit.

Net income

Net income increased by $63.6 million, to $69.0 million for Fiscal 2020 as compared to net income of $5.4 million for Fiscal 2019, due primarily to the derivative gain discussed in the section “—Other Income and Interest expense, Net” and the income tax benefit discussed in the section “—Income Tax Benefit (Expense), Net”. Excluding the non-recurring gain on derivative related to the settlement of contingently redeemable equity, the one-time tax benefit resulting from the change in tax status, and the one-time compensation expense described in “—Operating Expenses”, net income for Fiscal 2020 would have been slightly less than Fiscal 2019, as increases in gross profit were offset by increased investment in the Tattooed Chef brand and costs incurred to transition to a public company, including stock-based compensation expense.

Other Comprehensive Income (Loss), Net

Other comprehensive income (loss), net, represents the effect of the Euro currency translation resulting from income statement accounts that are translated to United States dollars based on an average monthly exchange rate. Balance sheet accounts are translated to United States dollars at the balance sheet date. For Fiscal 2020, we recorded income of $0.8 million on translation versus a $0.2 million loss in Fiscal 2019.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA increased by $1.8 million to $8.5 million for Fiscal 2020 as compared to $6.7 million for Fiscal 2019. The improvement in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily the result of the increase in revenue and gross profit, partially offset by increased operating expenses to support the growth in revenue, brand recognition for Tattooed Chef, and, beginning in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2020, increased general and administrative costs resulting from being a public company as compared to the prior-year period.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use non-GAAP financial information and believe it is useful to investors as it provides additional information to facilitate comparisons of historical operating results, identify trends in operating results, and provide additional insight on how our management team evaluates our business. Our management team uses Adjusted EBITDA to make operating and strategic decisions, evaluate performance and comply with indebtedness related reporting requirements. Below are details on this non-GAAP measure and the non-GAAP adjustments that the management team makes in the definition of Adjusted EBITDA. The adjustments generally fall within the categories of non-cash items, acquisition and integration costs, business transformation initiatives, financing related costs and operating costs of a non-recurring nature. We believe this non-GAAP measure should be considered along with net income, the most closely related GAAP financial measure. Reconciliations between Adjusted EBITDA and net income are below, and discussion regarding underlying GAAP results are presented throughout this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Adjusted EBITDA Definition

We define EBITDA as net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA further adjusts EBITDA by adding back non-recurring expenses and other non-operational charges. As new events or circumstances arise, the definition of Adjusted EBITDA could change. When the definitions change, we will provide the updated definition and present the related non-GAAP historical results on a comparable basis.

Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation

The following table provides a reconciliation from net income to Adjusted EBITDA for Fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019:

Pricing Policies

We negotiate different prices at our different club and retail customers based on product quantity and packaging configuration. Price increases from suppliers require that we carefully observe and evaluate costs in making decisions on price increases, while also remaining competitive in the market. We have increased marketing and advertising expenditures and will continue to evaluate the use of discounting or promotional campaigns in an effort to build the Tattooed Chef brand in the future.

Seasonality

Historically, we experienced greater demand for certain products of ours during the third and fourth quarters, primarily due to increased demand in the summer season and increased holiday orders from retailers and club stores. We expect that seasonality in revenue will decrease as our business grows and additional products are introduced.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 31, 2021, we had $92.4 million of cash. We believe that our cash will be sufficient to support our planned operations for at least the next 12 months.

We have historically financed our operations and capital expenditures through a combination of internally generated cash from operations, available cash on hand and the ability to draw on our line of credit. In connection with the reverse recapitalization on October 15, 2020 (see Note 3 to the consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K), we received proceeds of $187.2 million from reverse recapitalization transaction, net of a $75.0 million distribution to Myjojo stockholders and $7.2 million in transaction costs. We received $74.5 million and $53.0 million of proceeds from the exercises of warrants (including both public and private warrants) during Fiscal 2021 and Fiscal 2020, respectively.

Our current working capital needs are to support accounts receivable growth, manage inventory to meet demand forecasts and support operational growth. Our long-term financial needs primarily include working capital requirements, capital expenditures and payments on notes payable. We may also pursue strategic acquisition opportunities that may impact our future cash requirements. There are a number of factors that may negatively impact our available sources of funds in the future including the ability to generate cash from operations and borrow on our debt facilities. The amount of cash generated from operations is dependent upon factors such as the successful execution of our business strategy and general economic conditions.

We may opportunistically raise debt capital, subject to market and other conditions. Additionally, as part of our growth strategies, we may also raise debt capital for strategic alternatives and general corporate purposes. If additional financing is required from outside sources, we may not be able to raise it on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital when desired, our business, operating results, and financial condition may be adversely affected. 

During Fiscal 2021, we spent approximately $46.9 million cash to complete two strategic business acquisitions. In addition, approximately $4.00 million of the purchase price was paid by issuing 241,546 shares of Tattooed Chef’s common stock to the prior owner. See Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Indebtedness

We have a revolving line of credit agreement, which has been amended from time to time, pursuant to which a credit facility has been extended to the Company until March 31, 2022 (the “Credit Facility”). The Credit Facility provides us with up to $25.0 million in revolving credit. Under the Credit Facility, we may borrow up to (a) 90% of the net amount of eligible accounts receivable; plus, (b) the lower of: (i) sum of: (1) 50% of the net amount of eligible inventory; plus (2) 45% of the net amount of eligible in-transit inventory; (ii) $10.0 million; or (iii) 50% of the aggregate amount of revolving loans outstanding, minus (c) the sum of all reserves. Under the Credit Facility, our fixed charge coverage ratio may not be less than 1.10:1.00. As of December 31, 2021, we were not in compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio term of the credit facility. On February 21, 2022, the lender issued a waiver of financial covenants letter to us waiving the requirement to comply with the debt covenant for the period ended December 31, 2021. The revolving line of credit bears interest at the sum of (i) the greater of (a) the daily Prime Rate, or (b) LIBOR plus 2%; and (ii) 1%. The balance on the credit facility was $0 million as of both December 31, 2021 and 2020. We are currently negotiating a new Credit Facility with our current lender. No assurance can be given that these negotiations will be successful.

In May 2021, we completed the NMFD acquisition (see Note 11 to the consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) and assumed a $2.9 million note payable which was associated with an IRB lease arrangement. The note bears interest at 3.8% and has a maturity date of December 29, 2025. The balance on the note payable was $2.8 million as of December 31, 2021 and classified as a current liability.

In March 2021, Ittella Italy entered into a line of credit with a financial institution in the amount of 0.60 million Euros. The balance on the credit facility was 0.6 million Euro ($0.7 million USD) as of December 31, 2021.

 In May 2021, Ittella Italy entered into a promissory note with a financial institution in the amount of 1.00 million Euros. The note accrues interest at 1.014% and has a maturity date of May 28, 2025, when the full principal and interest are due. The balance on the promissory note was 0.9 million Euro ($1.0 million USD) as of December 31, 2021.

On January 6, 2020, Ittella Properties, LLC, a variable interest entity (“VIE”) (see Note 22), refinanced all of its existing debt with a financial institution in the amount of $2.10 million. The debt accrues interest at 3.60% and has a maturity date of January 31, 2035. Financial covenants of the debt include a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.20 to 1.00. The outstanding balance on the debt was $1.91 million and $2.02 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, the VIE was not in compliance with the fixed charge coverage ratio and the entire balance of the debt was classified as a current liability. On March 15, 2022, the VIE executed an amendment to the Note that includes a waiver of the requirement to comply with the debt covenant through June 30, 2022. Commencing with the fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2022, the VIE should meet a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 1.20 to 1.00.

Liquidity

We generally fund our short- and long-term liquidity needs through a combination of cash on hand, cash flows generated from operations, and available borrowings under our line of credit (See “— Indebtedness” above). Our management regularly reviews certain liquidity measures to monitor performance.

Cash Flows

The following table presents the major components of net cash flows from and used in operating, investing and financing activities for Fiscal 2021, 2020 and 2019:

Operating Activities

For Fiscal 2021, cash used in operations was driven primarily by the net loss of $87.4 million for the year, adjusted for non-cash items which included the decrease in deferred taxes assets of $47.2 million, depreciation expense of $3.6 million, stock compensation expense of $5.2 million, warrant liability revaluation gain of $0.6 million, bad debt expense of $0.4 million and unrealized forward contract loss of $1.8 million. Expenses increased for Fiscal 2021 primarily due to increased spending on sales, promotion and marketing programs to heavily invest in the Tattooed Chef brand and raise brand awareness, as well as the inflationary pricing on freight and container costs. Working capital usage has also increased largely due to a $4.3 million increase in accounts receivable resulting from increased revenue, a $10.7 million increase in inventory, a $2.1 million increase in prepaid expenses mainly due to the increase in prepaid advertising expenses, and a $4.6 million decrease in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities.

For Fiscal 2020, we realized net income of $69.0 million. Non-cash items included $37.2 million gain on derivatives, a non-cash tax benefit of $41.3 million, depreciation expenses of $1.4 million, stock compensation expenses of $15.4 million, warrant liability revaluation gain of $1.2 million and unrealized gains on forward contracts of $1.0 million. Net cash was reduced by $6.8 million, $20.3 million and $0.9 million due to increases in accounts receivable, inventory, and prepaid expenses and other current assets, respectively, due to the significant increase in sales activity and backlog of products scheduled for delivery to fulfill customer demands. Offsetting those increases was a $9.4 million increase in accounts payable, accrued expenses, and other current liabilities (combined) due to the increased activity to meet higher sales volume.

For Fiscal 2019, we realized net income of $5.4 million. In Fiscal 2019, non-cash items included depreciation expenses of $0.7 million. Net cash was reduced by a $6.6 million increase in inventory to meet growth in anticipated sales and a $2.6 million increase in accounts receivable resulting from that growth and increase in prepaid expenses of $1.4 million, partially offset by a $3.6 million increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities.

Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities relates to capital expenditures to support growth and investment in property, plant and equipment to expand production capacity, tenant improvements, and to a lesser extent, replacement of existing equipment.

For Fiscal 2021, net cash used in investing activities was $63.8 million as compared to $7.0 million in Fiscal 2020 and $3.4 million in Fiscal 2019. In Fiscal 2021, we spent $46.9 million cash on business acquisitions and $16.9 million to purchase property, plant and machinery. In Fiscal 2020 and Fiscal 2019, we spent $7.0 million and $3.4 million, respectively, to purchase machinery and equipment. Cash used in the year of Fiscal 2021 consisted primarily of business acquisitions and of capital expenditures to improve efficiency and output from our current facilities.

Financing Activities

For Fiscal 2021, net cash provided by financing activities was $75.8 million, primarily due to $74.5 million proceeds from warrant exercises and $1.7 million of net borrowings under the credit facility and notes payable to support working capital requirements to fund continued growth.

For Fiscal 2020, net cash provided by financing activities was $147.4 million. As a result of the Business Combination, we received $105.0 million in cash, net of issuance and other transaction costs. As a result of the cash received, we made a net reduction in our outstanding line of credit and notes payable (including to related parties) of $12.0 million. We received a capital contribution of $9.5 million in Fiscal 2020 and made a distribution payment of $8.1 million. Also, in Fiscal 2020, we received $53.0 million from the exercise of outstanding warrants.

For Fiscal 2019, net cash provided by financing activities was $8.8 million consisting of $6.0 million in capital contributions resulting from the 12.5% minority investment by UMB, and $3.0 million of net borrowings under our credit facility and notes payable to support working capital requirements to fund growth, partially offset by $0.3 million in dividends and $0.2 million in repayment of debt to related parties.

We have no obligations, assets or liabilities that would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2021. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, that have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. In preparing our financial statements, we make estimates, assumptions, and judgments that can have a significant impact on our reported revenue, results of operations, and comprehensive net income or loss, as well as on the value of certain assets and liabilities on our balance sheet during, and as of, the reporting periods. These estimates, assumptions, and judgments are necessary and are made based on our historical experience, market trends and on other assumptions and factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances because future events and their effects on our results of operations and value of our assets cannot be determined with certainty. These estimates may change as new events occur or additional information is obtained. We may periodically be faced with uncertainties, the outcomes of which are not within our control and may not be known for a prolonged period of time. Because the use of estimates is inherent in the financial reporting process, actual results could differ from those estimates or assumptions.

The critical accounting estimates, assumptions, and judgments that we believe have the most significant impact on our consolidated financial statements are described below.

Valuation of Holdback Shares and Sponsor Earnout Shares

We recognized and measured the contingent amounts associated with the Holdback Shares and Sponsor Earnout Shares at fair value as of October 15, 2020 (the closing date of the Business Combination) of $120.4 million and $0, respectively, using a probability-weighted discounted cash flow model. These measures are based upon significant inputs that are not observable by the market and are therefore considered to be Level 3 inputs. Refer to Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for discussion related to the measurement and recognition.

Revenue Recognition

We sell plant-based meals and snacks including, but not limited to, acai and smoothie bowls, zucchini spirals, riced cauliflower, vegetable bowls and cauliflower crust pizza primarily in the U.S.. All of our revenue relates to contracts with customers. Our accounting contracts are from purchase orders or purchase orders combined with purchase contracts. Revenue recognition is completed on a point in time basis when product control is transferred to the customer. In general, control transfers to the customer when the product is shipped or delivered to the customer based upon applicable shipping terms. Customer contracts generally do include more than one performance obligation and the performance obligations in our contracts are satisfied within one year. No payment terms beyond one year are granted at contract inception.

Some contracts also include some form of variable consideration. The most common forms of variable consideration include discounts, slotting fees, trade discounts, promotional programs, and demonstration costs. Variable consideration is treated as a reduction in revenue when product revenue is recognized. Depending on the specific type of variable consideration, we use either the expected value or most likely amount method to determine the variable consideration. We review and update our estimates and related accruals of variable consideration each period based on the terms of the agreements, historical experience, and any recent changes in the market.

Valuation Allowances for Deferred Tax Assets

We establish an income tax valuation allowance when available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of a deferred tax asset will not be realized. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, we consider the amounts and timing of expected future deductions or carryforwards and sources of taxable income that may enable utilization. We maintain an existing valuation allowance until enough positive evidence exists to support its reversal. Changes in the amount or timing of expected future deductions or taxable income may have a material impact on the level of income tax valuation allowances. Our assessment of the realizability of the deferred tax assets requires judgment about its future results. Inherent in this estimation is the requirement for us to estimate future book and taxable income and possible tax planning strategies. These estimates require us to exercise judgment about our future results, the prudence and feasibility of possible tax planning strategies, and the economic environment in which we do business. It is possible that the actual results will differ from the assumptions and require adjustments to the allowance. Adjustments to the allowance would affect future net income.

Warrant Liabilities

We account for the Private Placement Warrants issued in connection with our private placements in accordance with ASC 815, whereby the Private Placement Warrants are recorded as liabilities as they do not meet the criteria for an equity classification. As the Private Placement Warrants meet the definition of a derivative as contemplated in ASC 815, they are measured at fair value at inception and subsequently remeasured at each reporting date, with changes in fair value recognized in the consolidated statements of operations and other comprehensive income (loss) in the period of change.

Acquisitions and Purchase Price Allocation

We follow the guidance in ASC 805, Business Combinations, for determining whether an acquisition meets the definition of a business combination or asset acquisition. Based on the analysis and conclusion on an acquisition’s classification of a business combination or asset acquisition, the accounting treatment is determined. Acquisition costs are expensed for an acquisition of a business and capitalized for an acquisition of assets.

Business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting, which requires an acquirer to recognize the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at the acquisition date measured at their fair values as of that date. The value of goodwill reflects the excess of the fair value of the consideration conveyed to the seller over the fair value of the net assets received.

Fair value determinations are based on discounted cash flow analyses or other valuation techniques. In determining the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a material acquisition, we may utilize appraisals from third party valuation firms to determine fair values of some or all of the assets acquired, and liabilities assumed, or may complete some or all of the valuations internally. Although we believe that the assumptions and estimates we have made in these fair value determinations have been reasonable and appropriate, they are based in part on historical experience and information obtained from management of the acquired company and are inherently uncertain.

Foreign Currency Translation and Transactions

Our functional currency is the United States dollar for U.S. entities. Ittella Italy’s functional currency is the Euro. Transactions in currency other than the functional currency are recognized at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transaction. Transaction gains and losses that arise from exchange rate fluctuations on transactions denominated in a currency other than the functional currency of each entity are included in the results of operations in income from operations as incurred. The consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are expressed in United States dollars. Assets and liabilities of foreign operations are translated at period-end rates of exchange. Revenues, costs and expenses are translated at average rates of exchange prevailing during the period. Equity adjustments resulting from translating foreign currency financial statements are accumulated as a separate component of stockholders’ equity.

We conduct business globally and are therefore exposed to adverse movements in foreign currency exchange rates, specifically the Euro to US dollar. To limit the exposure related to foreign currency changes, we entered into foreign currency exchange forward contracts starting in 2020. We do not enter into contracts for speculative purposes. We have access to open foreign exchange forward contract instruments to purchase a specific amount of funds in Euros and to settle, on an agreed-upon future date, in a corresponding amount of funds in United States dollars. These derivatives are not designated as hedging instruments. Gains and losses on the contracts are included in other income net, and substantially offset foreign exchange gains and losses from the short-term effects of foreign currency fluctuations on assets and liabilities, such as purchases, receivables and payables, which are denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the reporting entity. These derivative instruments generally have maturities of up to twelve months. The fair values of these derivative instruments classified as Level 2 input financial instruments. Refer to Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements that appear elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for discussion related to the derivative instruments.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Not required for smaller reporting companies.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Shareholders and Board of Directors

Tattooed Chef, Inc.

Paramount, California

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Tattooed Chef, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss), stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) and our report dated March 16, 2022 expressed an adverse opinion thereon.

Change in Accounting Method Related to Leases

As discussed in Notes 1 and 14 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has changed its method of accounting for leases in 2021 due to the adoption of the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 842, Leases.

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Determination of Incremental Borrowing Rates for Leases

As discussed in Notes 1 and 14 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company adopted ASC 842, Leases, on January 1, 2021. The Company recognized right-of-use (“ROU”) assets and lease liabilities of $4.2 million and $4.2 million, respectively, on the adoption date. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2021, were $8.0 million and $8.1 million, respectively. The measurement of the operating lease ROU assets and liabilities requires the determination of incremental borrowing rates, which involves significant judgment by management.

We identified the determination of incremental borrowing rates for leases as a critical audit matter. Significant judgment is required by management to develop inputs and assumptions used to determine the incremental borrowing rate for lease contracts. Auditing the reasonableness of these inputs and assumptions involved especially challenging auditor judgment due to the nature and extent of audit effort required to address these matters including the extent of specialized skill or knowledge needed.

The primary procedure we performed to address this critical audit matter included:

Variable Consideration Related to Customer Incentives

As described in Notes 1 and 5 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company recognizes revenue net of estimates for variable consideration related to customer incentives in the form of slotting fees, trade discounts, promotional programs, and demonstration costs. The allowance for variable consideration for customer incentives is recorded as a reduction of accounts receivable in the consolidated balance sheet and totaled $4.1 million as of December 31, 2021. While a portion of this allowance is based on contractual amounts and does not require estimation, certain customer incentives are estimated at period end based on historical experience and assumptions of future promotional activity.

We identified the auditing of variable consideration related to customer incentives as a critical audit matter. Specifically, variable consideration for certain customer incentives is estimated based on historical experience and assumptions of future promotional activity. Auditing these estimates involved especially challenging and subjective auditor judgment due to the level of uncertainty involved in management’s assumptions.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:

/s/ BDO USA, LLP

We have served as the Company's auditor since 2020.

Costa Mesa, California

March 16, 2022

TATTOOED CHEF, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except for share and per share information)

TATTOOED CHEF, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

(in thousands, except for share and per share information)

TATTOOED CHEF, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(in thousands, except for share and per share information)

TATTOOED CHEF, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

(in thousands, except for share and per share information)