PART I

Our History

On December 17, 2018, Better Choice Company, Inc. (the “Company”, or “Better Choice”) made a $2.2 million investment in TruPet LLC ("TruPet"(“TruPet”), an online seller of pet foods, pet nutritional products and related pet supplies. On February 2, 2019, Better Choicethe Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the remainder of TruPet and we closed the acquisition on May 6, 2019.

On February 28, 2019, Better Choice Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Bona Vida, Inc. ("(“Bona Vida"Vida”) and we closed the acquisition on May 6, 2019.

On October 15, 2019, Better Choice Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (as amended, the “Halo Agreement”) with Halo, Thriving Paws, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Thriving Paws”), HH-Halo LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“HH-Halo” and, together with Thriving Paws, the “Sellers”) and HH-Halo, in the capacity of the representative of the Sellers. Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions of the Halo Agreement, among other things, wethe Company agreed to purchase from the Sellers 100% of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Halo, Purely for Pets, Inc. ("Halo"(“Halo”) (the “Halo Acquisition”). WeThe Company closed this acquisition, which we refer to as the Halo Acquisition on December 19, 2019.

Overview of Our Business

Better Choice is a rapidly growing pet health and wellness company committed to leading the industry shift toward pet products and services that help dogs and cats live healthier, happier and longer lives. Our mission is to become the most innovative premium pet food company in the world, and we are motivated by our commitment to making products with integrity and treating pets and their parents with respect. We believe that our broad portfolio of brandspet health and wellness products are well positioned to benefit from the trends of growing pet humanization and an increased consumer focus on health and wellness, and have adopted a laser focused, channel specific approach to growth that is driven by new product innovation. Our executive team has a proven history of success in both pet and consumer-packaged goods, and has over 50 years of combined experience in the pet industry and over 100 years of combined experience in the consumer-packaged goods industry.

We sell our premium and super-premium products (which we believe generally includes products with a retail price greater than $0.20 per ounce) under the Halo brand umbrella, including Halo Holistic™, Halo Elevate® and the former TruDog brands, bothbrand, which has been rebranded and successfully integrated under the Halo brand umbrella during the third quarter of which have a long history of providing high quality2022. Our core products sold under the Halo brand are made with high-quality, thoughtfully sourced ingredients for natural, science based nutrition. Each innovative recipe is formulated with leading veterinary and nutrition experts to pet parents.deliver optimal health. Our diverse and established customer base has enabled us to penetrate multiple channels of trade, which we believe enables us to deliver on core consumer needs and serve pet parents wherever they shop. We believe this omni-channel approach has also helped us respond more quickly to changing channel dynamics that have accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the increasing percentage of pet food that is sold online. We group these channels of trade into four distinct categories: E-Commerce,E-commerce, which includes the sale of product to online retailers such as Amazon and Chewy; Brick & Mortar, which primarily includes the sale of product to pet specialty chainsPet Specialty retailers such as Petco, PetSmart, Pet Supplies Plus select grocery chains and neighborhood pet stores;stores, as well as to select grocery chains; Direct to Consumer (“DTC”) which includes the sale of product through our online web platform to more than 20,000 unique customers and access to more than 500,000 customer emails;website halopets.com; and International, which includes the sale of product to foreign distribution partners and to select international retailers.

New product innovation represents the cornerstone of our growth plan, supported by our own research and development, and acquisitions. Our established supply and distribution infrastructure allows us to bring new products to market in nine months, generally. Our outsourced manufacturing model is flexible, scalable and encourages innovation allowing us to offer a breadth of assortment in dog and cat food products under the Halo and TruDog brands,brand, serving a wide variety of customer needs.

Our Products and Brands

We have a broad portfolio of over 100 active premium and super premium animal health and wellness products for dogs and cats, which includes products sold under the Halo and TruDog brandsbrand across multiple forms, including foods, treats, toppers, dental products, chews, grooming products and supplements. Our products consist of naturally formulated premium kibble and canned dog and cat food, freeze-dried raw dog food and treats, vegan dog food and treats, oral care products and supplements. Our products sold under the Halo brand are sustainably sourced, derived from real whole meat and no rendered meat meal and include non-GMO fruits and vegetables. Our products sold under the TruDog brand are made according to our nutritional philosophy of raw, meat-based nutrition and minimal processing.

Our products are manufactured by an established network of co-manufacturers in partnership with Better Choice. We have maintained each of our key co-manufacturing relationships for more than four years, with certain relationships in place for more than ten years and with the launch of Halo Elevate®, we have expanded and engaged two new co-manufacturing partners in 2022. Halo and TruDog products are co-manufactured in the U.S. and our third-party warehousing and logistics provider, Fidelitone, was located in Lebanon, Tennessee throughout 2021 and moved to Wauconda, Illinois in 2022.

Our Customers and Channels

In 2021,2023, we generated $56.0$48.6 million of gross sales and $46.0$38.6 million of net sales. By channel in 2021,2023, E-Commerce generated approximately $21.8$19.1 million of gross sales and $15.1$13.4 million of net sales, Direct-to-Consumer generated approximately $10.8$6.4 million of gross sales and $9.4$5.6 million of net sales, Brick & Mortar generated approximately $8.6$9.4 million of gross sales and $6.7$5.9 million of net sales and International generated approximately $14.8$13.7 million of gross sales and $14.8$13.7 million of net sales. The following chart provides a breakdown of our net sales by channel for the year ended December 31, 2021:

In addition to our domestic sales channels, the Halo brand'sbrand’s international sales grew 71%declined (37)% in 2021, driven2023, resulting primarily by significant new customer acquisition and increased brand awarenessin an effort to normalize inventory levels in our key Asian markets. We believe that our growth in Asia is fueled bymarkets as well as macroeconomic factors impacting consumer behavior. With increasing levels of economic financial status in the Asian markets and demand for premium and super-premium, western manufactured products, with China representing the largest market opportunity for growth and 62%80% of Better Choice’s $14.8$13.7 million of international sales in 2021. We believe this growth is sustainable and we have more than $85.0 million of contracted minimum sales with our key Asian distribution partners from 2022 to 2025.

Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Logistics

Halo partners with a number of co-manufacturing partners to produce its products. Products sold today under the Halo Holistic brand are made strictly from naturally raised animals on sustainable farms and are manufactured in the U.S and use healthy, natural ingredients, with all purchases transacted in U.S. dollars. By sourcing cage-free poultry, pasture-raised beef, and wild-caught fish from certified sustainable fisheries and not including meat meals or other animal byproducts in its formulations, our Halo brand is able to provide pets and pet parents with a nutritious and highly digestible suite of food and treats. Halo partners with a number of co-manufacturing partners to produce its products. Halo’s dog and cat foods meet The Association of American Feed Control Officials (“AAFCO”) guidelines and are small-batch tested for common contaminants prior to leaving the manufacturer.

We utilize logistics service providers as a part of our supply chain, primarily for shipping and logistics support. Fulfillment of orders for both the Halo and TruDog brands is managed by a third-party warehousing and logistics partner, Fidelitone. Our warehouse was located in Lebanon, Tennessee throughout 2021 and relocated to Wauconda, Illinois in 2022. Our DTC ecosystem allows us to efficiently manage and customize the online shopping experience for customers, including a customer dashboard where shoppers can manage and track orders and order history. Our products are shipped by trusted carriers for expeditious and reliable delivery.

Raw Materials and Principal Suppliers

We rely upon the supply of raw materials that meet our high-quality specifications such as USA farm-raised beef,and sourcing requirements. We source Global Animal Partnership Certified Step 2 ("GAP 2"(“GAP”) cage-free whole chicken and associated broths, GAP 2 certified cage-free wholechicken, GAP certified cage-free turkey, and associated broths, Marine Stewardship Council ("MSC"(“MSC”) certified wild-caught salmon and MSC certified wild-caught whitefish and associated broths, and select non-GMO fruits and vegetables, such as peas, sweet potatoes and lentils. If any raw material is adulterated and does not meet our specifications, it could significantly impact our ability to source manufactured products and could materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

For the supply and co-manufacturing of our products, we have relied onon: Alphia, Inc. (“Alphia” f/k/a “C.J. Foods”) for dry kibble sold under the Halo brand,which transitioned to Barrett Petfood Innovations during 2022, then back to Alphia during 2023; Simmons Pet Food, Inc. (“Simmons”) and Thai Union Manufacturing Co., LTD. for the majority of canned wet food sold under the Halo brand,food; BrightPet Nutrition Group, LLC (“BrightPet”) for vegan kibble and freeze dried treats sold under the Halo brand andtreats; Carnivore Meat Company, LLC (“Carnivore”) for the supply and co-manufacturing of freeze-dried food and treats sold under the TruDog brand. Together, Alphia, Simmons, and Carnivore represent approximately 74% of product volume sold across the Better Choice platform. In addition, wetreats. We sourced approximately 65%64% of inventory purchases from two vendors for the year ended December 31, 20212023 and approximately 76%69% from three vendors for the year ended December 31, 2020. With the launch of Halo Elevate®, we have expanded our co-manufacturing partners in 2022 to include Barrett Petfood Innovations and Thai Union Manufacturing Co., LTD.2022.

Sales and Marketing

Our marketing strategies are designed to clearly communicate to consumers about the benefits of our products and to build awareness of our brands. We deploy a broad set of marketing tools across various forms of media to reach consumers through multiple touch points and engage with a number of marketing agencies to develop content and product packaging. Our marketing initiatives include the use of social and digital marketing, Search Engine Optimization, email and SMS marketing, and paid media (Facebook, Instagram & YouTube), among other proven strategies to generate and convert sales prospects into loyal, satisfied customers. In addition to directly targeting and educating consumers of our products, we partner with a number of retailers such as Amazon, Chewy and Petco to develop joint sales and marketing initiatives to increase sales and acquire new customers.

In recent years, consumer purchasing behaviors have shifted dramatically and E-Commerce penetration has significantly increased. Although approximately 53%In the fourth quarter of Better Choice’s sales are made online today, we remain committed to partnering with select2023, management shifted from a Brick & Mortar retailerschannel focus to a digital first strategy as a result of its annual operating plan process and has strategically reallocated marketing investments to work more effectively and efficiently in pet specialty and neighborhood pet, as in-store recommendation and trial represent a significant opportunity for new customer acquisition. We believe that these in-store partnerships are complementary to the incentives that our E-Commerce partners offerits larger e-commerce platforms to drive monthly subscriptions,growth and build upon the recurring revenue that we generate online.

Competition

Employees and Human Capital Resources

Our core values are Integrity, Respect, Working Smarter and Faster and Building Lasting Relationships in all that we do. We continually focus on employee engagement and a diverse, inclusive culture in order to ensure the continued strength and well-being of our workforce. We strive to create a workplace where employees feel engaged, believe in our mission, understand their role in our strategy and are passionate about the work they do. We conduct employee engagement surveys to provide us with valuable insights into employee perspectives and experiences. We also hold frequent virtual town-hall meetings and team building events to provide updates, celebrate milestones in the business, communicate initiatives, recognize significant individual accomplishments and provide a forum for employees to communicate and engage with our entire employee base. We value and embrace diversity by fostering a culture that encompasses the unique attributes, ideas, perspectives, and experiences of our employees, customers, suppliers and communities. We believe a more inclusive and diverse work environment allows us to achieve better results and makes us a stronger business.

We operate under a “Win From Anywhere” culture, which is our approach to creating a flexible and entrepreneurial working environment built for long term success. Winning from anywhere means our employees can work from anywhere in the country. We believe this culture provides the ability for us to attract the best talent and we now have employees all over the U.S. that are winning from anywhere.

Government Regulation

The regulation of animal food products is complex, multi-faceted, and continually changing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"(“FDA”), the U.S. Federal Trade Commission ("FTC"(“FTC”), the U.S. Department of Agriculture ("USDA"(“USDA”) and other regulatory authorities at the federal, state and local levels, as well as authorities in foreign countries, extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, composition, manufacture, import, export, labeling, storage, distribution, promotion, marketing, and post-market reporting of animal foods. We are required to navigate a complex regulatory framework in the locations in which we wish to manufacture, test, import, export, or sell our products.

FDA Regulation of Animal Foods

The FDA regulates foods, including foods intended for animals, under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act ("FDCA"(“FDCA”) and its implementing regulations. The FDCA defines “food” as articles used for food or drink for man or other animals, which includes products that are intended primarily for nutritional use, taste, or aroma and the components of such products. For animal foods in particular, this definition applies based on their intended use regardless of labelling as animal food, treats, or supplements. The FDA also imposes certain requirements on animal foods relating to their composition, manufacturing, labeling, and marketing. Among other things, the facilities in which our products and ingredients are manufactured must register with the FDA, comply with current good manufacturing practices (“cGMPs”) and comply with a range of food safety requirements.

Although pet foods are not required to obtain premarket approval from the FDA, any substance that is added to or is expected to become a component of a pet food must be used in accordance with a food additive regulation, unless it is generally recognized as safe (“GRAS”) under the conditions of its intended use or if it appears on an FDA-recognized list of acceptable animal food ingredients in the Official Publication of AAFCO. A food may be adulterated if it uses an ingredient that is neither GRAS nor an approved food additive, and that food may not be legally marketed in the U.S.

General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China ("AQSIQ"(“AQSIQ”) is responsible for the unified inspection and quarantine of imported pet food (also referred to in the regulations as “Feed”). Only registered pet food manufacturers from AQSIQ approved countries (which includes the U.S.) can import pet food to China, and may do so only if they have first received an import registration certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture ("MOA"(“MOA”). In order to obtain an import registration certificate, a manufacturer must submit standardized application materials (in both English and Chinese) along with product samples to the MOA for approval, and if approved, such import registration certificate shall be valid for five years. Overseas companies are also prohibited from engaging in the direct sale of imported pet food within the territory of China and should establish a sales organization or appoint a sales agent within the territory of China and file a record with the MOA within six months from the date the manufacturer obtains its import registration certificate. All imported pet food must be packaged, and the packaging must comply with China'sChina’s safety and hygiene regulation and must have Chinese labels that are in conformity with the relevant regulations.

We are also subject to labor and employment laws, laws governing advertising, privacy laws, safety regulations and other laws, including consumer protection regulations that regulate retailers or govern the promotion and sale of merchandise. Our operations, and those of our distributors and suppliers, are subject to various laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and worker health and safety matters. We monitor changes in these laws and believe that we are in material compliance with applicable laws. See additional information under the heading “Risks Related to the Regulation of our Business and Products” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of risks relating to federal, state, local and international regulation of our business.

Our Trademarks and Other Intellectual Property

We believe that our intellectual property has substantial value and has contributed significantly to the success of our business. Our trademarks are valuable assets that reinforce our brand, our sub-brands and our consumers’ perception of our products. The current registrations of these trademarks in the U.S. and foreign countries are effective for varying periods of time and may be renewed periodically, provided that we, as the registered owner, or our licensees where applicable, comply with all applicable renewal requirements including, where necessary, the continued use of the trademarks in connection with the goods or services identified in the applicable registrations. In addition to trademark protection, we have registered more than 100 domain names, including www.betterchoicecompany.com, www.halopets.com, www.trupet.com, www.trudog.com and www.rawgo.com, that are important to the successful implementation of our marketing and advertising strategy. We rely on and carefully protect unpatented proprietary expertise, recipes and formulations, continuing innovation and other trade secrets to develop and maintain our competitive position.

Corporate Information

Available Information

Our products are sourced from a limited number of independent third-party suppliers, which we depend upon for the manufacture of all our products. Some of the ingredients, packaging materials, and other products we purchase may only be available from a single supplier or a limited group of suppliers. While alternate sources of supply are generally available, the supply and price are subject to market conditions and are influenced by other factors beyond our control, including the continued impact of COVID-19.control. We do not have long-term contracts with many of our suppliers, and therefore they could increase prices or cease doing business with us. As a result, we may be subject to price fluctuations or demand disruptions.

The prices of raw materials, packaging materials and freight are subject to fluctuations in price attributable to, among other things, global competition for resources, weather conditions, changes in supply and demand of raw materials, or other commodities, fuel prices and government-sponsored agricultural programs. Volatility in the prices of raw materials and other supplies we purchase could increase our cost of sales and reduce our profitability, and we have no guarantees that prices will not rise. Our ability to pass along higher costs through price increases to our customers is dependent upon competitive conditions and pricing methodologies employed in the various sales channels in which we compete, and we may not be successful in implementing price increases. In addition, any price increases we do implement may result in lower sales volumes. Customers and consumers may choose to shift purchases to lower-priced private label or other value offerings which may adversely affect our results of operations.

We cannot control all of the various factors that might affect our ability to ship orders of our products to customers in a timely manner or to meet our quality standards. Such factors include, among other things, natural disasters or adverse weather and climate conditions; political and financial instability; strikes; unforeseen public health crises, including pandemics and epidemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic; acts of war or terrorism and other catastrophic events, whether occurring in the U.S. or internationally (including, without limitation, the conflict in Ukraine). From time to time, a co-manufacturer may experience financial difficulties, bankruptcy or other business disruptions, which could disrupt our supply of products or require that we incur additional expense by providing financial accommodations to the co-manufacturer or taking other steps to seek to minimize or avoid supply disruption, such as establishing a new co-manufacturing arrangement with another provider. Further, we may be unable to locate an additional or alternate co-manufacturing arrangement in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Any delay, interruption or increased cost in the proprietary value-branded products that might occur for any reason could affect our ability to meet customer demand, adversely affect our net sales, increase our cost of sales and hurt our results of operations, which in turn may injure our reputation and customer relationships, thereby harming our business.

Our ability to meet increases in demand may be impacted by our reliance on our suppliers and we are subject to the risk of shortages and long lead times. We may not be able to develop alternate sources in a timely manner. Therefore, we may not be able to source sufficient product on terms that are acceptable to us, or at all, which may undermine our ability to fill our orders in a timely manner. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could increase our costs, disrupt our operations, or could have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

The continued development and maintenance of our brand and the quality of our products is critical to our success. We seek to maintain, extend, and expand our brand image through marketing investments, including advertising and consumer promotions, and product innovation. Maintaining, promoting and positioning our brand and reputation will depend on, among other factors, the success of preserving the quality of our products, the availability of our products, marketing and merchandising efforts, the nutritional benefits provided to pets and our ability to provide a consistent, high-quality customer experience.

The success of our brand may suffer if our marketing plans or product initiatives do not have the desired impact on our brand’s image or its ability to attract customers. Brand value is based on perceptions of subjective qualities, and any incident that erodes the loyalty of our customers, suppliers or co-manufacturers, including adverse publicity or a governmental investigation or litigation, could significantly reduce the value of our brand and significantly damage our business. Further, our brand value could diminish significantly due to a number of factors, including consumer perception that we have acted in an irresponsible manner, adverse publicity about our products (whether or not valid), our failure to maintain the quality of our products, product contamination, the failure of our products to deliver consistently positive consumer experiences, inadequate labor conditions, health or safety issues at our co-manufacturers, or the products becoming unavailable to consumers.

If we are unable to build and sustain brand equity by offering recognizably superior products, we may be unable to maintain premium pricing over private label products. The growing use of social and digital media by consumers increases the speed and extent that information and opinions can be shared. Negative posts or comments about us or our brands or products on social or digital media could damage our brands and reputation. If we fail to maintain the favorable perception of our brands, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be negatively impacted.

Our future success depends on our ability to implement our growth strategy of introducing new products and expanding into new markets and attracting new consumers to our brand and sub-brands. Our ability to implement this growth strategy depends, among other things, on our ability to: establish our brands and reputation as a well-managed enterprise committed to delivering premium quality products to the pet health and wellness industry; partner with retailers and other potential distributors of our products; continue to effectively compete in specialty channels and respond to competitive developments; continue to market and sell our products through a multi-channel distribution strategy and achieve joint growth targets with our distribution partners; expand and maintain brand loyalty; develop new proprietary value-branded products and product line extensions that appeal to consumers; maintain and, to the extent necessary, improve our high standards for product quality, safety and integrity; maintain sources from suppliers that comply with all federal, state and local laws for the required supply of quality ingredients to meet our growing demand; identify and successfully enter and market our products in new geographic markets and market segments; execute value-focused pricing strategies; and attract, integrate, retain and motivate qualified personnel. We may not be able to successfully implement our growth strategy and may need to change our strategy in order to maintain our growth. If we fail to implement our growth strategy or if we invest resources in a growth strategy that ultimately proves unsuccessful, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

If we succeed in growing our business, such growth could strain our management team and capital resources. Our ability to manage operations and control growth will be dependent on our ability to raise and spend capital to successfully attract, train, motivate, retain and manage new members of senior management and other key personnel and continue to update and improve our management and operational systems, infrastructure and other resources, financial and management controls, and reporting systems and procedures. Failure to manage our growth effectively could cause us to misallocate management or financial resources, and result in additional expenditures and inefficient use of existing human and capital resources. Such slower than expected growth may require us to restrict or cease our operations and go out of business. Additionally, our anticipated growth will increase the demands placed on our suppliers, resulting in an increased need for us to manage our suppliers and monitor for quality assurance and comply with all applicable laws. Any failure by us to manage our growth effectively could impair our ability to achieve our business objectives.

Our recurring losses have aand significant accumulated deficit and we expect to incur losses in the future; we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability which could raisehave raised substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.

We have experienced recurring operating losses, during last three years and have a significant accumulated deficit.deficit and are required to maintain certain thresholds to comply with the financial covenants associated with the Alphia Term Loan, including minimum liquidity, minimum EBITDA, and maximum marketing spend ratio. We expect to continue to generate operating losses and consume significant cash resources forin the foreseeable future. Because we have a short operating history at scale, it is difficult for us to predict our future operating results. Thus, our losses may be larger than anticipated, and we may not achieve profitability when expected, or at all.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to develop and market new products and improvements to our existing products. The process of identifying and commercializing new products is complex, uncertain and may involve considerable costs, and if we fail to accurately predict customers'customers’ changing needs and preferences, our business could be harmed. The success of our innovation and product development efforts is affected by, among other things, the technical capability of our team; our ability to establish new supplier relationships and third-party consultants in developing and testing new products, and complying with governmental regulations; our attractiveness as a partner for outside research and development scientists and entrepreneurs; and the success of our management and sales team in introducing and marketing new products.

We have already and may have to continue to commit significant resources to commercializing new products before knowing whether our investments will result in products the market will accept. Substantial promotional expenditures may be required to introduce new products to the market, or improve our market position. To remain competitive and expand and keep shelf placement for our products, we may need to increase our advertising spending to maintain and increase consumer awareness, protect and grow our existing market share or promote new products, which could affect our operating results. We may not always be able to respond quickly and effectively to changes in customer taste and demand due to the amount of time and financial resources that may be required to bring new products to market, which could result in our competitors taking advantage of changes in customer trends before we are able to and harm our brand and reputation.

Furthermore, developing and commercializing new products may divert management'smanagement’s attention from other aspects of our business and place a strain on management, operational and financial resources, as well as our information systems. We may not execute successfully on commercializing those products because of errors in product planning or timing, technical hurdles that we fail to overcome in a timely fashion, or a lack of appropriate resources. Launching new products or updating existing products may also leave us with obsolete inventory that we may not be able to sell or we may sell at significantly discounted prices. If we are unable to successfully develop or otherwise acquire new products, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

Many of our competitors may have longer operating histories, greater brand recognition, larger fulfillment infrastructures, greater technical capabilities, significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources and larger customer bases than we do. These factors may allow our competitors to derive greater net sales and profits from their existing customer base, acquire customers at lower costs or respond more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in consumer preferences or habits. These competitors may engage in more extensive research and development efforts, undertake more far-reaching marketing campaigns and adopt more aggressive pricing policies, which may allow them to build larger customer bases or generate net sales from their customer bases more effectively than we do.

Our competitors may be able to identify and adapt to changes in consumer preferences more quickly than us due to their resources and scale. They may also be more successful in marketing and selling their products, better able to increase prices to reflect cost pressures and better able to increase their promotional activity, which may impact us and the entire pet health and wellness industry. Increased competition as to any of our products could result in price reduction, increased costs, reduced margins and loss of market share, which could negatively affect our profitability. While we believe we are better equipped to customize products for the pet health and wellness market generally as compared to other companies in the industry, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully compete against these other companies. Expansion into markets served by our competitors and entry of new competitors or expansion of existing competitors into our markets could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are highly dependent on the effectiveness of our marketing messages and the efficiency of our advertising expenditures in generating consumer awareness and sales of our products. We may not always be successful in developing effective messages and new marketing channels, as consumer preferences and competition change, and in achieving efficiency in our advertising expenditures. We depend heavily on internet-based advertising to market our products through internet-based media and e-commerce platforms. If we are unable to continue utilizing such platforms, if those media and platforms diminish in importance or size, or if we are unable to direct our advertising to our target consumer groups, our advertising efforts may be ineffective, and our business could be adversely affected. The costs of advertising through these platforms have increased significantly, which could in decreaseddecrease efficiency in the use of our advertising expenditures, and we expect these costs may continue to increase in the future.

Consumers are increasingly using digital tools as a part of their shopping experience. As a result, our future growth and profitability will depend in part on:

Selling food for consumption involves inherent legal and other risks, and there is increasing governmental scrutiny of and public awareness regarding food safety. Unexpected side effects, illness, injury or death related to allergens, food-borne illnesses or other food safety incidents caused by products we sell, or involving our suppliers or co-manufacturers, could result in the discontinuance of sales of these products or our relationships with such suppliers or co-manufacturers, or otherwise result in increased operating costs, regulatory enforcement actions or harm to our reputation. Shipment of adulterated or misbranded products, even if inadvertent, can result in criminal or civil liability. Such incidents could also expose us to product liability, negligence or other lawsuits, including consumer class action lawsuits. Any claims brought against us may exceed or be outside the scope of our existing or future insurance policy coverage or limits. Any judgment against us that is more than our policy limits or not covered by our 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 could also adversely affect the price and availability of affected ingredients, resulting in higher costs, disruptions in supply and a reduction in our sales. Furthermore, any instances of food contamination or regulatory noncompliance, whether or not caused by our actions, could compel us, our suppliers, our distributors or our customers, depending on the circumstances, to conduct a recall in accordance with FDA regulations, comparable state laws or foreign laws in jurisdictions in which we operate. Food recalls could result in significant losses due to their costs, the destruction of product inventory, lost sales due to the unavailability of the product for a period of time and potential loss of existing distributors or customers and a potential negative impact on our ability to attract new customers due to 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.

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. 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 our products and the imposition of civil or criminal sanctions, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

We must accurately forecast demand for all of our products in order to ensure that we have enough products available to meet the needs of our customers. Our forecasts are based on multiple assumptions that may cause our estimates to be inaccurate and affect our ability to obtain adequate co-manufacturing capacity in order to meet the demand for our products. If we do not accurately align our manufacturing capabilities with demand, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

In addition, we must continuously monitor our inventory and product mix against forecasted demand. If we underestimate demand, we risk having inadequate supplies. We also face the risk of having too much inventory on hand that may reach its expiration date and become unsalable, and we may be forced to rely on markdowns or promotional sales to dispose of excess or slow-moving inventory. If we are unable to manage our supply chain effectively, our operating costs could increase and our profit margins could decrease.