Components of Our Results of Operations
Our net sales are primarily derived from the sale of our products directly to our retail customers. Our products are sold to consumers through an increasing number of locations in retail channels, primarily in natural and conventional grocery, drug, club and mass merchandise stores. We sell a limited percentage of our products to consumers through
e-commerce
transactions, where consumers pick up their product at a retailer following an online sale, and traditional
“deliver-to-me”
e-commerce
transactions through our own website and third-party websites. We record net sales as gross sales net of discounts, allowances, coupons, slotting fees, and trade advertising that we offer our customers. Such amounts are estimated and recorded as a reduction in total gross sales in order to arrive at reported net sales.
Gross profit consists of our net sales less cost of sales. Our cost of sales sold primarily consists of the cost of ingredients for our products, direct and indirect labor cost,
co-manufacturing
fees, plant and equipment cost, other manufacturing overhead expense, and depreciation and amortization expense, as well as the cost of packaging our products. Our gross profit margin is impacted by a number of factors, including changes in the cost of ingredients, cost and availability of labor, and factors impacting our ability to efficiently manufacture our products, including through investments in production capacity and automation.
Selling and Distribution Expense
Our products are shipped from our and our
co-manufacturers’
facilities directly to customers’ or to third-party logistics providers by truck and rail. Distribution expense includes third-party freight and warehousing costs, as well as salaries and wages, bonuses, and incentives for our distribution personnel. Selling expense includes salaries and wages, commissions, bonuses, and incentives for our sales personnel, broker fees, and sales-related travel and entertainment expenses.
Marketing expense includes salaries and wages for marketing personnel, website costs, advertising costs, costs associated with consumer promotions, influencer and promotional agreements, product samples and sales ads incurred to acquire new customers and consumers, retain existing customers and consumers, and build our brand awareness.
Administrative expense includes salaries, wages, and bonuses for our management and general administrative personnel, research and development costs, depreciation of
non-manufacturing
property and equipment, professional fees to service providers including accounting and legal, costs associated with the implementation and utilization of our new ERP system, insurance, and other operating expenses.
As the sole managing member of RGF, we operate and control all of the business and affairs of RGF. Although we have a minority economic interest in RGF, we have a majority voting interest in, and control the management of, RGF. Accordingly, we consolidate the financial results of RGF and report a
non-controlling
interest on our consolidated statements of operations, representing the portion of net income or loss attributable to the other members of RGF. The ownership percentages during the period are used to calculate the net income or loss attributable to The Real Good Food Company, Inc. and the
non-controlling
interest holders
Our chief operating decision maker, who is our Chief Executive Officer, reviews financial information on an aggregate basis for purposes of allocating resources and evaluating financial performance, as well as for strategic operational decisions and managing the organization. For the periods presented, we have determined that we have one operating segment and one reportable segment. In addition, all of our assets are located within the U.S.
We experience mild seasonal earning characteristics, predominantly with products that experience lower sales volume in
warm-weather
months. For example, our bacon wrapped stuffed chicken experiences seasonal softness during months that consumers prefer to grill outdoors instead of preparing microwaveable meals. In addition, similar to other H&W brands, the highest percentage of our net sales tends to occur in the first and second quarters of the calendar year, when consumers are more likely to seek H&W brands. Further, certain of the ingredients we process, such as cauliflower and artichoke hearts, are agricultural crops with seasonal production cycles. These seasonal earning characteristics have not historically had a