have technology security initiatives, cyber insurance and disaster recovery plans in place to mitigate our risk to these vulnerabilities, but these measures may not be adequate, particularly as the global dependence on technology and the sophistication of cyber threats increase. In addition, if we are unable to prevent security breaches or disclosure ofnon-public information, we may suffer financial and reputational damage, litigation or remediation costs or penalties because of the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information belonging to us or to our customers, consumers, or suppliers.
In addition, we have outsourced several information technology support services and administrative functions to third-party service providers and may outsource other functions in the future to achieve cost savings and efficiencies. If the service providers to which we outsource these functions do not perform effectively, we may not be able to achieve the expected cost savings and may have to incur additional costs to correct errors made by such service providers. Depending on the function involved, such errors may also lead to business disruption, processing inefficiencies, the loss of or damage to intellectual property through security breach, the loss of sensitive data through security breach, or otherwise. While we or any third party service provider have not experienced any significant disruption, failure or breach impacting our information technology systems, any such disruption, failure or breach could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Our Products are Processed at a Limited Number of Production Facilities and any Significant Disruption at any of Our Production Facilities or Disruption with a Third Party Supplier Could Have a Material Adverse Effect on Our Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Our products are shelled, manufactured or otherwise processed at our five production facilities. However, certain nut andnut-related products, including the shelling of peanuts, walnuts and pecans and processing and packaging of certain other products, are conducted only at a single location. If any of these production facilities experiences a disruption for any reason, including a work stoppage, power failure, fire, pandemic, terrorism or weather related condition or natural disaster, this could result in a significant reduction or elimination of the availability of some of our products. In addition, a dispute with, or disruption at, a significant third party supplier, service provider or distributor may impact our ability to produce, package, market, transport and sell our products. If we were not able to obtain alternate production, shelling or processing capability in a timely manner or on satisfactory terms, this could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Inability to Protect Our Intellectual Property or Avoid Intellectual Property Disputes Could Materially and Adversely Affect Our Financial Condition and Results of Operations
We consider our intellectual property rights, particularly and most notably our brand trademarks (such as ourFisher, Orchard Valley Harvest, Squirrel Brand, Southern Style NutsandSunshine Country trademarks), but also our patents, trade secrets,know-how copyrights and licensing agreements, to be a significant and valuable aspect of our business. We attempt to protect our intellectual property rights through a combination of patent, service mark, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as licensing agreements, third party nondisclosure and assignment agreements and policing of third party misuses of our intellectual property both domestically and internationally. Our failure to obtain or adequately protect our trademarks, products, new features of our products, or our trade secrets and technology, or any change in law or other changes that serve to lessen or remove the current legal protections of our intellectual property, may diminish our competitiveness and could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, we may be unaware of intellectual property rights of others that may cover some of our technology, brands or products. Any disputes regarding patents or other intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming and could divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations. Third party claims of intellectual property infringement might also require us to enter into costly license agreements. We also may be subject to significant damages or injunctions against development and sale of certain products if found to be liable for infringing activity. Any such activities could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
Unsuccessful Implementation of Our Strategic Plan Could Materially and Adversely Affect Our Financial Condition and Results of Operations
We developed a strategic plan (the “Strategic Plan”), to help us achieve long-term profitable growth. As part of this Strategic Plan, we have taken a number of actions including, among other things, promotion of our branded recipe and snack nut products, expanding distribution in traditional retail channels and alternative channels and other strategies related to increasing sales ofnon-branded business at existing key customers. We are taking these actions in order to increase sales in all of our distribution channels. There are no assurances that we will be successful in achieving any portion of our Strategic Plan, or any other efficiency measures.
In addition, we have in the past, as part of our Strategic Plan, engaged in strategic acquisitions and joint ventures including the acquisition of Squirrel Brand, L.P. in November 2017 (the “Acquisition”). However, we may be unsuccessful in managing completed acquisitions or joint ventures, identifying additional acquisitions or joint ventures, or negotiating favorable financial or other terms with third parties which are attractive or advantageous to grow or otherwise supplement our existing business. In addition, the
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