BranchOut Food Inc.

Greetings, everyone. Welcome to the Branch Out Food 2026 Q1 Earnings and Shareholder Update Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. The question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star and zero on your telephone keypads. Please also note today's event is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the floor over to John DeFonte, CFO. Sir, you may begin.

Thank you all for joining our first quarter 2026 earnings call. Before we start, bear with me. I've got to read the forward-looking statement. Disclaimer. During this call, we may make forward-looking statements with meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements include but are not limited to comments regarding our future operating performance, financial outlook, business strategy, market opportunities, plan investments, and other expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are based on current assumptions, expectations, and information available to management and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other changes in market conditions, customer demand, competitive dynamics, regulatory developments, supply chain disruptions, economic conditions, other risks detailed in our filings with the Securities Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. Whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Lastly, additionally, during this call, we may discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these measures to the most direct comparable GAAP measures are available in our earnings, are available in our filings. So with that out of the way, we're going to go through an outline today. We're going to start Eric Healy is going to talk about the following. He's going to talk about the strategy, then our customer progress, new progress and capacity, and then he'll hand it over to me in which I'll talk about the order and guidance, et cetera, all the financial aspects. Lastly, we put out a press release of a shareholder update today, and then our 10Q was filed at 4 p.m. Eastern. So with that, I want to hand it over to Eric Hewitt.

Yeah, thank you everyone for joining today. Excited to go through everything here. So I'm going to start with the overall sales strategy of the company. We're still following the same strategy that we talked about at the end of the year. Essentially, we are trying to fill out our capacity, increase factory utilization as much as possible. To do that, we're being very opportunistic and diverse with our reach and where we're going with our sales and marketing team and really exploring the bounds of what all this Rev technology can really do. And as we dive into it, you know, we're finding more and more opportunities. It's pretty exciting that, you know, and we'll get into that. So we have installed our fourth production line that is now coming online this month, and it was primarily intended to be able to focus on a whole other subset of REV products, including dried dairy products, dried cheeses and cheesecakes and things like that. So that's coming online, and we'll talk about kind of the opportunities and early interest we have with that already. But we're, you know, we're still going down the path of a club that we'll get into. So Costco and now Sam's Club is our newest customer there. So a lot of exciting updates there. The industrial ingredient channel continues to grow. So very diverse channel there from kind of the retail side of the business. And it gives us a lot of synergies within the plants where we can utilize product that isn't high enough quality for retail, but sort of a waste stream from that production line that we can go sell into that channel. So there's that. And then, of course, private label has always been a big strategy of ours. And so we have some updates there. We have had some great meetings recently with Walmart, among others. And then there's kind of a new sales channel that we'll get into as well, the tolling opportunity that we're working on. So The strategy, last year we were pretty concentrated in mainly Costco and Club and some private label. I think this year what hopefully the takeaway will be is diversification and just adding new customers. So we're really excited about how the year is shaping up so far. As we outlined in our press release this morning, we ended the year very strong. You know, Q1 was really about a buildup. We had a lot of orders that are hitting now that are being delivered in Q2. So the timing of such kind of just aligned itself to where Q1 was really a big, you know, drawdown of cash production and increase in inventory, as you will probably see in our filing. But all that inventory has a home, and we'll get into where it's going. So we're very, you know, excited about Q2 and kind of what's coming. With that, I can get into more specific customer updates. We continue to have success in Costco. We'll start with that one. So this coming June here, we're delivering our first mango chip product into the Bay Area region. So that's a brand new product that we're very excited about. We think it could be number one. knock Pineapple out of our number one spots and take that spot. So that product, we just scaled up in March and April. So it's a new one for us at scale, but it went really well. And we're hopeful that that'll do well. So we have that. The Pineapple continues to be repurchased in Costco. It's going into the Southeast region in June as well. So that's, I don't know four or five or six reoccurring orders there the last couple of years. And that buyer, that region actually just placed another even larger order for the pineapple for Q4. So that continues to do well. And as I've spoke before, our strategy in Costco is to diversify into other departments. So we have these multi-packed products that we've developed. We have those in front of about four or five different regions for the back to school timeframe right now. And we're waiting for, you know, waiting for commitments. They're scheduling and kind of working on that timeframe right now. So, you know, we have probably three to $4 million in Costco opportunities that we're just waiting, you know, waiting to come in. Can't guarantee we'll get all of them, but, you know, it's still progressing very nicely there. So with that, the other sort of, club opportunity or big club update is, uh, of course, Sam's club. Um, we just delivered the, uh, crunchy fruit chips. It's a mix of our four, four different fruits in one bag. Um, it's in nationwide and Sam's club right now. So if, if you have a membership going and buy it and, um, we would appreciate that. But, uh, what's very exciting about that is we've been on the floor there for two weeks. We're going on our third week right now and the product is selling out. Um, We have achieved I think the first two weeks we've been over the kind of the high end of what their threshold is for considering an everyday successful item. So they like to see between $400 to $600 per club per week in revenue and we're consistently hitting about $600 now for the first two weeks. But we're actually seeing the inventory draw down pretty quick and it's actually selling through quicker than we thought. We're very hopeful that that'll turn into something much larger and everyday placement. We think kind of the worst case downside is they just, you know, it's successful and they repeat order it rotationally and test other items as well. So, you know, we have that new customer and they're, you know, it's going very well. We've been a good supplier to them so far and we expect that to continue in some capacity. But the upside is very, you know, very big there with a potential $15 million business with that one SKU every day. So excited about that. We just got back a few weeks ago from a meeting with Walmart. And this is where we, you know, we are proud of ourselves for kind of punching above our weight. I mean, we're a young, small company still. And we, you know, we had a meeting with kind of the top four to six different category managers, the snack category, the drive-through category, a number of others. And we did a tasting with kind of a whole spread of all of the rev possibilities that we can do with this technology. So we had 35-plus products. We had our whole dried fruit line, our whole dried veggie line, our new dried cheeses, crunchy cheeses. um, our cheesecake line, um, chocolate covered fruit and everyone kind of came in and tasted and asked questions and we got FaceTime with all of these key decision makers. So, um, they were very impressed. Um, we were originally hoping this was going to be, you know, launching some products at the end of this year, but I think we're probably looking at beginning of 27, but, um, there's a lot of interest there now and we're just going back and forth with their different requests and interests. So, um, you know, very, um, very big potential there with Walmart, um, with all of these different, different product concepts. Um, you know, I mentioned industrial. So I think we did about 2 million, uh, last year with the, in the industrial side of the business. Um, we had, uh, the, the head of micro dried, our strategic partner in that channel come down to our factory a month or two ago. And, um, he was very impressed with the progress and, um, and kind of the commitment we made and the job we've done delivering to them last year or so, and, um, committed to more orders for the rest of the year. Um, and you know, with that, we've also diversified that a bit and we have some other customers in that kind of category as well. Um, one of them is a big, uh, company that is looking to supply some, some products on the trader Joe's. Um, so long story short there on that channel, um, you know, we think we'll be probably six to 7 million with that channel this year. Um, and that's, it's growing nicely. So it's, uh, you know, it's, it's compelling and helps us kind of diversify further. Um, the new channel that we mentioned in the press release as well as this tolling arrangement. So we have a large scale brand, um, that has come to us with, um, they, they have a, reb-based product that they kind of market tested at a little bit smaller scale and it turned out to, you know, it's doing very, very well. So they're scaling up and want us to potentially toll dry for them, which means they deliver the raw material and we just provide the drying service. So for us, you know, and it's pretty large volume, it'd be probably six or seven million as well. For us, it's great because it'll really help the margins and the cash flow For us it's basically just the service, so there's no real new overhead. It's no raw materials that we're purchasing, so we're really just providing a service and collecting revenue for that. So we are hopeful that that will land by Q3 and really ramp up in Q4. So yeah, that one's exciting. I haven't announced this yet, but we do expect some placements with our branded SKUs in Target. They have verbally told us that they love the products. They're looking at probably four to six SKUs for second half of the year. And they're making their final decisions this month. So very prominent, obviously, retailer that we haven't been in yet. I don't expect, they're not a huge revenue gain, but it's a great sales story. And, you know, that's letting the door there that could really turn into something big. So that's really exciting. And that will sort of lead into a great branded sales story for our new efforts that we've talked about before, but we're kicking off. We just kicked off recently, actually, a new sales broker with 200 sales reps plus that will be getting our um, our branded multi-pack items in front of the general grocery, uh, channels. So that's a, you know, that's, that's really where we try to build everyday reoccurring business. It'll be, you know, a bit of a slower build. It'll take a few years, but we believe, you know, it's probably a 20, 20 to $30 million opportunity there that, um, we, we can disrupt with, uh, you know, with a better product and better price point that we bring. So, um, excited about that as well. Um, You know, we're diversifying globally as well. We have a new partner in Europe that has a private label manufacturing facility in Europe, and they bring in product and sell into all the big European grocery stores. So they've been sampling our dried fruits. They've been getting it in front of Aldi and Lidl and all the kind of big chains in Europe, and the feedback has been And in fact, we heard earlier this week that we're expecting our first order, and it should grow from there. So pretty substantial orders. In Europe, they're primarily more aimed at private label, and with that, they can scale up pretty quick. So we're expecting our new European side of the business to grow well. We have a couple other kind of brands that want some products. We have a chocolate company that is likely going to order in July. And that's probably about a million dollar order that, you know, we've been working with them for a while. And they're enrobing our fruit with chocolate and have some different opportunities for that. And then just kind of further down the road, but as I said, we have this new line that will be doing our dairy products. So we started showing samples to various large-scale cheese companies and other opportunities, and we're getting a lot of great feedback and opportunities there as well. And I didn't mention, so one of the strategic ideas we've had is mixing this dried cheese with our dried fruit, and actually it came out of a Walmart request because they are looking for GLP-1-focused products. With our dried fruit, you get the fiber call out with the dried cheese, you get the protein call out, and it's really well positioned for that trend that we're really seeing just starting. So a lot of opportunities with the new dried cheese platform that we have there. So I think that's kind of everything on the sales updates side. I would say, you know, the plant is continually doing better. I think, you know, March, April, and now into May, we're starting to hit that 45% a month production level that we believe should get us into the profitability standpoint. And, you know, with the new line coming on, we should be able to get well above that. We, you know, with the Sands Club order, there were some new products in there. So there's a little bit of development effort in February that we, you know, that we had to we had to do, but we have all that, you know, most of that behind us now. And yeah, very excited about what we have coming. So with that, I think, John, you can take it from here and talk about finance, right?

Thanks.

Yeah, I want to go over the topics on the finance that I want to go over. The rest could be us in Q&A is You know, want to talk about 10Qs. I always like to point out the things that I feel are important to review. You know, having done this, you know, been an investment banker for 25 years, what I feel the key parts of the 10Q are, and then talk about, you know, the revenue for the first quarter, the record we're expecting in the second quarter. You know, talk a little about the balance sheet, and then, you know, give some guidance, and then You know, talk about, you know, liquidity in terms of, you know, we've took some money in this first, you know, between the beginning of the year and now, and credit facility. So if you look at our balance sheet, you know, kind of the things that should stand out is, you know, we had $2.385 million in inventory in December, and we're at $4 at the end of March, and it's higher now. And you got to remember our inventory turns within the quarter. I think our inventory turn is, you know, 56, 56 days, you know, we're still making things as fast as we can. So if you think about the money we've raised, um, we did an ATM of, and we sold 500,000 shares of an average of three in January. And then we've had about a million in Warren exercises. And then we took, as you know, $2.25 million from Kauffman Capital, and we announced we'll take $750 million more. That's all gone into inventory and, you know, some money to finish the build-out of our factory and the machine. So if you think about where's this money gone, it's outside of what we've used for the machine. It really goes into recyclable capital. And when you have, you know, our first quarter of, you know, 2.6 and a second quarter that's going to be record, you know, we're making a lot of product that's being delivered as we speak. And then if you think of the last part of that, the cash collection cycle, so we're going to collect about $5 million in cash, you know, come June, July. So we're going to have plenty of money until the end of the year. unless something transformational happens. And when I say something transformational, it's a $15-plus million order or such. If you look at the balance sheet on the liability side, you see a current liability of $8.84 million, but if you look at 2.874 of that, that's the Kauffman convertible note that's been extended. to the end of 27, so that's going to come off. So that drops the current liability to about $6 million. And then the AP went up from 1.2 to 2.4, but that's all in inventory. AP is 95% inventory, high percentage inventory. And then lastly, the no payable related party, that's, once again, that's Kauffman Capital he'll extend you know the note as long as we need so if you look at our current liabilities it's in my opinion about four and a half million on the hot you know that are truly our current liabilities um so with 7.7 in current assets and um and um and uh and the right you know the what I say 4.5 in current liabilities um

You know, we have a pretty good balance.

So the next thing I wanted to talk about is guidance. You know, like we said in the last call, we expect something with a two in front of it, 40% in kind of the first half, 60% in the last half. It may be 35% in the first half, 65% in the second half, because second half could be stronger, you know, looks to be stronger than we expect. So we kind of hold at that number. And lastly, you know, talk about, you know, got questions about the credit facility. We're using Kauffman Capital. You know, the reason we're using them, he's given us 8% money. It's very flexible. He's been a great shareholder. You know, if you look in the future, You know, our expectation is to work with a major commercial bank on a revolving credit facility where we can get a LIBOR-based rate and have a single-digit capital. But, you know, we're not there yet. You know, they want to see a little more performance, understandably. And secondly, they want to see, you know, we only need maybe a $4 or $5 million revolver at this point. So, anyways.

That's the financial part of this. So now we want to turn to Q&A. Sure.

Thank you. We'll now be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star and then 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate that your line is in the question queue. You may press star and 2 if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using your equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. Once again, in order to ask a question, please press star and then 1.

And again, if you would like to ask a question, please press star and 1.

And at this time, in showing no questions, I would like to turn the floor back over to management for any closing comments.

Thank you for joining our call. We feel it's going to be an exciting rest of the year and look forward to talking to you in the second quarter. Take care.

And ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude today's conference call. We thank you for your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Have a wonderful day.