Edible Garden AG Incorporated

And welcome to the Edible Garden second quarter 2023 business update conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode, and a question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the call, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Ted Avis, Investor Relations. Ted, you may begin.

Thanks, Tom. Good morning, and thank you for joining Edible Garden's second quarter 2023 business update and conference call. On the call with us today are Jim Kras, Chief Executive Officer of Edible Garden, and Mike James, Chief Financial Officer of Edible Garden. Earlier this morning, the company announced its operating results for the three months ended June 30, 2023. The press release is posted on the company's website, www.ediblegardenag.com. In addition, the company will file its quarterly report on Form 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which can also be accessed on the company's website as well as the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. If you have any questions after the call and would like any additional information about the company, please contact Crescendo Communications, at 212-671-1020. Before Mr. Perez reviews the company's operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, and provides a business update, we would like to remind everyone that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this conference call, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, strategy and plans, and our expectations for future operations are forward-looking statements. The words expect, project, plan, believe, may, will, would, should, could, mission, strategy, potential, seek, strive, and the negative of such terms, in other words, in terms of similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the company's current expectations and projections about future events and trends that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to several risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as described in the company's most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Because of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this conference call may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. In addition, neither the company nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. The company disclaims any duty to update any of the forward-looking statements except as required by law. All forward-looking statements attributable to the company are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements as well as others made in this conference call. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made by the company in the context of these risks and uncertainties. With that, I will now turn the call over to Jim Kras. Jim?

Thanks, Ted. Good morning, and thank you to everyone for joining us today. I want to begin by extending our sincere thanks to our investors for the trust and belief you placed in our vision. Our commitment to achieving our goals is unwavering as we continue to focus on generating lasting long-term value for all shareholders. We are excited to report year-over-year revenue growth of 41.4% for the second quarter of 2023. Edible Garden has always stood out for its consistently high level of execution, a feature that sets the company apart from our competition. While others in our industry have struggled, often shrinking or even ceasing operations, Edible Garden continues to grow, successfully building its reputation and gaining a larger portion of market share. Edible Garden has regularly executed at levels that surpass those of our competitors, and our order flow rates across retail and distribution partners is a testament to the company's dedication to exceptional service. Our ability to continually surpass our retail partners' expectations Solidify's Edible Gardens position is a strong and dependable supplier of sustainably grown produce and products. This superior performance has furthered the expansion of our distribution to encompass some of the most prestigious names in retail nationwide. It is our belief that both existing and prospective retail customers view Edible Gardens as a reliable and trustworthy partner, often looking to reinforce established distribution relationships with the company. In the second quarter, the company initiated a deliberate strategy to concentrate our energies and redistribute resources towards more profitable customer and partner relationships. The impact of this strategy was evident almost immediately as we achieved a 168% increase in our gross profit compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Additionally, with the launch of Edible Garden Heartland in April of 2023, we expect additional positive impacts on our margins. We attribute this expected improvement to increased and growing capacity offered by Edible Garden Heartland. This expanded capacity allows us to reduce the company's reliance on third-party providers and transition previously outsourced production to in-house operations. We believe that these actions will positively impact the company's margin. We also believe that the facility's potential to generate up to $20 million in annualized revenue provides us with the opportunity to vertically integrate our Midwest production capabilities, further enhancing our operational efficiencies. Additionally, the company is witnessing expansion across all segments of our business and platform, including leafy greens, floral products, alternative proteins, and pulp flavors, a comprehensive line of gourmet sauces and chili-based products, which has begun scaling and building inventory for a near-term retail introduction. During the second quarter, in response to the growing demand of our potted herbs and their sustainability for our customers' home gardens, Edible Garden expanded the distribution of our Garden Starters product to all Wakefern ShopRite retail locations across the Northeast. This expansion came on the heels of introducing Garden Starters at Meijer retail locations in the Midwest just in time for Mother's Day. The 35% of American households grown some of their own food. Edible Garden's sustainably grown herbs and produce have become popular choices among consumers looking to enhance the flavors of their meals. By placing our potted herbs in the same supermarket section as cut herbs and sustainably grown produce that customers often purchase, we have made it more accessible and convenient for those looking to incorporate edible garden potted herbs into their home gardens. In addition, during the quarter, we enhanced our partnership with Walmart to provide a wider range of edible garden SKUs in their northeast locations and initiated distribution to the retail stores in the east-south central region of the U.S. Walmart, recognized as the world's largest retailer of fresh produce, has consistently been one of our most significant customers, and our partnership with them goes beyond simply supplying produce. Edible Garden actively contributes to Walmart's Project Gigaton, an ambitious initiative launched in 2017 that aims to unite suppliers, NGOs, and various stakeholders in an effort to reduce or eliminate one billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from the global value chain chain by 2030. The company has also been honored by Walmart as a project gigaton giga guru, reflecting our unwavering dedication to our zero waste inspired mission and our leadership in the controlled environment agriculture, CEA sector. We're confident this expanded distribution relationship with Walmart will positively impact your revenue and cash flow in 2023 and subsequent years. In June, the company received grants from West Michigan Works and the Specialty Crop Crop Block Program of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The grants were specifically earmarked to compensate Western Michigan employers for the costs related to leadership and food safety training for their workforce. These grants will enable employees at our Edible Garden Heartland facilities to participate in food safety training. The areas covered in the training will include Produce Safety Alliance grower training, training in hazard analysis critical control points, and good agriculture practices training. The grants reflect our commitment to food safety, while also complementing our research collaboration with the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the USDA, and the EPA, focusing on the effect of nanobubble technology on fresh produce, food safety, and processing methods. They also align with our collaborative research study with Auburn University's Department of Horticulture, investigating food safety concerns tied to fresh produce contamination, such as listeria. In July, Edible Garden introduced GreenSub 2.0, the most current version of our advanced greenhouse management system, marking a substantial advancement in our automation technology. This improved version of the system significantly boosts our dynamic forecasting capabilities using real-time data with increased efficiency, aiming to anticipate to our distribution partners' needs more precisely and to modify our growing strategies as needed. taking into account factors such as year-over-year patterns, sales trends, and seasonal fluctuations. A significant enhancement in Green Thumb 2.0 is the integration of a real-time inventory system that tracks all raw materials, work in progress, and finished products. This allows the company to dissect our costs for every element involved in the plant growth with an unparalleled degree of detail. We are confident that this level of detail will furnish essential information to aid us in managing our expenses. We've also expanded our distribution at both King Colin and IGA retail locations across Long Island, New York, just in time for the 2023 summer season. This expansion comes in response to the increasing consumer demand for fresh produce and herbs that become synonymous with the Edible Garden brand. To accommodate this growing demand, both King Colin and IGA have doubled their shelf space allocated in their retail locations for Edible Garden products. The initiative that the company has been working on since the beginning of 2023 have started to manifest in our financial results. The record revenue we achieved in the second quarter, coupled with the rise in both gross profit and profit margins, provides evidence that our strategic approach is working. We believe that the ongoing execution of our strategic plan will enable us to achieve our target of becoming cash flow positive on a quarterly basis before the year's end. I'd like to turn the call over to Mike James, Chief Financial Officer at Noble Garden, who will review the financial results of the three-month period ending June 30, 2023. Mike?