Edible Garden AG Incorporated

Greetings and welcome to the Edible Garden AG Incorporated 2024 fourth quarter 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 conference, 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, Mr. Ted Avas, Investor Relations. Sir, the floor is yours.

Thanks, Ali. Good morning, and thank you for joining Edible Garden's fourth quarter and full year 2024 earnings conference call and business update. On the call with us today are Jim Kras, Chief Executive Officer of Edible Garden, and Kostas Tafoulis, Interim Chief Financial Officer of Edible Garden. Earlier this morning, the company announced its operating results for the three-month and year-end of December 31st The press release is posted on the company's website, www.ediblegardenag.com. In addition, the company will file its annual report on Form 10-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later today, 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 or would like any additional information about the company, please contact Crescendo Communications at 671-1020. Before Mr. Kress reviews the company's operating results for the quarter and year end of December 31, 2024, 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 the 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 aim, anticipate, believe, could, expect, may, plan, project, strategy, will, and the negative of such terms and 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 filings with the SEC, including the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. 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 reply 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 achievement. 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 these 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 those 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 like to turn the call over to Mr. Jim Kress, Chief Executive Officer of Edible Garden. Jim?

Thanks, Ted. Good morning, and thank you to everyone for joining us today. 2024 was a pivotal year for Edible Garden, and I'm proud of the meaningful progress we made across the business. Our gross profit for 2021 4 grew an impressive 181.3%, and our gross margin nearly tripled from 5.9% last year to 16.7%, reflecting the strength of our core herb business and the successful execution of our strategic plans and vertical integration. In May of 2024, we made a strategic decision to refocus our operations around our core herb business and to launch new shelf-stable products and a clean-labeled sports nutrition line. That meant stepping away from some of the lower margin categories like lettuce and floral that weren't delivering accretive levels of profitability. In Q4 2024, we repurposed and expanded additional shelf space at our leading Midwest retail partner to pre-launch kick sports nutrition into mass market. Associated with this launch, we stepped away from our legacy lower margin whey protein products. By narrowing our focus on our core herb portfolio and launching innovative shelf-stable products, we have rationalized our product portfolio with a focus on higher margin, more profitable opportunities. We began to realize the benefits of these decisions in the second half of 2024 with strong growth in our herb portfolio, improved growth, gross profit, and a meaningful expansion in margins. We're confident that this momentum will carry into 2025 as our vertically integrated model with a more focused approach and product introductions will drive growth and move us closer to profitability. Total revenue for the year remained relatively flat, reflecting our intentional decision to exit lower margin product lines as part of our strategic realignment. When you look at our core business on its own, revenue grew by 1.7 million or 16.3% year-over-year, which really highlights the strength of our focused approach. This shift hasn't just improved profitability, it's also made us more efficient operationally and helped reduce our cost of goods thanks to better use of our own facilities and increased buying power. With most of that transition behind us, we believe Edible Garden is now in a great position to ramp up top-line growth and to stay focused on driving long-term profitability. In addition, we made solid progress in 2024, strengthening our balance sheet through disciplined cost controls, successful capital raises, and the execution of our operational realignment. Together, these efforts significantly improved our working capital, giving us more liquidity and greater financial flexibility. With this strong foundation in place, we believe we're now in a better position to operate more efficiently, move quickly in a better position to operate more efficiently, and to move quickly on new opportunities, and to reinvest with confidence in the highest growth areas of our business. It also gives us the ability to better leverage our capital, expanding our buying power, bringing down our cost of goods, and setting the stage for accelerated growth as we head into 2025 and beyond. These strong results also highlight the broader impact of the operational improvements we've made ranging from the enhanced automation and data-driven decision-making to targeted investments in our patented agriculture technology. Combined with the benefits of our vertically integrated model, these efforts are helping us operate more efficiently and cost-effectively across the board. As we expand our retail partnerships and continue refining our processes, we remain focused on driving sustained margin improvements and long-term profitability, all while creating lasting value for our customers and shareholders. One of the most significant developments this year was signing a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Narayan Group, a European producer of organic coconut and superfood products. This proposed acquisition marks a major step forward in Edible Garden's strategic growth plans. If completed, it would be a transformative move, expanding our footprint internationally and diversifying our product offerings in a meaningful way. What makes this opportunity even more compelling is Narayan's vertically integrated supply chain, which would give us greater control over sourcing, production, and distribution, boosting efficiency, lowering costs, and enhancing transparency. The transaction also has the potential to open new opportunities for clean, labeled, plant-based ingredients in both North America and Europe, helping us scale the Edible Garden platform and reach new markets, a real cross-selling opportunity. Edible Garden is continuing to grow its retail footprint across the U.S., strengthening our presence in key consumer markets by expanding distribution of our products of our USDA organic herb line and new products. We're making our sustainably grown high quality products even more accessible to shoppers. This growth directly supports our strategy to meet the increasing demand for organic locally sourced products while reinforcing our commitment to sustainability and innovation in controlled environment agriculture. Innovation continues to be a key driver of Edible Garden's growth strategy. One of the newest product launches, Squeezables, is a shelf-stable line of stirring herb paste that extends shelf life without sacrificing flavor and offering a convenient, better-for-you option for both consumers and retailers. Squeezables adds to Edible Garden's growing presence in the fresh condiments category, which also includes pulp, a line of fermented gourmet sauces and chili products now available at major national retailers, and Pickle Party, the world's first function pickle developed with Herman Pickle Company. Together, these offerings reflect the company's focus on clean-labeled ingredients, bold flavors, and sustainable sourcing. We've also expanded into the active lifestyle space with Kik Sports Nutrition, a clean-label lineup that includes protein powders, hydration mixes, and formulas for both pre- and post-workout. Kik launched exclusively on Amazon through a strategic partner with e-commerce expert Piranha, gives us instant access to a global audience and a hope and helps drive brand awareness and engagement. And this is only the beginning. A traditional rollout is just around the corner to coincide with upcoming beach season. On the technology front, we advanced our work in agriculture innovation through nanobubble trials in partnership with Brisea Group and NJIT. Early results showed up to a 55% increase in yield and a 30% reduction in harvest cycle time, highlighting the potential of this technology to revolutionize sustainable growing practices. We're exceptionally proud of Edible Garden's inclusion in the top 50 of the 2024 FoodTech 500, which highlights global leaders at the intersection of food, technology, and environmental responsibility. It underscores our growing reputation as a pioneer in sustainable food innovation. This recognition reflects the meaningful progress we've made through our commitment to innovation and sustainability across product development, operations, and strategic partnerships. From launching shelf-stable offerings like squeezables, to expanding into high-growth categories with kick sports nutrition, we're meeting evolving consumer needs while advancing our sustainability goals. We also introduced herbicide-recyclable pots as part of our sustainable packaging initiatives, contributing to the elimination of over 11,800 metric tons of CO2 emissions in the 2020-2024 Walmart, Project Gigaton. These achievements reinforce our vision for long-term growth, stronger retail partnerships, and continued leadership in building a more sustainable food system. I would now like to turn the call over to Costas Tafoulis, our interim CFO, who will review the financial results for the three months and year-ended December 31st, 2024. Costas?