Flowers Foods, Inc.

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Flowers Foods first quarter 2023 results conference call. Please be advised that today's event is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, J.T. Rick, Executive Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Shannon, and good morning. I hope everyone had the opportunity to review our earnings release, listen to our prepared remarks, and view the slide presentation that were all posted yesterday evening on our investor relations website. After today's Q&A session, we will also post an audio replay of this call. Please note that in this Q&A session, we may make forward-looking statements about the company's performance. Although we believe these statements to be reasonable, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. In addition to what you hear in these remarks, important factors relating to Flowers Foods business are fully detailed in our SEC filings. We also provide non-GAAP financial managers for which disclosure and reconciliations are provided in the earnings release and at the end of the slide presentation and on our website. Joining me today are Riles McMullen, President and CEO, and Steve Kinsey, our CFO. Riles, I'll turn it over to you.

Okay. Thanks, JT. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for joining the call. Our results this quarter reflect the strength of our leading brands and the dedication of our Flowers team, and I do want to thank them for their hard work. It was instrumental in helping us drive record quarterly sales. We did face difficult year-over-year comparisons in the quarter due to a strong impact from the Omicron surge early last year and by some storm activity during the same time period. The macroeconomic environment remains challenging, with inflation pressuring consumer demand and input costs And demand patterns continue to shift as the impact of the pandemic wanes. We adjusted our 2023 financial guidance to reflect those factors. But we believe the current environment is temporary, and we are focused on positioning ourselves for long-term success. Our investments in innovation, including the exciting nationwide launch of the DKB snack bars and digital and supply chain initiatives, are designed to enhance our competitive position. Some of these initiatives may impact near-term results, but they are crucial for enabling our growth plans. I'm excited about our prospects, and I've really never been more confident in our ability to grow shareholder value over time. So with that, Shannon, we are ready to take questions.