Zevia PBC

Greetings and welcome to VIVIA PPC first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. A brief 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. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Ms. Jean Fontana. Investor Relations. Thank you, Ms. Fontana. You may begin.

Thank you, and welcome to Zivia's first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. On today's call are Amy Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Girish Satya, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer. By now, everyone should have access to the company's first quarter 2026 earnings press release, an investor presentation made available this afternoon. This information is available on the investor relations section of ZVIA's website and investors.zvia.com. Before we begin, please note that all financial information presented on today's call is unaudited. Certain comments made on this call include forward-looking statements which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements. Please refer to today's press release and other filings with the SEC for a detailed discussion of the risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made today. During the call, we will have some non-GAAP financial measures as we describe business performance. The SEC filings, as well as the earnings press release, presentation slides that accompany today's comments and reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are all available on our website at investors.dba.com. And now I'd like to turn the call over to Amy Taylor.

Thank you, Jean. Good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for joining our first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. We're off to a strong start to the year with record sales growth of 21% and adjusted EBITDA of approximately a million dollars, both exceeding our expectations for the quarter. This is clear evidence that our strategy is gaining meaningful traction. Across channels, we're seeing encouraging momentum spanning from consumers discovering Zevia for the first time to longtime Zevia drinkers enjoying our new flavors. Importantly, this performance reflects the deliberate actions we've taken over the past several quarters to right-size our cost structure and reinvest in marketing, sharpening our innovation pipeline, and driving new distribution. Taken together, these efforts are translating into a strong setup for the remainder of the year. The momentum we're seeing today reinforces our confidence that we are on the path to long-term growth and profitability. Now I'd like to walk through our progress across our core pillars, starting with marketing, continuing through product innovation, and rounding out with distribution updates. On the marketing front, We deliver two engaging brand campaigns to start the year as we bring to life Xevia's distinction as the radically real people's champion. First, our Zetox campaign in January invited consumers to detox from artificial soda with a simple swab, choose a zero artificial better for you alternative. The campaign came to life through experiential marketing, sampling, and digital and influencer activations and helped kick off a strong start to the year. Second, our timely and shareable Real Soda for Real Humans campaign ran in March and April, making it clear that only robots should drink chemical cola and Xevia is the soda for humans. Paid advertising across digital platforms and live TV, including March Madness Games, was the primary driver of reach. Pop-ups at high-profile events like South by Southwest, where consumers had to prove they were human to get Xevia swag, further amplified the campaign. Sweet Steaks activated on social generated thousands of entrants and engaged new consumers. We believe our mix of advertising and grassroots marketing, and more than ever, our differentiated brand voice, is proving efficient and effective in building awareness, trial, and ultimately demand for Zevia. In March, we announced Zevia's biggest marketing news to date, a partnership with Grammy and Billboard Music Award winning artist Cardi B. She, like Zevia, is a champion for the radically real. Famous for her humor, honesty, and openness, she has the 25th most followed Instagram account with over 200 million social media followers in total, spanning across demographics and interests. Cardi B joins us at the perfect time as we roll out our new packaging in store, our 2026 innovation with spring resets, and our improved taste across most of the portfolio. This will be a step change in reach and awareness for media, supporting our objective to expand the user base. Between Cardi B and other marketing programs during the month of March, Zevia saw its highest ever organic social media reach and the highest level of social media engagement of any month since the brand's launch. The partnership announcement alone generated 152 million editorial impressions in just the first week. To kick things off, Zevia was a key sponsor of the Little Miss Drama Tour with a super fan giveaway and a brand presence at each stop. We plan to fully activate this partnership through social media, event activations, sampling, paid media campaigns, and at retail, including potential new product innovation in the future. We look forward to sharing more on our broadest reaching brand campaign plan yet, debuting in the next couple of months. Turning to product innovation, we're pleased with the overall response to our on-trend fruit flavors as they continue to roll out nationally. While it's still early, Initial reads show that our new items are outperforming median velocities for our broader portfolio. At two top national retailers, for example, these items are driving incrementality of 38% and 53%, respectively. Orange creamsicle, fruit punch, and peaches and cream launched with spring recess at the end of the first quarter. These flavors are on shelves now, attracting new consumers and providing variety for our loyal base. Package design is our most efficient communication vehicle and a key driver of trial. Our new, more vibrant designs look delicious and bring to life our points of difference as a clean label, great tasting soda with zero sugar and zero fake ingredients. Along with our innovation and our enhanced taste profile in stores as of Q2, this refresh has supported space gains as it bolsters retailer confidence in Zevia's ability to bring in even more new valuable shoppers and to drive repeat purchases, And finally, to deliver incrementality. Looking ahead, we'll continue to surprise and delight consumers with seasonal offerings, such as a forthcoming holiday limited edition pack, but more to come on that in the future. So now let's move to our third growth pillar, distribution. We're pleased with our results across channels, especially our same store distribution gains in existing channels, such as grocery, and our new activity in the club channel. The club channel is expected to help accelerate household penetration and growth. In the first quarter, we executed a successful national Costco rotation, broadening our reach to new consumers in emerging markets where we see potential for year-round distribution or additional rotations. In our more penetrated permanent markets, we saw strong velocities continue. In the mass channel, we saw an acceleration in velocity with notable outperformance in sales through digital platforms, a key priority for Walmart. Additionally, we are pleased with the expansion into Canadian Walmart stores, and momentum in Walmart chain-wide bodes well for future opportunities with other customers in the mass channel. In grocery, spring resets are underway, and Zevia has made some strong space gains. Kroger has expanded our in-store distribution, adding incremental flavors and boosting Zevia's visibility. The brand made similar gains through new item distribution and improved shelf sets at major regional players such as HEB and Publix. These developments help the brand drive market penetration nationally and in underdeveloped regions, such as the South and the East Coast. And finally, Zevia's e-commerce business continues to grow at an impressive rate, outperforming expectations. The introduction of smaller packs across multiple flavors has helped to drive trial, and it fits the strategy of major e-commerce operators as they seek to compete with grocery en masse. We also see strong performance from our existing 24-pack and variety pack offerings with our subscription business super serving a heavy user. As the only zero sugar clean label offering at an accessible price point, Vivia plays a unique role in modern soda. We're positioned to win as young consumers increasingly reject conventional carbonated soft drinks and choose better for you options. In closing, We've made tremendous strides in advancing our strategic growth pillars and strengthening Xevia's financial position. While we see uncertainty in the macro, we're focused on what we can control, and that is capitalizing on the opportunity to leverage Xevia's distinct market position as a great-tasting, zero-sugar, clean-label, and affordable better-for-you option. As we continue to execute across marketing, product, and distribution, we are confident in our ability to deliver sustainable, profitable growth over the long term. And so with that, I'll turn it over to Girish.