Net sales returns to growth; gross margin exceeds 30%.

Laird Superfood, Inc. (NYSE American: LSF) (“Laird Superfood,” the "Company", “we”, and “our”), today reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2023.

Third Quarter 2023 Highlights

• Net sales of $9.2 million compared to $7.7 million in the prior quarter, and $8.8 million in the prior year period.
• Wholesale contributed 47% of total net sales and increased by 42.8% year-over-year, driven by distribution gains in the natural and conventional channels, seasonal program expansion in club, pricing actions, as well as velocity improvements behind new packaging and the re-branding campaign launched earlier this year.
• E-commerce contributed 53% of total net sales and decreased 16.6% year-over-year driven by a planned 19% media spend reduction across the Amazon and direct-to-consumer ("DTC") channels. Amazon sales were negatively impacted by inventory out-of-stocks related to the previously discussed quality issue experienced in Q1. This out-of-stock issue was fully resolved by the end of the third quarter of 2023. The decline in DTC was due to media spend reduction, which was partially offset by an increase in our subscription sales which grew 21% sequentially as a percentage of DTC sales.
• Gross margin was 31.0%, compared to 24.3% in the second quarter of 2023 and 23.4% in the prior year period. This 758-basis point margin expansion from the prior year period was driven by the transition to a variable cost third-party co-manufacturing business model, partially offset by incremental trade spend intended to drive growth in the retail channel, specifically around innovation expansion, awareness, and trial.
• Net loss was $2.7 million, or $0.28 per diluted share compared to net loss of $3.5 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2023 and net loss of $5.7 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, in the prior year period. The improvement is driven by gross margin expansion, lower marketing and general and administrative spend (G&A).
• Adjusted net loss, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, was $2.8 million, or $0.30 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2023, compared to $3.3 million, or $0.36 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2023 and $5.6 million, or $0.61 per diluted share in the prior year period. This sequential and prior year improvement was driven by significantly expanded gross margins and lower marketing and G&A spend. For more details on non-GAAP financial measures, refer to the information in the non-GAAP financial measures section of this press release.

Jason Vieth, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our significantly improved Q3 results are the natural outcome of continued progress against our strategic initiatives and toward our goal of breakeven profitability. Over the past year, we successfully completed a full reboot of our operations, moving us to a significantly more flexible, more profitable supply chain. As predicted, our gross margin exceeded 30% in the quarter and we don’t expect to look back. At the same time, we have executed the transition from an ecommerce business with a small amount of wholesale sales to a business that is nearly 50-50% split across those two channels. Our strong growth in wholesale is now outweighing the planned declines in the online business, which propelled us to positive year over year sales growth for the first time since the first quarter of 2022."

Anya Hamill, Chief Financial Officer, commented, "I am pleased to report that in the third quarter we have achieved gross margin above 30%, representing a 758-basis point improvement over the same period during the prior year and a 671-basis point improvement sequentially versus Q2 2023. This margin expansion was driven by the continued optimization of our supply chain model based on the strategic actions we took last year as well as new and improved liquid creamer formulation implemented in the third quarter. Cost of goods sold improved by 21% as a percentage of gross sales which translates to nearly 15 points of gross margin in the third quarter versus the same period last year. This margin improvement was partially offset by stepped-up trade investment into promotional and product placement activities to drive growth in our wholesale channel. Beginning in Q4 of this year, we expect to begin pulling back the increased trade spend, which we expect to result in margin expansion as we see the benefit of our supply chain transformation and other planned margin-driving initiatives. Q3 net loss of $2.7 million was the lowest in the Company’s post-IPO history, driven by gross margin expansion and significant reductions in marketing and G&A spend. Our Q3 G&A spend was $2.2 million lower than the same quarter last year, demonstrating the strong progress that we have made in managing costs and pushing the business towards breakeven profitability in future quarters."

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

The Company had $7.4 million of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash as of September 30, 2023, and no outstanding debt.

Net cash used in operating activities was $3.5 million for the third quarter of 2023, compared to $1.4 million in the second quarter of 2023 and $3.6 million in the prior year period. The increase in cash burn in the third quarter of 2023 relative to the second quarter was due to planned inventory build to meet stepped up demand in the retail and club channels and the timing of accounts receivable collections.

Net cash used in operating activities was $10.9 million year to date in 2023, compared to $11.1 million year to date in 2022. The reduction in cash burn was driven by the realization of the operating efficiencies gained from the transition to the variable cost co-manufacturing model and the related reductions in overhead and administrative costs offset in part by our Sisters, Oregon exit and disposal costs incurred in the first quarter of 2023.

2023 Outlook

We expect fourth quarter net sales to be in the range of $8.5 million to $9.0 million, and gross margins in the mid-to-high thirties, excluding any one-time extraordinary charges.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

The Company will host a conference call and webcast at 5:00 p.m. ET today to discuss results. Participants may access the live webcast on the Laird Superfood Investor Relations website at https://investors.lairdsuperfood.com under “Events”.

About Laird Superfood

Laird Superfood, Inc. creates award-winning, plant-based superfood products that are both delicious and functional. The Company's products are designed to enhance your daily ritual and keep consumers fueled naturally throughout the day. The Company was co-founded in 2015 by the world's most prolific big-wave surfer, Laird Hamilton. Laird Superfood's offerings are environmentally conscientious, responsibly tested and made with real ingredients. Shop all products online at lairdsuperfood.com and join the Laird Superfood community on social media for the latest news and daily doses of inspiration.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and the conference call referencing this press release contain “forward-looking” statements, as that term is defined under the federal securities laws, including but not limited to statements regarding Laird Superfood’s future financial performance and growth. These forward-looking statements are based on Laird Superfood’s current assumptions, expectations and beliefs and are subject to substantial risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may cause Laird Superfood’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

The risks and uncertainties referred to above include, but are not limited to: (1) the effects of global outbreaks of pandemics or contagious diseases or fear of such outbreaks, including on our supply chain, the demand for our products, and on overall economic conditions and consumer confidence and spending levels; (2) volatility regarding our revenue, expenses, including shipping expenses, and other operating results; (3) our ability to acquire new direct and wholesale customers and successfully retain existing customers; (4) our ability to attract and retain our suppliers, distributors and co-manufacturers, and effectively manage their costs and performance; (5) effects of real or perceived quality or health issues with our products or other issues that adversely affect our brand and reputation; (6) our ability to innovate on a timely and cost-effective basis, predict changes in consumer preferences and develop successful new products, or updates to existing products, and develop innovative Marketing strategies; (7) adverse developments regarding prices and availability of raw materials and other inputs, a substantial amount of which come from a limited number of suppliers outside the United States, including in areas which may be adversely affected by climate change; (8) effects of changes in the tastes and preferences of our consumers and consumer preferences for natural and organic food products; (9) the financial condition of, and our relationships with, our suppliers, co-manufacturers, distributors, retailers and food service customers, as well as the health of the food service industry generally; (10) the ability of ourselves, our suppliers and co-manufacturers to comply with food safety, environmental or other laws or regulations; (11) our plans for future investments in our business, our anticipated capital expenditures and our estimates regarding our capital requirements, including our ability to continue as a going concern; (12) the costs and success of our Marketing efforts, and our ability to promote our brand; (13) our reliance on our executive team and other key personnel and our ability to identify, recruit and retain skilled and general working personnel; (14) our ability to effectively manage our growth; (15) our ability to compete effectively with existing competitors and new market entrants; (16) the impact of adverse economic conditions; (17) the growth rates of the markets in which we compete, and (18) the other risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this press release, we report adjusted net loss, and adjusted net loss per diluted share, which are financial measures not required by, or presented in accordance with, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Management uses these adjusted metrics to evaluate financial performance because they allow for period-over-period comparisons of the Company’s ongoing operations before the impact of certain items described below. Management believes this information may also be useful to investors to compare the Company’s results period-over-period. We define adjusted net loss and adjusted net loss per diluted share to exclude certain one-time costs defined in detail in the tables to follow. We define adjusted gross margin to exclude the net sales and cost of goods sold components of one-time costs defined in the tables to follow. Please be aware that adjusted gross margin, adjusted net loss, and adjusted net loss per diluted share have limitations and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for gross margin, net loss, or net loss per diluted share. In addition, we may calculate and/or present adjusted gross margin, adjusted net loss, and adjusted net loss per diluted share differently than measures with the same or similar names that other companies report, and as a result, the non-GAAP measures we report may not be comparable to those reported by others.

These non-GAAP measures are reconciled to the most directly comparable GAAP measures in the table that follows.

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