超越肉類 (BYND) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Beyond Meat 2022 Fourth Quarter Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please also note, today's event is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the conference call over to Teri Witteman, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary. Please go ahead.

大家下午好，歡迎來到 Beyond Meat 2022 第四季度電話會議。 （操作員說明）另請注意，今天的活動正在錄製中。此時，我想將電話會議轉交給首席法務官兼秘書 Teri Witteman。請繼續。

Thank you. Good afternoon, and welcome. Joining me on today's call are Ethan Brown, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Lubi Kutua, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. By now everyone should have access to the company's fourth quarter and full year 2022 earnings press release filed today after the market close. This document is available in the Investor Relations section of Beyond Meat's website at www.beyondmeat.com.

謝謝。下午好，歡迎光臨。與我一起參加今天電話會議的還有創始人、總裁兼首席執行官 Ethan Brown；首席財務官兼財務主管 Lubi Kutua。到目前為止，每個人都應該可以訪問公司今天收盤後提交的第四季度和 2022 年全年收益新聞稿。本文件可在 Beyond Meat 網站 www.beyondmeat.com 的投資者關係部分獲取。

Before we begin, please note that all the information presented on today's call is unaudited. And during the course of this call, management may make forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements.

在我們開始之前，請注意今天電話會議上提供的所有信息都未經審計。在此次電話會議期間，管理層可能會做出聯邦證券法意義上的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述基於管理層當前的預期和信念，涉及可能導致實際結果與這些前瞻性陳述中描述的結果存在重大差異的風險和不確定性。

Forward-looking statements in the earnings release that we issued today, along with the comments on this call, are made only as of today and will not be updated as actual events unfold. We refer you to today's press release, the company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended October 1, 2022, and the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, to be filed with the SEC 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.

我們今天發布的收益報告中的前瞻性陳述以及對此次電話會議的評論僅在今天發表，不會隨著實際事件的展開而更新。我們向您推薦今天的新聞稿、公司截至 2022 年 10 月 1 日止季度的 10-Q 表季度報告以及公司截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日止財政年度的 10-K 表年度報告，這些報告將提交給美國證券交易委員會和其他提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件詳細討論了可能導致實際結果與今天所做的任何前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的結果存在重大差異的風險。

Please also note that on today's call, management may make reference to adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure. While we believe this non-GAAP financial measure provides useful information for investors, any reference to this information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP.

另請注意，在今天的電話會議上，管理層可能會參考調整後的 EBITDA，這是一項非 GAAP 財務指標。雖然我們認為這種非 GAAP 財務措施為投資者提供了有用的信息，但對這些信息的任何參考都不應被孤立地考慮或替代根據 GAAP 提供的財務信息。

Please refer to today's press release for a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to its most comparable GAAP measure. And with that, I would like to now turn the call over to Ethan Brown.

請參閱今天的新聞稿，了解調整後的 EBITDA 與其最具可比性的 GAAP 指標的對賬情況。有了這個，我現在想把電話轉給 Ethan Brown。

Thank you, Teri, and good afternoon, everyone. The fourth quarter of 2022 and a challenging year for our business and category, one marked by persistently high inflation and trading down by consumers among proteins, slowing economy in key markets and increased competitive activity. Against this backdrop, we took decisive actions to set our business on the course to achieve cash flow positive operations in the second half of 2023, a target that we stand behind today.

謝謝泰瑞，大家下午好。 2022 年第四季度對我們的業務和類別來說是充滿挑戰的一年，這一年的特點是通貨膨脹率居高不下，消費者對蛋白質的交易減少，主要市場的經濟放緩，競爭活動增加。在此背景下，我們採取果斷行動，使我們的業務走上正軌，以在 2023 年下半年實現正現金流運營，這是我們今天實現的目標。

In order to accomplish this important milestone, as I shared in our last quarterly call, we are transitioning our business from an operating model that prioritize growth above all to one that prioritizes cash flow and sustainable long-term growth, and we are executing well against this goal. While there is still much meaningful work to do, we are pleased to report net revenues toward the high end of our guidance range, along with 14 percentage points of sequential gross margin improvement in the fourth quarter and over $12 million of OpEx reduction versus the third quarter.

為了實現這一重要的里程碑，正如我在上一個季度電話會議中所分享的那樣，我們正在將我們的業務從一種優先考慮增長的運營模式轉變為一種優先考慮現金流和可持續長期增長的模式，並且我們執行得很好這個目標。雖然仍有許多有意義的工作要做，但我們很高興地報告淨收入接近我們指導範圍的高端，第四季度毛利率環比提高 14 個百分點，與第三季度相比運營支出減少超過 1200 萬美元四分之一。

We are achieving these early wins as we focus on the 3 pillars of our full force pivot. As a reminder, these are as follows: first, the implementation of lean value streams across our beef, pork and poultry platforms with a laser focus on margin expansion and OpEx reduction; second, an emphasis on cash flow accretive inventory management with a near-term focus on profit dollars versus maximizing percent margin; and third, a focus on opportunities to support near-term growth and consumer trial and adoption, particularly in our core SKUs, appropriately balanced against streamlined activities in support of our most valuable long-term opportunities.

當我們專注於全力支點的三大支柱時，我們正在取得這些早期勝利。提醒一下，這些措施如下：首先，在我們的牛肉、豬肉和家禽平台上實施精益價值流，重點關注利潤率擴張和運營支出降低；其次，強調現金流增加的庫存管理，近期關注利潤美元而不是利潤率最大化；第三，關注支持近期增長和消費者試用和採用的機會，特別是在我們的核心 SKU 中，適當平衡精簡活動以支持我們最有價值的長期機會。

In my comments today, I will share more detail on our progress with respect to each of these pillars. I will then turn to the broader moment facing plant-based meat and our focus on taste, health and planet as we drive product innovation and connect with consumers on the very real benefits of our plant-based meats. Before diving in, let me pause here to bring back into focus the magnitude of what we are pursuing.

在我今天的評論中，我將更詳細地分享我們在每個支柱方面取得的進展。然後，我將轉向植物性肉類所面臨的更廣泛的時刻，以及我們在推動產品創新並就植物性肉類的真正好處與消費者建立聯繫時對口味、健康和地球的關注。在深入探討之前，讓我暫停一下，重新關注我們所追求的目標的重要性。

We believe the transition to plant-based meat is an important part of our global response to a rapidly deteriorating climate. We believe it is as vast and sweeping an opportunity as any that presents itself as we seek to course correct and stabilize our global climate. And as the history of innovation and disruption teaches us, we can expect that the recent in surrounding our sector, it reaches crescendo for succumbing to more reason reflection and expanding acceptance as our branded category achieves taste, health and price milestones along the path to mainstream adoption.

我們認為，向植物性肉類的過渡是我們全球應對迅速惡化的氣候的重要組成部分。我們相信，在我們尋求糾正和穩定全球氣候的過程中，這是一個巨大而全面的機會。正如創新和顛覆的歷史告訴我們的那樣，我們可以預期，隨著我們的品牌類別在口味、健康和價格方面達到主流道路上的里程碑，圍繞我們行業的近期事件將達到高潮，以屈服於更多的理性反思和擴大接受度採用。

To move through this cycle, however, as aforementioned, we pivoted from growth above all, what we believe is a sustainable long-term growth model, and nowhere is this transition more evident than in the centerpiece of our first pillar, the establishment of lean value stream management of our beef, pork and poultry platforms. As anyone who has implemented a lean transformation knows, fundamental transition does not occur overnight. We are no exception.

然而，如前所述，為了度過這個週期，我們首先從增長開始，我們認為這是一個可持續的長期增長模式，這種轉變在我們第一個支柱的核心——精益的建立——中表現得最為明顯我們的牛肉、豬肉和家禽平台的價值流管理。任何實施過精益轉型的人都知道，根本性轉型不會在一夜之間發生。我們也不例外。

However, we have confidence that the efforts properly done will, over time, generate outsized gains. We are demonstrating clear and meaningful early progress. Beginning with margin expansion, we were encouraged by the 14% improvement, which reflects, among other actions, our efforts to right size our production networks, in-source a greater fare of our production volumes and efficiently manage production staffing levels during the period of subdued volumes.

然而，我們相信，隨著時間的推移，正確完成的努力將產生巨大的收益。我們正在展示清晰而有意義的早期進展。從利潤率擴張開始，我們對 14% 的改善感到鼓舞，這反映了我們在 2019 年期間調整生產網絡規模、內包更多生產量以及有效管理生產人員配置水平等方面的努力。柔和的音量。

We restructured certain agreements and successfully reduced our North American external manufacturing footprint from a peak of 8 co-manufacturers in 2022 down to 3 today. This difficult but much need work to consolidate our network substantially reduces or eliminates all together, our exposure to certain underutilization or idle time penalties, allowing us to avoid an estimated $8 million of potential fees in 2023.

我們重組了某些協議，並成功地將我們在北美的外部製造足跡從 2022 年的 8 家合作製造商的峰值減少到今天的 3 家。這項困難但非常需要整合我們網絡的工作大大減少或消除了我們面臨的某些未充分利用或空閒時間懲罰的風險，使我們能夠在 2023 年避免估計 800 萬美元的潛在費用。

We plan to continue this optimization work with our co-manufacturing network as well as in-sourcing more of our volume as we progress. Also in support of margin restoration, we are restructuring certain operating activities related to Beyond Meat Jerky intended to drive further gains in the margin profile of this product line. Though we can't get into specifics today, we look forward to providing further information around these efforts in the near future.

我們計劃通過我們的聯合製造網絡繼續這項優化工作，並在我們取得進展時內包更多的產量。此外，為了支持利潤率恢復，我們正在重組與 Beyond Meat Jerky 相關的某些運營活動，旨在進一步提高該產品線的利潤率。雖然我們今天不能透露具體細節，但我們期待在不久的將來提供有關這些努力的更多信息。

Turning now to operating expenses. We were pleased that in 2022, we reduced our OpEx from $97.8 million in Q1 to $62.8 million in Q4, a 36% decrease that put operating expense below our mid-60s target that we provided during the Q3 earnings call. On a sequential basis, we reduced OpEx by $12.1 million or approximately 16%, reflecting early delivery against the $39 million in annualized cost savings we communicated in October.

現在轉向運營費用。我們很高興在 2022 年將運營支出從第一季度的 9780 萬美元減少到第四季度的 6280 萬美元，減少了 36%，使運營支出低於我們在第三季度財報電話會議上提供的 60 年代中期目標。在連續的基礎上，我們將運營支出減少了 1210 萬美元或約 16%，反映了提前交付與我們在 10 月份公佈的 3900 萬美元的年度成本節省相比。

In the near term, we think Q4 is generally representative of our expected level of spending on a quarterly basis. However, over the long term, beyond 2023, we expect to pursue further efficiencies through our lean program generally, greater investments in automation and business process optimization, tighter transportation management and source to procure processes, among others.

在短期內，我們認為第四季度總體上代表了我們預期的季度支出水平。然而，從長遠來看，到 2023 年以後，我們預計將通過我們的精益計劃、加大對自動化和業務流程優化的投資、更嚴格的運輸管理和採購流程來源等來進一步提高效率。

Importantly, these investments are either already underway or in the late stages of evaluation. Additionally, as we exit 2023, we expect to benefit operationally from the ongoing consolidation of our real estate footprint here in the Los Angeles area, as we transition all of our LA-based employees to our new headquarters facilities and begin to exit some of our other existing leases. We believe that fast-pace innovation, specifically the Beyond Meat rapid and relentless innovation program, is not well served by the dispersed workforce to characterize COVID in much of the last several years.

重要的是，這些投資要么已經在進行中，要么處於評估的後期階段。此外，隨著我們在 2023 年退出，隨著我們將所有駐洛杉磯的員工轉移到我們的新總部設施並開始退出我們的一些業務，我們預計將從我們在洛杉磯地區的房地產足蹟的持續整合中獲益。其他現有租約。我們認為，在過去幾年的大部分時間裡，分散的勞動力並沒有很好地服務於快節奏的創新，特別是 Beyond Meat 快速和不懈的創新計劃。

As we bring more of the employees into our new headquarters and enforce our operating model in which remote work is the exception and not the norm, we expect to benefit from the immensely valuable energy and productivity that come from sustained, focused in-person collaboration and problem solving.

隨著我們將更多員工帶入新總部並實施以遠程工作為例外而非常態的運營模式，我們期望從持續、專注的面對面協作和解決問題。

Moving now to our second pillar, aggressive management and reduction of our inventory. We can report that we reduced our inventory balance by $48 million or 17% from Q1 to Q4, allowing us to deliver on our 2022 objective of having inventory to be a net generator of cash for the year. We intend to accelerate this momentum in 2023. Here again, we are relying on lean value streams across beef, pork and poultry to increase visibility into and focus on optimal inventory levels and have recently invested in systems that we believe will substantially improve our ability to manage inventories across our global network of manufacturing sites and warehouses.

現在轉到我們的第二個支柱，積極的管理和減少我們的庫存。我們可以報告說，從第一季度到第四季度，我們的庫存餘額減少了 4800 萬美元或 17%，這使我們能夠實現 2022 年的目標，即讓庫存成為當年的淨現金產生者。我們打算在 2023 年加速這一勢頭。在這裡，我們再次依靠牛肉、豬肉和家禽的精益價值流來提高對最佳庫存水平的了解並關注最佳庫存水平，並且最近投資了我們認為將大大提高我們能力的系統管理我們全球製造基地和倉庫網絡中的庫存。

Big ticket items include pace and timing of our committed P-protein deliveries, resetting our WIP and finished goods stock to levels to better align with our anticipated production volumes and demand levels and exploring alternative avenues for inventory items with greater than required current stock levels, among others. Increasing sales velocity, especially on our core items, is, of course, the most effective and cash flow accretive way to work down our inventory levels.

大件項目包括我們承諾的 P 蛋白交付的速度和時間，將我們的 WIP 和成品庫存重置到一定水平以更好地符合我們預期的產量和需求水平，並為當前庫存水平高於要求的庫存項目探索替代途徑，除其他外。提高銷售速度，尤其是我們的核心產品，當然是降低庫存水平最有效和增加現金流的方法。

In this regard, as we shared on our last call, we have designed certain time-bound trials and pricing programs to drive stronger velocities, and we are encouraged by early results. Specifically, where we have implemented such programs, we have been pleased to see not only an acceleration in unit velocity but importantly, an increase in takeaway dollar growth as well. Success of these pricing tests and programs reinforce at least 2 important points about our current and long-term value proposition.

在這方面，正如我們在上次電話會議上分享的那樣，我們設計了某些有時限的試驗和定價計劃來推動更快的速度，我們對早期結果感到鼓舞。具體來說，在我們實施此類計劃的地方，我們很高興不僅看到單位速度的加快，而且重要的是，外賣美元的增長也有所增加。這些定價測試和計劃的成功至少強化了我們當前和長期價值主張的兩個要點。

First, as I've noted previously, it seems reasonable that consumers may retreat from protein that can be 2x the price of which animal-based equivalent during periods of intense inflation and reduced buying power, and that a reduction in price given this dynamic would spur increased consumption. Second, the success of these timeline pricing test, points centrality of our cost down initiative and our goal of putting in place unit economics that support price parity of animal protein over time.

首先，正如我之前指出的那樣，在通貨膨脹加劇和購買力下降的時期，消費者可能會放棄價格可能是動物性等價物 2 倍的蛋白質，這似乎是合理的，並且鑑於這種動態，價格下降會刺激消費增長。其次，這些時間表定價測試的成功表明了我們降低成本計劃的中心地位以及我們實施支持動物蛋白價格平價的單位經濟學的目標。

I'll now move to our third pillar that is specific actions to encourage near-term growth even as we remain committed to our most valuable long-term opportunities. One, we continue to focus on restoring growth within our core product offerings in the fresh section of grocery by working closely with our retailers on target promotions, bringing innovation to our core fresh product set and clear messaging around the taste, health and planetary benefits of going beyond.

我現在將轉向我們的第三個支柱，即鼓勵近期增長的具體行動，即使我們仍然致力於我們最有價值的長期機會。第一，我們通過與零售商密切合作進行有針對性的促銷活動，繼續專注於恢復雜貨生鮮部分核心產品的增長，為我們的核心生鮮產品系列帶來創新，並圍繞食品的口味、健康和地球利益明確傳達信息超越。

Two, we are expanding our brand lock in the frozen section, including increasing distribution of our latest award-winning products, Beyond Steak, as well as bringing new innovation from our poultry platform to this part of the store. Three, turning to general Foodservice. We are seeing some early wins in a more narrowly focused set of priority segments and look forward to sharing these with you as the year progresses.

第二，我們正在擴大我們在冷凍區的品牌鎖，包括增加我們最新獲獎產品 Beyond Steak 的分銷，以及將我們家禽平台的新創新帶到商店的這一部分。三，轉向一般餐飲服務。我們在一組範圍更窄的優先領域中看到了一些早期成果，並期待隨著時間的推移與您分享這些成果。

On the subject of strategic partners, we are thrilled to highlight the growing success of the McPlant platform as illustrated by, among other developments, the addition of McPlant Nuggets in Germany as a regular menu item across 1,400 locations nationwide, along with the McPlant Burger. McPlant Nuggets are the second plant-based protein co-developed by Beyond Meat as part of the McPlant platform and will also be offered as an option in Happy Meals in Germany.

在戰略合作夥伴的主題上，我們很高興地強調 McPlant 平台的日益成功，除其他發展外，德國的 McPlant Nuggets 與 McPlant Burger 一起作為德國 1,400 個地點的常規菜單項。 McPlant Nuggets 是 Beyond Meat 共同開發的第二種基於植物的蛋白質，是 McPlant 平台的一部分，也將作為德國 Happy Meals 的一種選擇提供。

We are also pleased to share that after a successful launch of the McPlant Burger in the U.K. and Ireland last year, the Double McPlant was recently introduced across U.K. and Ireland restaurants nationwide for limited time. In Austria, the smoky barbecue McPlant Burger was recently introduced for a limited time, joining the McPlant Burger that is now a regular menu item. McPlant Burger continues to be offered for a limited time across Portugal while remaining a regular menu item in the U.K., Ireland, Austria and the Netherlands.

我們也很高興地與大家分享，繼去年在英國和愛爾蘭成功推出 McPlant Burger 之後，Double McPlant 最近在英國和愛爾蘭的全國餐廳限時推出。在奧地利，煙熏烤肉 McPlant Burger 最近限時推出，與現在成為常規菜單項的 McPlant Burger 一起推出。 McPlant Burger 繼續在葡萄牙限時供應，同時在英國、愛爾蘭、奧地利和荷蘭仍然是常規菜單項。

Turning to Yum!. Our products are regular menu items at Pizza Hut restaurants across Canada, the U.K., Singapore, El Salvador, Guatemala and Sweden. I'd like to now turn focus to the important topic of the health and nutritional profile of our products. The drummed up misperception that our products are overly processed and utilized complex ingredients, coupled with misguided comparison of our products to hold vegetables instead of the animal meats they are intended to replace comes at a cost. The cost, in my view, can be measured in human health.

轉向百勝！我們的產品是加拿大、英國、新加坡、薩爾瓦多、危地馬拉和瑞典必勝客餐廳的常規菜單項目。我現在想把注意力轉移到我們產品的健康和營養狀況這一重要話題上。人們錯誤地認為我們的產品經過過度加工並使用了複雜的成分，再加上誤將我們的產品與蔬菜而不是它們打算替代的動物肉進行比較，這些都是有代價的。在我看來，成本可以用人類健康來衡量。

A return to our 5-year research program, the Stanford University School of Medicine, the Plant-Based Diet Initiative. You may recall the program's first clinical trial published in the prestigious American Journal of Clinical Nutrition assessed a group of healthy adults alternated between an 8-week period consuming animal protein, 2 or more times a day, and an 8-week period consuming Beyond Meat products, 2 or more times a day.

回到我們為期 5 年的研究項目，斯坦福大學醫學院，植物性飲食計劃。您可能還記得該計劃在著名的《美國臨床營養學雜誌》上發表的第一項臨床試驗評估了一組健康成年人，他們在每天 2 次或更多次食用動物蛋白的 8 週時間和食用 Beyond Meat 的 8 週時間之間交替產品，每天 2 次或更多次。

Now here is the important part to focus on. For the 8-week period when the participants consumed Beyond Meat, researchers found statistically and clinically significant drop in LDL cholesterol, what is commonly referred to as bad cholesterol. Researchers further found a decline in TMAO, the compound found in the gut that is associated with heart disease and certain cancers. We will continue to support such studies without control over design or outcome.

現在這裡是要關注的重要部分。在參與者食用 Beyond Meat 的 8 週期間，研究人員發現低密度脂蛋白膽固醇（通常被稱為壞膽固醇）在統計學和臨床上顯著下降。研究人員進一步發現 TMAO 有所下降，TMAO 是一種在腸道中發現的與心髒病和某些癌症有關的化合物。我們將繼續支持此類研究，而無需控制設計或結果。

As we've announced, we have recently expanded our work in this area through a 3-year agreement with the American Cancer Society to advance research on plant-based meat and cancer prevention while expanding the relevant clinical database. One of the most recent and exciting embodiments of our commitment to health is Beyond Steak. I'm very proud of all those who worked so hard to bring Beyond Steak to life.

正如我們所宣布的，我們最近通過與美國癌症協會達成為期 3 年的協議，擴大了我們在這一領域的工作，以推進植物性肉類和癌症預防的研究，同時擴大相關的臨床數據庫。 Beyond Steak 是我們對健康的承諾的最新和令人興奮的體現之一。我為所有努力工作使 Beyond Steak 栩栩如生的人感到非常自豪。

It is a shining example of our brand promise to tirelessly innovate toward a north star that not only delights in terms of taste but also delivers clear nutritional benefits relative to animal protein equivalents. As I've noted, this product had the distinct honor of being named Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2022 with a headline describing it as "A healthier steak" and a cover mention highlighting Beyond Steak delicious taste.

這是我們品牌承諾的一個光輝例子，我們將不懈地創新北極星，不僅在口味方面令人愉悅，而且相對於動物蛋白等效物還具有明顯的營養價值。正如我所指出的，該產品非常榮幸地被《時代》雜誌評為 2022 年最佳發明，標題將其描述為“更健康的牛排”，並在封面上強調了 Beyond Steak 的美味。

Let's unpack why the product earned the headline of a healthier steak. Beyond Steak includes 21 grams of protein and contains only 1 gram of saturated fat and 170 calories per serving, with no cholesterol and no added hormones or antibiotics. This can be contrasted with the serving of a leading brand of animal protein steak strips. With Beyond Steak offering 15% more protein, 62% less saturated fat and zero cholesterol compared with 50 milligrams per serving.

讓我們來解釋一下為什麼該產品獲得了健康牛排的頭條新聞。 Beyond Steak 每份含 21 克蛋白質，僅含 1 克飽和脂肪和 170 卡路里熱量，不含膽固醇，也未添加激素或抗生素。這可以與領先品牌的動物蛋白牛排條的服務形成對比。與每份 50 毫克相比，Beyond Steak 可提供多 15% 的蛋白質、少 62% 的飽和脂肪和零膽固醇。

Beyond Steak's clean ingredient deck is also worthy of focus. It is as follows: water, wheat gluten, faba bean protein, expeller pressed canola oil, salt, natural flavor. There is then less than 1% of the following: spice, garlic powder, onion powder, pomegranate concentrate, yeast extract, sunflower lecithin, fruits and vegetable juice color.

Beyond Steak 的 clean ingredient deck 也值得關注。它如下：水，小麥麵筋，蠶豆蛋白，壓榨菜籽油，鹽，天然香料。以下物質的含量不到 1%：香料、大蒜粉、洋蔥粉、濃縮石榴、酵母提取物、向日葵卵磷脂、水果和蔬菜汁色素。

As with our other products, the striated muscle structure of the steak piece itself is accomplished by running plant protein through heating, cooling and pressure. A physical rather than chemical process which utilizes intellectual property we've developed on equipment that in other sectors of the food industry is used to produce such staples as pastas and cereals. Moving past our process and ingredient deck, before leaving Beyond Steak, I'd like to now turn to the faba bean itself.

與我們的其他產品一樣，牛排本身的橫紋肌結構是通過加熱、冷卻和加壓運行植物蛋白來實現的。一種物理而非化學過程，它利用我們在食品工業其他部門的設備上開發的知識產權來生產意大利面和穀物等主食。在離開 Beyond Steak 之前，通過我們的流程和配料平台，我現在想談談蠶豆本身。

I will be traveling next week to the Dakotas to meet with some of the farmers who grow the faba beans from which our protein is sourced. As I've spoken about many times, I have deeply rooted respect for the American farmer, including those whose family farms center on animal agriculture. I am intimately aware of the entrepreneurial journey they are on, often across generations, the difficulty in financial risk associated with their work and the critically important role they play in our culture and economy.

下週我將前往達科他州，與一些種植我們蛋白質來源蠶豆的農民會面。正如我多次提到的，我對美國農民有著根深蒂固的尊重，包括那些家庭農場以畜牧業為中心的農民。我非常清楚他們所經歷的創業之旅（通常是跨越幾代人）、與他們的工作相關的財務風險困難以及他們在我們的文化和經濟中發揮的至關重要的作用。

It is my strong and informed belief that the innovation and shift in protein we are pursuing is broadly an economic win for American Agriculture. And in our messaging this year, I look forward to taking the consumer back to the farm to learn about how the protein for our plant-based steak has grown, the expanded economic benefits that accrue to the farmer and the attendant sustainability gains for soil, climate and water.

我堅信，我們所追求的蛋白質創新和轉變是美國農業的廣泛經濟勝利。在我們今年的信息傳遞中，我期待著將消費者帶回農場，了解我們的植物牛排中的蛋白質是如何生長的、農民增加的經濟效益以及隨之而來的土壤可持續性收益，氣候和水。

There is goodness here. And along with our growers, we are proud of it. With that, I'll turn it over to Lubi, our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. He'll walk through our fourth quarter financial results in greater detail as well as our outlook for 2023.

這裡有善良。我們和我們的種植者一起為此感到自豪。有了這個，我將把它交給我們的首席財務官兼財務主管 Lubi。他將更詳細地介紹我們第四季度的財務業績以及我們對 2023 年的展望。

Thanks, Ethan. Our fourth quarter results were in line with or ahead of our expectations across the P&L, reflecting the progress our team has demonstrated in executing against our operating plan. We recorded net revenues of $79.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, representing a 21% decrease compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.

謝謝，伊桑。我們第四季度的業績符合或超過了我們對整個損益表的預期，反映了我們的團隊在執行我們的運營計劃方面取得的進展。我們在 2022 年第四季度錄得 7990 萬美元的淨收入，與 2021 年第四季度相比下降了 21%。

For the full year 2022, this translates to net revenue of $419 million towards the high end of the guidance range of $400 million to $425 million that we provided at Q3 earnings. As we have shared on our recent earnings calls, our top line results primarily continue to reflect soft demand in the plant-based meat category, particularly within our core subcategory of refrigerated.

對於 2022 年全年，這意味著淨收入為 4.19 億美元，接近我們在第三季度收益中提供的 4 億美元至 4.25 億美元指導範圍的高端。正如我們在最近的財報電話會議上分享的那樣，我們的頂級業績主要繼續反映了植物性肉類類別的疲軟需求，特別是在我們的核心冷藏子類別中。

And as Ethan mentioned, we believe persistently high inflation, a slowing economy, increased competition and trading down behavior by consumers among proteins are all negatively impacting growth for our category and our brand, but we do believe this is transitory. In aggregate, total volumes sold during the fourth quarter of 2022 declined 16.9% compared to the year ago period, primarily as a result of the macro factors I just described, while net revenue per pound decreased approximately 4.4% year-over-year.

正如 Ethan 所提到的，我們認為持續高通脹、經濟放緩、競爭加劇以及消費者在蛋白質之間的交易行為都對我們的品類和品牌的增長產生負面影響，但我們相信這是暫時的。總體而言，2022 年第四季度的總銷量與去年同期相比下降了 16.9%，這主要是由於我剛才描述的宏觀因素，而每磅淨收入同比下降了約 4.4%。

The decrease in net revenue per pound was primarily attributable to strategic but limited price reductions in the U.S. and broader list price reductions in the EU, increased trade discounts and unfavorable changes in foreign exchange rates, partially offset by changes in sales mix.

每磅淨收入的減少主要是由於美國的戰略性但有限的降價和歐盟更廣泛的標價下調、貿易折扣增加和外匯匯率的不利變化，部分被銷售組合的變化所抵消。

Turning to gross profit. Gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2022 was a loss of $2.9 million or minus 3.7% of net revenues as compared to $14.2 million or 14.1% of net revenues in the year ago period. This result reflected a better-than-expected sequential improvement of just over 14 percentage points versus the prior quarter. On a year-over-year basis and excluding the impact of Jerky, the decrease in gross margin in the fourth quarter was primarily attributable to increased inventory reserves, reduced net revenue per pound and higher material and logistics cost per pound, partially offset by reduced manufacturing costs per pound, including depreciation.

轉向毛利。 2022 年第四季度的毛利潤為虧損 290 萬美元或淨收入的負 3.7%，而去年同期為 1420 萬美元或淨收入的 14.1%。這一結果反映出比上一季度好於預期的環比改善略高於 14 個百分點。與去年同期相比，排除肉乾的影響，第四季度毛利率下降的主要原因是庫存儲備增加、每磅淨收入減少以及每磅材料和物流成本增加，部分被減少所抵消每磅製造成本，包括折舊。

With respect to Jerky and in addition to the aforementioned factors, we realized the benefit of $3.6 million resulting from actions taken to restructure certain contracts and operating activities related to Beyond Meat Jerky. As Ethan mentioned, we will provide further information around these efforts in the near future.

關於肉乾，除了上述因素外，我們還實現了 360 萬美元的收益，這些收益來自為重組與 Beyond Meat Jerky 相關的某些合同和運營活動而採取的行動。正如 Ethan 提到的，我們將在不久的將來提供有關這些努力的更多信息。

Turning to OpEx. Operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2022 were $62.8 million, down approximately 32% year-over-year and 16% quarter-over-quarter, reflecting our focus on rightsizing our expense base. The year-over-year decrease in operating expenses was primarily driven by lower nonpeople, general and administrative expenses, largely attributable to decreased consulting fees, reduced production trial activities, lower marketing expenses and reduced people expenses, including stock-based compensation.

轉向運營支出。 2022 年第四季度的運營費用為 6280 萬美元，同比下降約 32%，環比下降 16%，反映出我們專注於調整支出基礎。運營費用的同比下降主要是由於非人事、一般和行政費用的減少，這主要是由於諮詢費減少、生產試驗活動減少、營銷費用減少和人員費用減少，包括基於股票的薪酬。

The sequential decrease in operating expenses was primarily driven by reduced marketing expense, lower restructuring costs which consists mainly of legal fees and reduced people expenses, including stock-based compensation. Moving further down the P&L. Loss from our unconsolidated joint venture increased from $1.8 million in the year ago period to $8.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, primarily reflecting an increase in inventory reserve at TPP.

運營費用的環比下降主要是由於營銷費用減少、重組成本降低（主要包括法律費用）和人員費用減少（包括基於股票的薪酬）。進一步降低損益。我們未合併的合資企業的虧損從去年同期的 180 萬美元增加到 2022 年第四季度的 810 萬美元，這主要反映了 TPP 庫存儲備的增加。

Overall net loss in the fourth quarter of 2022 was $66.9 million or net loss of $1.05 per common share compared to net loss of $80.4 million in the year ago period or net loss per common share of $1.27. Now turning to our balance sheet and cash flow highlights. Our cash and cash equivalents balance, including restricted cash, was $322.5 million, and total debt outstanding was approximately $1.1 billion as of December 31, 2022. Net cash used in operating activities for the 3 months ended December 31, 2022, was $51.7 million, a $59 million decrease compared to $110.3 million in net cash used in operating activities in the year ago period.

2022 年第四季度的總體淨虧損為 6690 萬美元或每股普通股淨虧損 1.05 美元，而去年同期為淨虧損 8040 萬美元或每股普通股淨虧損 1.27 美元。現在轉向我們的資產負債表和現金流亮點。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日，我們的現金和現金等價物餘額（包括受限制的現金）為 3.225 億美元，未償債務總額約為 11 億美元。截至 2022 年 12 月 31 日的三個月，用於經營活動的現金淨額為 5170 萬美元，與去年同期用於經營活動的淨現金 1.103 億美元相比，減少了 5900 萬美元。

Within cash flows from investing activities, capital expenditures totaled $10.5 million in Q4 of 2022 compared to $31.7 million in the year ago period. Cash flows from investing activities also included $3.3 million related to investments in our joint venture. Let me now provide some commentary about our 2023 outlook. We expect net revenues to be in the range of $375 million to $415 million, representing a decrease of approximately 10% to 1% compared to the full year 2022.

在投資活動產生的現金流中，2022 年第四季度的資本支出總計 1050 萬美元，而去年同期為 3170 萬美元。來自投資活動的現金流量還包括與合資企業投資相關的 330 萬美元。現在讓我對我們的 2023 年展望發表一些評論。我們預計淨收入將在 3.75 億美元至 4.15 億美元之間，與 2022 年全年相比下降約 10% 至 1%。

In terms of the distribution of revenues for the year, on a percentage basis compared to their respective year ago periods, we projected net sales decline in the mid-teens range in the first half of 2023 and net sales growth in the low double-digit range in the second half of 2023. Gross margin is expected to be in the low double-digit range for the full year 2023, beginning the year slightly positive and increasing sequentially throughout the year.

在今年的收入分配方面，與各自的去年同期相比，我們預計 2023 年上半年的淨銷售額下降幅度在十幾歲左右，淨銷售額增長在低兩位數2023年下半年的毛利率預計將在2023年全年處於兩位數的低位區間，年初略為正，全年環比增長。

Total operating expense is expected to be approximately $250 million for the full year 2023, weighted slightly more heavily towards the front half of the year as we expect to invest disproportionately more behind marketing activities in the first half. Finally, capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $30 million to $35 million for the full year, down from $70.5 million in 2022, and we continue to target the achievement of positive free cash flow defined as cash flow from operations less capital expenditures within the second half of 2023.

預計 2023 年全年的總運營費用約為 2.5 億美元，上半年的權重略高，因為我們預計上半年將不成比例地投資更多的營銷活動。最後，預計全年資本支出將在 3000 萬至 3500 萬美元之間，低於 2022 年的 7050 萬美元，我們繼續以實現正自由現金流為目標，定義為運營現金流減去資本支出2023年下半年。

As we shared on our last call and as Ethan reiterated earlier, we will also maintain our strong focus on drawing down inventory level as a key lever to achieving our cash flow positive objective within the second half of the year. Generally speaking, as opposed to focusing on outright growth, our 2023 outlook reflects our renewed focus on stabilizing our core business, prioritizing only those new product innovations which we believe will be most accretive to long-term growth, rightsizing our operations and reducing operating expenses in support of near-term margin expansion and ultimately, better positioning our company for more sustainable long-term profitable growth.

正如我們在上次電話會議上分享的那樣以及 Ethan 早些時候重申的那樣，我們還將繼續重點關注降低庫存水平，以此作為在今年下半年實現正現金流目標的關鍵槓桿。一般來說，與專注於直接增長相反，我們的 2023 年展望反映了我們重新關注穩定我們的核心業務，僅優先考慮那些我們認為最有利於長期增長的新產品創新，合理調整我們的運營並減少運營費用以支持近期利潤率擴張，並最終更好地定位我們公司，實現更可持續的長期盈利增長。

While the growth of our category has slowed, due in part to macro pressures outside of our control, we continue to believe that the long-term opportunity for plant-based meat remains substantial. This perspective is grounded in the fact that each of the key elements of the thesis that supports long-term growth in our category are just as relevant today as they were 3 years ago, if not more so.

雖然我們類別的增長已經放緩，部分原因是我們無法控制的宏觀壓力，但我們仍然相信植物性肉類的長期機會仍然很大。這種觀點基於這樣一個事實，即支持我們類別長期增長的論文的每個關鍵要素在今天與 3 年前一樣重要，如果不是更重要的話。

Specifically, these are concerns related to climate change, human health, natural resource conservation and animal welfare, for which our industry is acknowledged to be a core solution within the scientific community. Therefore, although we are projecting a year of flattish to lower revenues in 2023, our optimism about an eventual return to growth in our category remains undiminished, and we are taking decisive measures this year to position ourselves for continued leadership within this category for many years to come.

具體而言，這些問題與氣候變化、人類健康、自然資源保護和動物福利有關，我們的行業被公認為是科學界的核心解決方案。因此，儘管我們預計 2023 年收入將持平或下降，但我們對我們類別最終恢復增長的樂觀情緒並未減弱，我們今年將採取果斷措施，使自己在這一類別中保持多年領先地位來。

With that, I'll conclude my remarks and turn the call back over to the operator to open it up for your questions. Thank you.

至此，我將結束我的發言，並將電話轉回給接線員，以便為您提問。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question today comes from Ken Goldman from JPMorgan.

（操作員說明）我們今天的第一個問題來自摩根大通的 Ken Goldman。

I wanted to ask a little bit about the guidance for 2H '23 sales to grow in that low double-digit range. Ethan, you mentioned there are some headwinds right now in terms of consumer challenges trading down a little bit, maybe some misunderstandings about your product ingredients. I'm not sure if you're expecting those to kind of reverse a little bit in the back half? I wanted to maybe get a little bit of a better sense of what the key drivers are that maybe underpin that outlook for growth to rebound that way.

我想問一些關於 2H '23 銷售額在那個低兩位數範圍內增長的指導。 Ethan，你提到現在在消費者挑戰交易方面存在一些不利因素，可能是對你的產品成分的一些誤解。我不確定你是否期望那些在後半部分有點逆轉？我想或許能更好地了解哪些關鍵驅動因素可能會支撐這種增長前景以這種方式反彈。

Yes, sure. Ken, thank you for the question. I appreciate it and good to hear from you. So I think, first, I want to ground the discussion in the context. If you look at the third and fourth quarter of '22, those were not massive numbers that we need to lap. So in part, we have a pretty good starting point for growth in the second half of the year. That's different from, for example, the much larger or higher borrower we have to pass over in the second quarter of this year relative to the second quarter of last.

是的，當然。肯，謝謝你的提問。我很感激，很高興收到你的來信。所以我認為，首先，我想根據上下文進行討論。如果你看一下 22 年的第三和第四季度，那些並不是我們需要超越的大量數據。因此，在某種程度上，我們有一個很好的下半年增長起點。例如，與去年第二季度相比，今年第二季度我們必須放棄的借款人規模更大或更高。

But it's not so much dependent on cleaning up the health narrative or getting consumers not to trade down. There's more to do with some of the actions that we feel we have more control over. And that seems like the pricing programs that we put in place and are testing now, where we're seeing very good unit velocity responses and some pretty solid revenue gains in that regard, those tests are very limited to the -- so showing up in broader spins data.

但這並不太依賴於清理健康敘事或讓消費者不要降價交易。我們覺得我們可以更好地控制一些行動。這似乎是我們實施並正在測試的定價程序，我們看到非常好的單位速度響應和在這方面的一些相當可觀的收入增長，這些測試非常限於 - 所以出現在更廣泛的旋轉數據。

The marketing campaigns that we have in place, both at the top of the funnel in terms of our air game and then also down lower in the funnel specially ground game, that will be coming into fruition across the summer. We feel good about. And then we have some line extensions that I'm personally excited about as well as renovations. So when we talk about renovation, if you look at our beef, pork and poultry platform, as you know, we've always tried to disrupt ourselves and replace our own products on the shelf with better products, and we try to do that on an annual basis.

我們開展的營銷活動，無論是在我們的空中游戲漏斗的頂部，還是在漏斗的底部，特別是地面遊戲，都將在整個夏天取得成果。我們感覺很好。然後我們有一些我個人很興奮的線路擴展以及翻新。因此，當我們談論翻新時，如果您看看我們的牛肉、豬肉和家禽平台，如您所知，我們一直試圖顛覆自己，用更好的產品替換貨架上的我們自己的產品，我們嘗試在每年一次。

And so this year, you'll see some activity from us there that we're quite excited about. But this gets back to the kind of third pillar of our strategy. If I were to list those out, the first really is breaking into these lean value streams across beef, pork and poultry and driving, margin expansion and OpEx reduction through that focused management of each of those platforms. And second part, the second pillar would be around the aggressive inventory reduction.

所以今年，你會看到我們在那裡開展的一些活動，我們對此感到非常興奮。但這又回到了我們戰略的第三大支柱。如果我要列出這些，首先是通過對每個平台的集中管理，打入牛肉、豬肉和家禽的這些精益價值流，並推動、擴大利潤和減少運營支出。第二部分，第二個支柱將圍繞積極減少庫存。

Our inventory levels are too high. We understand that, and we're bringing them down substantially. And then the third is this focus on near-term growth drivers. And that's really the programs that I just outlined or what's going to carry us in the second half of this year. That's domestic. If you look internationally, we're seeing some distribution gains that we expect across 23 internationally. We've been doing some good work on shelf-life extension, which should give us access to some additional markets in Europe.

我們的庫存水平太高了。我們理解這一點，並且我們正在大幅降低它們。第三是關注近期增長動力。這確實是我剛剛概述的計劃，或者將在今年下半年為我們帶來的計劃。那是國內的如果你放眼國際，我們會看到我們預期在 23 個國際市場上的一些分銷收益。我們一直在延長保質期方面做一些很好的工作，這應該讓我們能夠進入歐洲的一些額外市場。

We're doing some new product introductions in Europe. And of course, we have the Foodservice activities that hopefully you guys have been able to focus on in Europe with some sort of our major strategic partners. And then lastly, we have some exchange rate tailwinds that we're going to be enjoying. So I think those things are primarily what gives us confidence around the second half of the year relative to the baseline that we need to cross over.

我們正在歐洲做一些新產品介紹。當然，我們有餐飲服務活動，希望你們能夠與我們的一些主要戰略合作夥伴一起在歐洲關注這些活動。最後，我們將享受一些匯率順風。所以我認為這些事情主要是讓我們在今年下半年相對於我們需要跨越的基線充滿信心。

Got it. That makes sense. I guess, if I can ask a quick follow-up to that. It's great to hear about some of your tests with price are resulting in some strong unit rebounds. I forget the exact word you said. But recently, we've seen both price investments on your part and volumes reduced. And I realize, to your point, there will be much easier comparisons in the back half of next year. And I know I'm going to stick too long in the subject.

知道了。這就說得通了。我想，如果我可以要求快速跟進。很高興聽到你們的一些價格測試導致了一些強勁的單位反彈。我忘了你說的確切詞。但最近，我們看到你們的價格投資和數量都減少了。我意識到，就你的觀點而言，明年下半年會有更容易的比較。我知道我會在這個主題上停留太久。

But what should we be looking for that's different this time, right, versus the last couple of quarters when you also had some maybe pricing that was down and volume down at the same time because it sounds like you're requiring volumes to really rebound in the back half of next year. And again, you mentioned some other reasons why too. I just wanted to make kind of parse out what's different than what we see in the last couple of quarters.

但是這次我們應該尋找什麼不同，對吧，與過去幾個季度相比，當時你也有一些可能的價格下降和銷量同時下降，因為聽起來你需要銷量才能真正反彈明年下半年。再一次，你也提到了其他一些原因。我只是想分析一下與我們在過去幾個季度看到的有什麼不同。

Sure. I mean I think the other piece, if you take in totality, our comments around the year and you look at the first half of the year, and we're saying, look, that's going to be down. So there's a reason for that right now has to do potentially with distribution across the year. We had very strong orders in the latest part of the second quarter last year as people got ready from the 4th July. We're not expecting that same level of concentrated buying. And so I think that in part automatically gives you some strength coming into the second half of the year.

當然。我的意思是，我認為另一部分，如果你把我們全年的評論全部考慮進去，看看上半年，我們會說，看，那將會下降。因此，現在有一個原因可能與全年的分銷有關。由於人們從 7 月 4 日開始準備，我們在去年第二季度的最後一部分收到了非常強勁的訂單。我們預計不會出現同樣水平的集中購買。所以我認為這在一定程度上會自動給你一些進入下半年的力量。

So on your question around pricing measures, this is not really around trade so much. This is around a kind of strategic look at teasing out what happens when the consumer faces a decision to buy animal protein or Beyond Meat with a price delta that is not as significant as it's been in the past, right? And so we're doing these target tests, not only sort of more closely around that question versus just a discount, but also in retail segments that we know the consumer is more likely to respond to our brand than in other segments.

所以關於你關於定價措施的問題，這並不是真正圍繞貿易。這是圍繞一種戰略眼光來梳理當消費者面臨購買動物蛋白或 Beyond Meat 的決定時會發生什麼，其價格增量不像過去那樣重要，對嗎？因此，我們正在進行這些目標測試，不僅更接近這個問題，而不僅僅是折扣，而且在零售領域，我們知道消費者比其他領域更有可能對我們的品牌做出反應。

So there's a highly focused nature to the pricing tests. And we're also applying that same discipline and focus around these pricing tests in the Foodservice space, where instead of offering kind of a blanket discount, we're looking at segments where the consumer is far more interested in our value proposition, and we've talked about this at length, but I'll just cover it very briefly.

因此，定價測試具有高度集中的性質。我們也在餐飲服務領域應用同樣的原則並關注這些定價測試，我們不是提供全面折扣，而是關註消費者對我們的價值主張更感興趣的細分市場，我們已經詳細討論了這一點，但我將非常簡要地介紹它。

For folks that are older, 40 and older tends to be really around the health message and the benefits they can derive from going beyond. For folks who are younger, let's say, still in school age in their 20s and 30s, they are much more receptive to our climate messaging and the climate benefits that we're able to bring to their consumption choices. And so we're coupling our pricing with those types of messages for the right consumer in the right demographic.

對於年齡較大的人來說，40 歲及以上的人往往真正關注健康信息以及他們可以從超越中獲得的好處。對於更年輕的人來說，比方說，還在 20 多歲和 30 多歲的上學年齡，他們更容易接受我們的氣候信息以及我們能夠為他們的消費選擇帶來的氣候效益。因此，我們將我們的定價與針對正確人群中正確消費者的這些類型的消息相結合。

Our next question comes...

我們的下一個問題來了......

(inaudible) about the Eagles but I'll do that for the follow-up call. Keep going.

（聽不清）關於老鷹隊的事，但我會在後續電話會議上這樣做。繼續前進。

Our next question comes from Peter Galbo from Bank of America.

我們的下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Peter Galbo。

Maybe Lubi, just to start as a clarification point, like in the revenue guidance, understanding the differences between first and second half, but just how much of that is the shipping factor from Steak? Obviously, I know you're going to be lapping Turkey from last year, but how much contribution are you at least embedding from Steak product in '23?

也許 Lubi，只是作為一個澄清點開始，就像在收入指導中一樣，了解上半年和下半年的差異，但其中有多少是來自牛排的運輸因素？顯然，我知道你將從去年開始對土耳其進行研磨，但你至少從 23 年的牛排產品中嵌入了多少貢獻？

Yes. I think certainly, Steak is going to be a more of a contributor to our revenue growth in 2023, then obviously, it was in 2022 because we introduced it pretty late in the year last year. And so it will be a driver, I think, throughout the year. The real driver, I think, of the difference in terms of the revenue cadence, the delivery of revenue for 2023 is related to some of the factors that Ethan talked about, right?

是的。我認為牛排肯定會在 2023 年為我們的收入增長做出更大的貢獻，然後顯然是在 2022 年，因為我們去年很晚才推出它。因此，我認為它將成為全年的驅動力。我認為，收入節奏差異的真正驅動因素是 2023 年的收入交付與 Ethan 談到的一些因素有關，對吧？

So in the near term, we are lapping a stronger first half of 2022. And the category trends, obviously, have been relatively soft in the last several weeks and months. We also, in the first half of 2022, obviously, we had a pretty big launch of our Jerky product. And so we do expect that the decline in revenue that you see in the first half of the year will be obviously relatively -- we said mid-teens decline.

因此，在短期內，我們將迎來更強勁的 2022 年上半年。顯然，在過去幾周和幾個月裡，品類趨勢一直相對疲軟。顯然，在 2022 年上半年，我們還推出了相當大的 Jerky 產品。因此，我們確實預計你在今年上半年看到的收入下降明顯是相對的——我們說的是十幾歲左右的下降。

And then for all of the reasons that Ethan mentioned, we expect the sort of trajectory of the contribution from some of the new products, et cetera, to be much more meaningful in the second half of next year -- of this year.

然後，出於 Ethan 提到的所有原因，我們預計一些新產品等的貢獻軌跡在明年下半年 - 今年會更有意義。

And then Ethan, maybe just to follow up on Ken's question and thinking about more from the cash flow and an inventory standpoint, look, understanding the drawing down inventory makes sense in a harvest mode. But just given if you're assuming a return to growth in the second half, you've drawn down on inventory, how do you kind of thread the needle of making sure that your in-stock rates and your fill rates are up to par with what you need for your retail customers and your Foodservice customers, if that is going to be the case of running with kind of leaner inventory? Just would be helpful to get your thoughts there.

然後 Ethan，也許只是為了跟進 Ken 的問題並從現金流和庫存的角度考慮更多，看，理解減少庫存在收穫模式下是有意義的。但是如果你假設下半年恢復增長，你已經減少了庫存，你如何穿線確保你的庫存率和你的填充率達到標準與您的零售客戶和餐飲服務客戶需要什麼，如果這將是運行更精簡庫存的情況？只是有助於將您的想法放在那裡。

Yes. Sure. That's a great question. So I think it gets back to the organization across these value streams, which gives you a lot greater clarity into for each of the pork and poultry, how you're doing relative to the demand signals you're getting, it's just a more manageable set of activities. I think we've also reduced the number of large customers that were doing bespoke or novel products for. So it allows us to carry a more common set of inventory across the customer base.

是的。當然。這是一個很好的問題。所以我認為它會通過這些價值流回到組織中，這讓你更清楚地了解每一種豬肉和家禽，相對於你得到的需求信號，你的表現如何，這只是一個更易於管理的活動集。我認為我們還減少了為其定製或新產品的大客戶的數量。因此，它使我們能夠在客戶群中攜帶一組更常見的庫存。

And then I think shifting into some of the new business systems we're using that gives us much greater visibility across our network helps a lot. The consolidation of our manufacturing footprint. As I mentioned, I think, in my remarks, going from kind 8 different co-packers the peak in '22 to 3 and then our own internal production process, things just get a lot simpler as you start to implement some of these disciplines.

然後我認為轉移到我們正在使用的一些新業務系統可以讓我們在整個網絡中獲得更大的可見性，這有很大幫助。鞏固我們的製造足跡。正如我提到的，我認為，在我的評論中，從 22 年的 8 種不同的聯合包裝商到 3 年的高峰，然後是我們自己的內部生產流程，當你開始實施其中一些紀律時，事情會變得簡單得多。

And the major emphasis for our company, the second pillar in our strategy, which is around reducing inventory, the team is doing a great job at it. I think they're having fun doing it, and we're pushing ourselves to over the course of the next year move from this growth at all cost model to one where we really start to shine around best-in-class inventory management and to get more in line with companies that are managing their inventory according to a lean discipline.

我們公司的主要重點是減少庫存，這是我們戰略的第二個支柱，團隊在這方面做得很好。我認為他們這樣做很有趣，我們正在推動自己在明年的過程中從這種不惜一切代價的增長模式轉變為我們真正開始圍繞一流庫存管理大放異彩的模式，並與根據精益原則管理庫存的公司更加一致。

So it's not without effort. We'll make mistakes along the way, but we are pretty confident that we can serve a kind of resurgence in demand with a much more efficient inventory and production system.

所以也不是沒有努力。一路上我們會犯錯誤，但我們非常有信心，我們可以通過更高效的庫存和生產系統來滿足需求的複蘇。

Our next question comes from Robert Moskow from Crédit Suisse.

我們的下一個問題來自 Crédit Suisse 的 Robert Moskow。

I thought I heard in the prepared remarks some comments about what you intended to do with your revolver in order to provide a source of cash. Can you be more specific about it? And can you tell me, like, does that give you sufficient flexibility that you probably will need during the course of '23 because you're still burning and the balance sheet is getting smaller?

我想我在準備好的評論中聽到了一些關於你打算用你的左輪手槍做什麼以提供現金來源的評論。你能更具體一點嗎？你能告訴我嗎，這是否給你足夠的靈活性，你可能在 23 年期間需要，因為你還在燃燒，資產負債表越來越小？

Rob, this is Lubi, I'll take that one. So we didn't actually say anything about a revolver in the prepared remarks. We did, at one point, have a revolving credit facility, which we terminated when we did the convertible bond offering. But I think your question really gets to sort of our overall liquidity position, given that we are obviously still -- the business is still consuming quite a bit of cash.

Rob，這是 Lubi，我要那個。所以我們實際上並沒有在準備好的評論中說任何關於左輪手槍的事情。有一次，我們確實有循環信貸額度，但在我們發行可轉換債券時終止了該額度。但我認為你的問題確實涉及到我們的整體流動性狀況，因為我們顯然仍然 - 該業務仍在消耗相當多的現金。

So look, I think everything that we discussed in our prepared remarks and some of what Ethan was just alluding to kind of speaks to the measures that we are taking to really reduce the rate of cash consumption of the business, right? But we recognize that even with some of the, I think, more -- some of the onetime benefits that we believe we're going to be able to capture as it relates to inventory reduction. Beyond that, we still have a lot of work to do, right?

所以看，我認為我們在準備好的發言中討論的所有內容以及 Ethan 剛剛提到的一些內容都說明了我們正在採取的措施來真正降低企業的現金消耗率，對嗎？但我們認識到，即使有一些，我認為，更多 - 我們相信我們將能夠獲得的一些一次性好處，因為它與庫存減少有關。除此之外，我們還有很多工作要做，對吧？

So we're not at this point ready to discuss with any real specificity about what the consumption -- cash consumption of the business might look like beyond 2023. But it is a focus of ours for long term to transform this business into one that is a net generator of cash, but there's still ways to go before we get there. And I don't want to speak prematurely about what we will or will not do beyond 2023.

因此，我們目前還沒有準備好具體討論 2023 年以後的消費情況——企業的現金消費情況。但從長遠來看，我們的重點是將這項業務轉變為一個淨現金產生者，但在我們到達那里之前還有很多路要走。我不想過早地談論我們在 2023 年之後會做什麼或不會做什麼。

And then to the broader, I think this is part of where your question was headed in terms of how we're thinking about the liquidity position. Our thinking there hasn't really changed from what we've shared on last quarter that we're very focused on it. We continue to evaluate the various options that are available to us. And if it makes sense for us to do some sort of a raise and put more of a buffer on the balance sheet, we will.

然後更廣泛地說，我認為這是你的問題的一部分，即我們如何考慮流動性狀況。我們的想法與我們在上個季度分享的內容並沒有真正改變，我們非常關注它。我們將繼續評估可供我們使用的各種選項。如果我們進行某種加薪並在資產負債表上增加緩衝對我們來說是有意義的，我們會的。

Okay. Maybe one follow-up. Can you give us a sense as to what the drag on the business was in 2022 from Plant Jerky either in cash or in earnings or something? And what the opportunity might be in '23 to reduce that drag, maybe that has to do with the contract renegotiation you're talking about?

好的。也許一個後續行動。您能否讓我們了解 Plant Jerky 在 2022 年對業務的拖累，無論是現金還是收益等方面？ 23 年減少阻力的機會是什麼，也許這與您正在談論的合同重新談判有關？

Yes, that's exactly right. I'll let Lubi give you the specifics on it. But it was not insignificant from an impact on the business. And we've taken a lot of activity. I was very involved in this toward the second half of this year to restructure the agreements that we have on production and distribution and things of that nature to make sure that as we move forward, we have more favorable economics around margin, that's not going to show up necessarily right away, but you can already see some positive movement in that area. So while I don't think it's going to be transformative in terms of the entire business, you are going to see better economics on the Jerky business.

是的，完全正確。我會讓Lubi為您詳細介紹它。但從對業務的影響來看，這並非微不足道。我們進行了很多活動。我在今年下半年積極參與了這項工作，以重組我們在生產和分銷以及類似性質的事情上達成的協議，以確保隨著我們的前進，我們在保證金方面擁有更有利的經濟效益，這不會一定會立即出現，但您已經可以在該區域看到一些積極的動向。因此，雖然我認為它不會對整個業務產生變革，但你會看到 Jerky 業務的經濟效益更好。

Yes. And then, Rob, in terms of the specific numbers, so I don't have that in front of me. We can certainly follow up offline on that, and we typically disclose that in our 10-Q, which will be coming out soon. But so also sort of as Ethan mentioned, right, we are focused on improving the economics for the Jerky business on a go-forward basis.

是的。然後，Rob，就具體數字而言，所以我面前沒有。我們當然可以在線下跟進，我們通常會在即將發布的 10-Q 中披露這一點。但也有點像 Ethan 提到的，對，我們專注於在前進的基礎上提高 Jerky 業務的經濟效益。

But at this point in time, we're just -- we're not ready to get into the specifics, but we will share more information around that in the near future.

但此時此刻，我們還沒有準備好進入細節，但我們會在不久的將來分享更多相關信息。

Our next question comes from Jon Andersen from William Blair.

我們的下一個問題來自威廉·布萊爾的喬恩·安徒生。

Ethan, I was wondering if you could comment a little about the category. And any -- I haven't heard you talk too much recently about household penetration or kind of repeat by the consumer. And the reason I'm asking is just to try and get a better understanding for where you think the biggest challenges are at this point in terms of bringing more consumers into the category into your franchise? Is it taste? Is it the health perception? Is it price? And what you can do as a category leader going forward to help promote more trial, promote more engagement?

Ethan，我想知道你是否可以對該類別發表一些評論。還有——我最近沒有聽到你過多地談論家庭滲透率或消費者的重複率。我問的原因只是想更好地了解您認為在將更多消費者帶入您的特許經營類別方面目前最大的挑戰在哪裡？是味道嗎？是健康觀念嗎？是價格嗎？作為品類領導者，您可以做些什麼來幫助促進更多的試用，促進更多的參與？

Okay. No, I got the question. It's a very good one, and it's always something I think about a great deal. And you hit on the buzzwords that I use all the time, both internally and externally. This category will win over time on 3 things. It will win around taste, it will win around a proper understanding of the health benefits that our products provide (inaudible) on price.

好的。不，我得到了這個問題。這是一個非常好的，它總是我想到的很多東西。你說出了我在內部和外部一直使用的流行語。這個類別將在 3 件事上贏得時間。它將贏得口味，贏得對我們產品在價格上（聽不清）提供的健康益處的正確理解。

If you look at any history of innovation in the last 150 years, things move forward with breakthroughs in key product attributes. We're all thinking about or driving. We're looking at potentially driving electric vehicles someday because of the improvements that were made possible by the lithium-ion battery, right? Cell phones, the same thing with some of the technology advances, et cetera.

如果您回顧過去 150 年的任何創新歷史，就會發現隨著關鍵產品屬性的突破，事情不斷向前發展。我們都在思考或開車。由於鋰離子電池帶來的改進，我們正在考慮有一天可能會駕駛電動汽車，對吧？手機，與某些技術進步相同的東西，等等。

And so I don't read the articles, take all the entire day to do so. But the efforts for the people who have made to try to call the category, I find sort of just probably not a productive use of energy. There are things that we can move forward on a daily basis, and that's what we're focused on. So all the things you just said, improving the taste, making sure the consumer understands the health benefits, and that's our work with Stanford. We have a 5-year program with the medical school there, and the results I summarized in my comments.

所以我不看文章，一整天都在看。但是對於那些試圖稱呼該類別的人來說，我發現他們所做的努力可能不是對能源的有效利用。有些事情我們每天都可以向前推進，這就是我們關注的重點。所以你剛才說的所有事情，改善口味，確保消費者了解健康益處，這就是我們與斯坦福的合作。我們和那裡的醫學院有一個為期 5 年的項目，我在評論中總結了結果。

Our new project with the American Cancer Society, some other stuff we'll be announcing later this year in the medical space. And even the history of plant-based protein is one that no one is really bothered to look up in all of this effort to call the category. If you look at the work of the Blue Zones researchers, for example, where they talk about the 5 longest live communities in the world. One of those is very close to where I'm sitting today. It's in Loma Linda, California.

我們與美國癌症協會的新項目，以及我們將在今年晚些時候在醫療領域宣布的一些其他內容。即使是植物性蛋白質的歷史，也沒有人真正費心去查閱所有這些稱為該類別的努力。例如，如果您查看 Blue Zones 研究人員的工作，他們會在其中談論世界上最長壽的 5 個社區。其中之一離我今天坐的地方很近。它位於加利福尼亞州的洛馬琳達。

And one of the key attributes of that community is largely plant-based diet. One part of that diet were some of the earliest meat substitutes that were developed in the 1890s by John Harvey Kellogg. So there's a tremendous health benefit to be derived from transitioning the protein at center of our plates from animal protein to a plant-based protein and a plant-based meat.

該社區的一個關鍵特徵主要是植物性飲食。這種飲食的一部分是約翰·哈維·凱洛格 (John Harvey Kellogg) 在 1890 年代開發的一些最早的肉類替代品。因此，將我們餐盤中心的蛋白質從動物蛋白轉變為植物性蛋白質和植物性肉類，將帶來巨大的健康益處。

And the data is there. We need to look at it. We need to keep developing it. But in any industry that has a success that we've had is going to face tremendous pushback, and that's the story throughout all of innovation. We're facing that now. We'll get through it. We have data on our side. We're developing more data. You'll see us get much more targeted around health in our discussions with the consumer.

數據就在那裡。我們需要看看它。我們需要繼續開發它。但在任何取得成功的行業中，我們都將面臨巨大的阻力，這就是貫穿所有創新的故事。我們現在正面臨這種情況。我們會挺過去的。我們有數據在我們身邊。我們正在開發更多數據。你會看到我們在與消費者的討論中更加關注健康。

The Steak is a perfect example. That's why I dwelled on it so much in the prepared remarks to enjoy a delicious piece of Steak like that. Anyone who hasn't tried it, should go out and try it if they have any doubt about the category or the brand. It's got a 1 gram of saturated fat. And if you look at like an Omaha Steaks, for example, an analogous product has 6 grams. I picked the product in the middle, so to not so bias at all, but the health benefits of what we're doing are strong and will only get stronger.

牛排就是一個很好的例子。這就是為什麼我在準備好的評論中如此詳細地談論它，以享受這樣一塊美味的牛排。沒有嘗試過的人，如果對品類或品牌有任何疑問，就應該出去嘗試一下。它含有 1 克飽和脂肪。如果您看起來像奧馬哈牛排，例如，類似產品有 6 克。我選擇了中間的產品，所以完全沒有偏見，但我們正在做的事情對健康的好處很強，而且只會越來越強。

Okay. And then you layer on that price as we start to continue to drive down the cost structure. And again, this isn't showing up today. But you shouldn't expect it to when you have volumes that we have running through our facilities, right? But as our volumes increase and we can start to take advantage of some of the manufacturing improvements we've made and start to run through some of the ingredients that we bought at higher cost and higher price and get to some of the lower-cost ingredients that we've been able to negotiate, you'll start to see a more sustained lower cost product and then lower pricing.

好的。然後，當我們開始繼續降低成本結構時，你會在這個價格上分層。再說一次，今天沒有出現。但是當你有我們通過我們的設施運行的捲時，你不應該期望它，對吧？但隨著我們產量的增加，我們可以開始利用我們所做的一些製造改進，並開始處理我們以更高成本和更高價格購買的一些成分，並獲得一些成本較低的成分我們已經能夠協商，您將開始看到更持久的低成本產品，然後是更低的價格。

So as we hit those levers taste, we've got some products coming out this year, that's why this renovation, its pace of renovation is so important to me. We're going to keep driving new products out in the market that taste better every year. We're issuing one of our core platforms this year, we'll have a product improvement. It's terrific, right? So that will bring some more consumers in.

因此，當我們達到這些槓桿的品味時，我們今年推出了一些產品，這就是為什麼這次翻新，它的翻新速度對我來說如此重要。我們將繼續在市場上推出味道每年都更好的新產品。今年我們將發布我們的核心平台之一，我們將對產品進行改進。太棒了，對吧？因此，這將吸引更多的消費者。

Then you start to beat back some of the drummed up speculation about health, you bring more consumers in that way. And then ultimately, you give them something that they can afford that's at the same price. All of this hand bringing about the category, the history will show that it was something that was unnecessary. We're doing our work. We're focusing every day on people in the category.

然後你開始擊退一些關於健康的鼓吹的猜測，你以這種方式吸引了更多的消費者。然後最終，你給他們一些他們能以同樣的價格買得起的東西。所有這手牌帶來的類別，歷史將表明這是不必要的。我們正在做我們的工作。我們每天都關注這一類別的人。

I talk to other companies in the category and possible and others. We're all just focused on doing our work and getting it done and we'll deliver these gains. The consumer, I think, will -- increasing numbers adopt. You asked about increasing trial. One of the best ways to do that is just to offer more competitive pricing. So some of the unit velocities we're seeing on these pricing tests are exactly designed to do that, not only to generate cash from our inventory, but also to welcome more consumers into the category through more favorable pricing.

我與該類別中的其他公司以及可能的其他公司交談。我們都專注於完成我們的工作並完成它，我們將實現這些收益。我認為，消費者將會——越來越多的人採用。你問的是增加審判。最好的方法之一就是提供更具競爭力的價格。因此，我們在這些定價測試中看到的一些單位速度正是為了做到這一點而設計的，不僅是為了從我們的庫存中產生現金，而且還通過更優惠的價格歡迎更多消費者進入該類別。

Yes. I'm bewildered at analysis that downplays the fact that in '22 and '21, particularly '22, our products were at times twice, if not more, the price of animal protein. And here's a consumer that's walking into the supermarket would significantly reduce buying power on the aisle itself, right, because other prices are going up. But also their buying power has been dramatically reduced before they even got there at the pump and then paying their rent and everything else.

是的。我對分析淡化了這樣一個事實感到困惑，即在 22 年和 21 年，尤其是 22 年，我們的產品有時是動物蛋白價格的兩倍，甚至更多。這是一個走進超市的消費者，會大大降低過道本身的購買力，對吧，因為其他價格正在上漲。但他們的購買力甚至在他們到達加油站支付房租和其他一切之前就已經大大降低了。

And so for people to think that we're going to just sail through that with products that are literally twice the cost of the next available alternative that's been consumed for thousands of years, I think, is naive, right? So we'll get through this period of inflation. We'll get back to able to communicate with the consumer, the truth about our products versus some of the things that are being written, and you'll see growth again.

因此，如果人們認為我們將使用成本實際上是已經消費了數千年的下一個可用替代品兩倍的產品來渡過難關，我認為，這是天真的，對吧？所以我們度過了這段通貨膨脹時期。我們將恢復與消費者的溝通，了解我們產品的真相與正在寫的一些東西，你會再次看到增長。

And our next question comes from Adam Samuelson from Goldman Sachs.

我們的下一個問題來自高盛的亞當薩繆爾森。

Maybe clarifying questions. Ethan, in the revenue guidance for 2023, what is the assumption on volume and selling prices? I guess, as I think about the goal of reducing inventories, where especially that problem is concentrated on the raw material side, driving volume would seem to be the biggest more important lever there, but kind of doing so without price reductions gets more challenging if you're trying to improve the value proposition to the consumer. So what are you actually assuming for kind of aggregate volume and selling prices within the revenue guidance you laid out?

也許澄清問題。 Ethan，在 2023 年的收入指導中，銷量和售價的假設是什麼？我想，當我考慮減少庫存的目標時，這個問題尤其集中在原材料方面，推動銷量似乎是那裡最大、更重要的槓桿，但如果不降價就這樣做會更具挑戰性您正在努力改善對消費者的價值主張。那麼，在您制定的收入指導範圍內，您實際假設的總銷量和售價是多少？

Yes. So while I can't give specifics on it, I think the -- if you look at the I laid out the 3 pillars that are really the core focus of our strategy, lean value streams and margin expansion and OpEx reduction through those systems, inventory drawdown. And then third, the focus on near-term growth drivers such as product extensions and renovations and pricing. And so that pricing piece is a big lever for us, as you've noted. And we will exercise that in certain markets under certain conditions that are time limited because we want to make sure we're understanding the impact, right?

是的。因此，雖然我不能給出具體細節，但我認為 - 如果你看一下我列出的 3 個支柱，它們實際上是我們戰略的核心重點，精益價值流和通過這些系統擴大利潤和減少運營支出，庫存縮減。第三，關注近期增長動力，如產品擴展、翻新和定價。因此，正如您所指出的那樣，定價部分對我們來說是一個重要的槓桿。我們將在某些時間有限的特定條件下在某些市場中執行此操作，因為我們想確保我們了解其影響，對嗎？

But to your point, the quickest way to drive through this inventory is just to offer more competitive pricing move through it. It does a lot to spread some positive momentum through our facilities by increasing throughput and lowering -- or increasing (inaudible) and things of that nature. So it's those levers that I talked about within that third pillar of continuing to look at the pricing programs, getting these line extensions out there and getting some of the renovations. So I don't know Lubi, if you want to add that?

但就您的觀點而言，推動此庫存的最快方法就是通過它提供更具競爭力的定價。通過增加吞吐量和降低——或增加（聽不清）和類似性質的東西，它在我們的設施中傳播了一些積極的勢頭。因此，這就是我在第三個支柱中談到的那些槓桿，即繼續研究定價計劃，將這些線路延伸到那裡並進行一些翻新。所以我不知道Lubi，如果你想補充一下？

Yes. Adam, the only other thing that I would add to that is when you look at the change in net revenue per pound that we realized in 2022 versus the previous year, part of that was driven by -- we did take pretty broad price reductions in our international business in the EU in particular because we felt that the price point of our products relative to the competitive set there was much wider than we needed it to be.

是的。亞當，我要補充的唯一另一件事是，當你看一下我們在 2022 年實現的每磅淨收入與上一年相比的變化時，部分原因是——我們確實在尤其是我們在歐盟的國際業務，因為我們覺得我們的產品相對於那裡的競爭產品的價格點比我們需要的要寬得多。

And so we took pretty significant and broad price reduction there. We also had the negative impact of FX in 2022. And so I would say that even though we are running some of these more aggressive pricing programs that we've described, I wouldn't necessarily be looking at the change from 2021 to 2022 as sort of an indicator of what may be to come in 2023.

因此，我們在那裡進行了相當顯著和廣泛的降價。我們在 2022 年也受到了外彙的負面影響。所以我想說，即使我們正在運行我們已經描述過的一些更激進的定價計劃，我也不一定會將 2021 年到 2022 年的變化視為某種程度上預示著 2023 年可能會發生什麼。

That's helpful. And then if I take the aggregate revenue, gross profit or gross margin, OpEx, CapEx guidance that you laid out, it would seem that kind of adjusting for the noncash items in there for D&A and stock comp, in particular, that before kind of working capital release, the cash burn for the company is something on the order of $175 million in 2023.

這很有幫助。然後，如果我採用你列出的總收入、毛利潤或毛利率、運營支出、資本支出指導，似乎對 D&A 和股票補償中的非現金項目進行了那種調整，特別是在那種之前營運資金釋放，公司的現金消耗在 2023 年約為 1.75 億美元。

So I mean, is that, a, correct? And b, kind of, if so, what level of working capital release and the functional free cash kind of burn would you actually have in 2023 and understanding there's a cadence and sequencing that you could get to free cash -- potentially get free cash flow positive in the second half if you execute the plan, but in aggregate for the year, kind of what's the cash burn implied by the operating guidance you laid out?

所以我的意思是，那是正確的嗎？ b，如果是這樣的話，你在 2023 年實際會釋放多少水平的營運資本和消耗多少功能性自由現金，並了解你可以獲得自由現金的節奏和順序——可能獲得自由現金流如果你執行該計劃，下半年是積極的，但總的來說，你制定的運營指南暗示的現金消耗是多少？

Yes. So Adam, the estimate that you just mentioned over there sounds pretty high. I think we will be substantially below that for the full year. But we will be a net consumer of cash for the full year, even though we do have this objective to be cash flow positive within the second half of next year. And you called out some of the different components of the buildup to that, right? So we gave you, I think, pretty detailed guidance around revenue, gross margin, OpEx and CapEx.

是的。所以亞當，你剛才提到的估計聽起來很高。我認為我們將大大低於全年的水平。但我們全年將成為現金淨消費者，儘管我們的目標是在明年下半年實現現金流為正。你為此調出了一些不同的組成部分，對吧？因此，我認為，我們為您提供了有關收入、毛利率、運營支出和資本支出的非常詳細的指導。

And so the big lever -- some of the big levers there that are not included, obviously, there's the depreciation and stock comp pieces. But inventory -- the working capital benefit you -- obviously, for us to get to cash flow positive needs to be pretty significant, and that's what we're targeting.

因此，大槓桿——其中一些未包括在內的大槓桿，顯然是折舊和存貨補償。但是庫存——營運資金對你有利——顯然，要使我們的現金流量為正，就必須非常重要，而這正是我們的目標。

And so Ethan mentioned the focus -- the level of focus that we're placing on inventory reduction and some of the new tools that we have invested in to help us be much more efficient in that regard. And so it is an aggressive target, but we do think we have a pathway to get there.

因此 Ethan 提到了重點——我們對庫存減少的關注程度以及我們投資的一些新工具，以幫助我們在這方面提高效率。所以這是一個激進的目標，但我們確實認為我們有實現目標的途徑。

And our next question comes from Michael Lavery from Piper Sandler.

我們的下一個問題來自 Piper Sandler 的 Michael Lavery。

Just wanted to touch on the brand spending. That's the key to pricing power or just competitive dynamics and...

只想談談品牌支出。這是定價權或競爭動態的關鍵，而且……

Sorry, can you repeat the word? We didn't catch the word.

抱歉，你能重複這個詞嗎？我們沒有聽清這個詞。

Just the brands, the marketing and brand spending.

只有品牌、營銷和品牌支出。

Got it. Thanks.

知道了。謝謝。

And I think you've called out in the 2020 -- 2022 results how some lower marketing spending was one of the components of the bill to your results. Can you just give a sense of how you're thinking about where that goes in 2023? And how to think about just making sure that you build the brand equity and try to make sure that that's not part of the cost cuts?

而且我認為你已經在 2020 年 - 2022 年的結果中指出，一些較低的營銷支出是如何成為你的結果的組成部分之一。您能否簡單介紹一下您是如何考慮 2023 年的發展方向的？以及如何考慮確保建立品牌資產並確保這不是成本削減的一部分？

Yes. No, that's a great question. So I think just in terms of the timing of spend, I think you see us during the first half of the year, emphasize some marketing spend for various launches we're doing and things of that nature. But I would say that the difference between -- we had a much broader marketing platform in the past that maybe was less refined in terms of the most receptive consumers for our products, and that made sense for the time.

是的。不，這是一個很好的問題。所以我認為就支出時間而言，我想你會在今年上半年看到我們，強調我們正在做的各種發布和類似性質的事情的一些營銷支出。但我想說的是，我們過去有一個更廣泛的營銷平台，就我們產品最容易接受的消費者而言，這個平台可能不夠精緻，這在當時是有道理的。

But as we move forward and again, it gets back to this kind of third pillar and the strategy, focusing on near-term wins with consumers that are most receptive to our value proposition, it gives us the ability to market much more efficiently. I mean I'll give you an example, which is kind of making up the specifics here, but people who are receiving statins, right? I mean they should know about our products, and they should understand the relative health benefits of the Beyond Steak versus animal protein steak right?

但隨著我們一次又一次地前進，它又回到了這種第三支柱和戰略，專注於近期贏得最能接受我們價值主張的消費者，它使我們能夠更有效地進行營銷。我的意思是我會給你舉個例子，這有點像這裡的細節，但是接受他汀類藥物的人，對嗎？我的意思是他們應該了解我們的產品，他們應該了解 Beyond Steak 與動物蛋白牛排的相對健康益處，對嗎？

And so can we spend efficiently in that direction? Younger people who are focused on climate and the environment, how do we reach them as they come into the consumer set that's going to be shopping in grocery. So we're doing a lot deeper dives in those type of areas to understand how to maximize each dollar we're spending. With our QSR, our strategic partners, some really good activity going on there.

那麼我們可以在那個方向上有效地花費嗎？關注氣候和環境的年輕人，當他們進入將要在雜貨店購物的消費者群體時，我們如何接觸他們。因此，我們正在這些領域進行更深入的研究，以了解如何最大限度地利用我們花費的每一美元。通過我們的 QSR，我們的戰略合作夥伴，一些非常好的活動在那裡進行。

I think some of the marketing that they're doing, particularly in Europe, is really actually brilliant. I mean it touches on the kind of generational change that's underway here. And so we're happy to be co-funding that. And if you look just by the way, while I'm on Europe, we didn't really get much questions on that. But I want to emphasize some of the transition that's occurring in Europe around the consumer.

我認為他們所做的一些營銷，尤其是在歐洲，確實非常出色。我的意思是它觸及了這裡正在進行的那種代際變化。所以我們很高興能共同資助。順便說一下，當我在歐洲時，我們並沒有收到太多關於此的問題。但我想強調歐洲正在圍繞消費者發生的一些轉變。

If you look at a country like Germany, over the last 10 years, there's been a remarkable reduction in animal protein consumption on a per capita basis. And I think that bodes very well for what we'll see here in the United States at some point as people begin to understand better the health and climate benefits of what we're doing. And so in our marketing, reaching those consumers, we can do that more efficiently than we have in the past, and we're looking forward to doing that.

如果你看看像德國這樣的國家，在過去 10 年裡，人均動物蛋白消費量顯著減少。而且我認為，隨著人們開始更好地了解我們正在做的事情對健康和氣候的好處，這預示著我們將在某個時候在美國看到的情況。因此，在我們的營銷中，接觸這些消費者，我們可以比過去更有效地做到這一點，我們期待著這樣做。

That's helpful color. And can I just follow up on the part of the release where you give the distribution points by channel. I appreciate the transparency calling out how it looks, excluding Turkey, just because that's such a big jump in the U.S. in 2022. But it slips down just a bit sequentially from Q1 to at least 4Q at 34,000 versus 35,000, it's not a big drop, obviously, and I'm sure there's some rounding that maybe it's even less than it looks.

這是有用的顏色。我能否跟進發布的部分，您按渠道提供分發點。我很欣賞透明度顯示它的外觀，不包括土耳其，只是因為這在 2022 年美國有如此大的飛躍。但它從第一季度到至少第四季度略有下降，分別為 34,000 和 35,000，降幅不大，很明顯，我敢肯定有一些四捨五入，可能比看起來還要少。

But what's driving that down? And with your velocity is lower, even if you've got roughly constant distribution points and sales down around 20%, your velocity is obviously are off. Do you have risk of delistings, or could that number get lower?

但是是什麼導致了這種情況呢？隨著你的速度降低，即使你有大致恆定的分銷點並且銷售額下降了 20% 左右，你的速度顯然已經關閉。您是否有退市的風險，或者這個數字會降低嗎？

Yes. From a -- in terms of total distribution points, I think where we've seen a little bit of a loss of just number of doors has been in the sort of foodservice channels. And in international, in particular, I think there was a little bit of a reduction there. And then -- sorry, can you repeat the second part of your question?

是的。從一個 - 就總分銷點而言，我認為我們已經看到一些門數量的損失是在食品服務渠道中。特別是在國際上，我認為那裡有所減少。然後——抱歉，你能重複一下問題的第二部分嗎？

Sure. Yes. And I mean, maybe these numbers aren't accurate, but the international Foodservice you show had ticked up. That's also coincidentally 34,000. But just looking at the sales trends and your conversations with the retail trade, do you get the sense of more delistings that could come? What -- how do we measure the risk of how that looks going forward?

當然。是的。我的意思是，也許這些數字不准確，但您展示的國際餐飲服務已經上漲。這也是巧合的 34,000。但只要看看銷售趨勢和您與零售業的對話，您是否感覺到可能會有更多退市？什麼——我們如何衡量未來的風險？

Yes, we haven't -- I mean -- no, we haven't -- that certainly hasn't registered. I talk with our sales team every day. And I haven't heard concerns around that. The only kind of area there that, that ever comes up is in areas of shelf life, where we may not have the right shelf life for a particular ambient case at a particular retailer or something like that. But no, we haven't seen that.

是的，我們沒有——我的意思是——不，我們沒有——當然沒有註冊。我每天都與我們的銷售團隊交談。我還沒有聽到對此的擔憂。那裡唯一出現的領域是保質期領域，我們可能沒有針對特定零售商或類似場所的特定環境案例的正確保質期。但是不，我們還沒有看到。

And if you look at -- if you kind of break into the data set for Beyond in retail, there has been obviously some impact in the fresh case. But in the frozen, right, we are seeing pretty good growth. And so when I meet with retailers, I was just with the largest one in the U.S. that we deal with outside the big box area, and I'm very pleased with our performance and looking for what else can we bring them. I think they see the short-term nature of this disruption as clearly as we do. And so, no, I don't see any sort of dramatic correction in that area, no.

如果你看看 - 如果你在零售業中闖入 Beyond 的數據集，顯然對新案例產生了一些影響。但是在凍結的情況下，對，我們看到了相當不錯的增長。因此，當我與零售商會面時，我只是與我們在大盒子區域之外處理的美國最大的零售商會面，我對我們的表現感到非常滿意，並正在尋找我們還能為他們帶來什麼。我認為他們和我們一樣清楚地看到這種破壞的短期性質。所以，不，我沒有看到那個領域有任何戲劇性的修正，不。

And our next question comes from Peter Saleh from BTIG.

我們的下一個問題來自 BTIG 的 Peter Saleh。

Ethan, given the declines in sales in the back end of the year and expected declines in the front end of '23, have you reconsidered your position on private label?

Ethan，考慮到今年年底的銷售額下降和 23 年前的預期下降，您是否重新考慮了您在自有品牌上的地位？

Not really. I think it's -- I mean I think about, it gets to -- if you go through the 3 things that I'm always focused on relative to consumer taste, health and price, where my mind goes in that area is around price. That what products can I offer and aggressively price them, and maybe we stride our brand a little bit and we create higher cost items and lower cost items. But no, for private label.

並不真地。我認為這是——我的意思是我想，它會——如果你經歷了我一直關注的與消費者品味、健康和價格相關的三件事，我在那個領域的想法就是價格。我可以提供什麼產品並積極定價，也許我們會稍微跨過我們的品牌，我們會創造成本更高的產品和成本更低的產品。但不，對於自有品牌。

I mean so much what we're doing right now is about efficiency of our production system. And so introducing a whole another set of activities would be the wrong idea right now for us, I think.

我的意思是我們現在正在做的是關於我們生產系統的效率。因此，我認為，現在引入另一套活動對我們來說是錯誤的想法。

Great. And just curious on the price in the trials. I think you said that you've done some tests. Just trying to understand how confident you guys are in some of these tests that they're actually, you're seeing some repeat purchases or not, just driving some trial with some of these price tests?

偉大的。只是對試驗中的價格感到好奇。我想你說過你已經做了一些測試。只是想了解你們對其中一些測試的信心，他們實際上是否看到了一些重複購買，只是通過其中一些價格測試進行了一些試驗？

Yes. Some of them -- they're small, so they may not be selling up as much as they will. But they've been going on for a while. And so we do have some data there that suggest that it's not just kind of one time thing. Key will be whether it helps to grow the category. That's the biggest question that I'm looking to answer that will bring new consumers in that before, I saw a price as a major barrier.

是的。其中一些——它們很小，所以它們可能不會像預期的那樣賣出。但他們已經持續了一段時間。所以我們確實有一些數據表明這不僅僅是一次性的事情。關鍵在於它是否有助於擴大品類。這是我想要回答的最大問題，它將帶來新的消費者，之前我認為價格是一個主要障礙。

And again, there's a lot of distortion in the channel with very high rates of inflation, changing consumer consumption habits, but my belief is that as we continue to get taste right and continue to get the health message right and then reduce that price barrier, it will grow the category.

再一次，通貨膨脹率非常高，消費者消費習慣在改變，渠道中存在很多扭曲，但我相信，隨著我們繼續獲得正確的口味並繼續獲得正確的健康信息，然後降低價格壁壘，它將增加類別。

Yes. And Peter, maybe just to add to that a little bit. When we look at our panel data metrics for the most recent quarter across buying rate, purchase frequency and repeat rates, those were all up sequentially relative to Q3. So there's nothing that we're seeing yet in the data that's necessarily showing any sort of anomaly in terms of repeat rates or things like that.

是的。彼得，也許只是為了補充一點。當我們查看最近一個季度的面板數據指標時，包括購買率、購買頻率和重複率，這些指標相對於第三季度都是連續上升的。因此，我們在數據中還沒有看到任何必然顯示重複率或類似情況的任何異常。

And at this time, we will end today's question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the floor back over to management for any closing remarks.

而此時，我們將結束今天的問答環節。我想將發言權交還給管理層，聽取任何結束語。

I'd say thanks for the questions today. Thanks for joining. We set a change in direction in the second half of last year. And I think this quarter, you're seeing the initial results of that. And we're sharpening it every quarter. I think you'll continue to see progress across this. The management team we have in place is a really strong one. We're working well together and feel really optimistic about where we're going.

我會說謝謝今天的問題。感謝您的加入。我們在去年下半年改變了方向。我認為本季度，您會看到初步結果。我們每個季度都在加強它。我認為您會繼續看到這方面的進展。我們現有的管理團隊非常強大。我們合作得很好，對我們的發展方向感到非常樂觀。

Part of the range that we gave is an effort by me to make sure the team is not focused on chasing growth to the point where some of these other more important things around, expanding our margin and keeping operating expense where it needs to be and driving through our inventory, those are all the things that I want us focused on right now, and they're doing a great job doing it. And I look forward to coming back next quarter, talking more about it. Thanks.

我們給出的部分範圍是我的努力，以確保團隊不會專注於追求增長，以至於圍繞其他一些更重要的事情，擴大我們的利潤率並將運營費用保持在需要的水平並推動通過我們的清單，這些都是我希望我們現在關注的所有事情，他們在這方面做得很好。我期待下個季度回來，更多地談論它。謝謝。

Ladies and gentlemen, with that, we'll conclude today's conference call and presentation. We do thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們，先生們，我們將結束今天的電話會議和演講。我們非常感謝您的加入。您現在可以斷開線路。