超越肉類 (BYND) 2023 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to Beyond Meat's 2023 First Quarter Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) Please note, this event is being recorded.

您好，歡迎來到 Beyond Meat 的 2023 年第一季度電話會議。 （操作員說明）請注意，正在記錄此事件。

I would now like to turn the conference over to [Paul Sheppard], Vice President, FP&A and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

我現在想把會議轉交給 FP&A 和投資者關係副總裁 [Paul Sheppard]。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.

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。

By now, everyone should have access to the company's first quarter 2023 earnings press release filed after the market closed today. This document is available in the Investor Relations section of Beyond Meat's website at www.beyondmeat.com.

到目前為止，每個人都應該可以看到公司在今天收市後提交的 2023 年第一季度收益新聞稿。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 today 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. Forward-looking statements in today's earnings release, 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 the earnings release, the company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 1, 2023, that was filed today and the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, 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.

在我們開始之前，請注意今天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。今天的收益發布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。我們向您推薦今天提交的收益發布、公司截至 2023 年 4 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，以及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 reference 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. Please refer to today's press release for a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to its most comparable GAAP measure.

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。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。

And with that, I would now like to turn the call over to Ethan Brown.

有了這個，我現在想把電話轉給 Ethan Brown。

Thank you, Paul, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm pleased that our first quarter results demonstrate solid progress against our strategy and plan. As you would recall, we outlined 3 central tenets upon which we'd execute a full force pivot from a "growth above all" to sustainable growth's operating model, one that delivers on our goal of being cash flow positive within the second half of this year 2023.

謝謝保羅，大家下午好。我很高興我們第一季度的業績表明我們的戰略和計劃取得了堅實的進展。正如您所記得的，我們概述了 3 條核心原則，我們將根據這些原則從“增長至上”轉向可持續增長的運營模式，實現我們在今年下半年實現現金流為正的目標2023 年。

These pillars are: one, we would apply a laser focus to margin expansion and OpEx reduction through the use of lean value streams across our beef, pork and poultry platforms; two, we will place an emphasis on cash flow accretive inventory management with a near-term focus on profit dollars versus maximizing percent margin; and three, we would prioritize opportunities that support near-term growth and consumer trial and adoption, appropriately balancing and streamline activities in support of our most valuable long-term opportunities.

這些支柱是：第一，我們將通過在我們的牛肉、豬肉和家禽平台上使用精益價值流，將重點放在擴大利潤和減少運營支出上；第二，我們將把重點放在增加現金流的庫存管理上，近期關注利潤美元而不是利潤率最大化；第三，我們將優先考慮支持近期增長和消費者試用和採用的機會，適當平衡和簡化活動以支持我們最有價值的長期機會。

I will begin the body of my comments by summarizing our Q1 performance in reference to each of these 3 pillars.

我將通過參考這 3 個支柱中的每一個來總結我們第一季度的表現來開始我的評論。

One, margin expansion and cost reduction. The company is focused on the deployment of lean management structure and process to drive cost out of our operations. We continue to rationalize our production network, collapsing processes and eliminating steps that generate unnecessary cost while consolidating and optimizing our co-packing resources. Though we have much heavy lifting left to do, we are seeing tangible progress.

第一，擴大利潤和降低成本。公司專注於部署精益管理結構和流程，以降低運營成本。我們繼續合理化我們的生產網絡，壓縮流程並消除產生不必要成本的步驟，同時整合和優化我們的共同包裝資源。儘管我們還有許多繁重的工作要做，但我們正在看到切實的進展。

For example, even as inflation continues to plague supply chains more generally, we reduced COGS per pound by approximately 15% on a year-over-year basis, primarily on the back of solid improvement in manufacturing and logistics costs, excluding any impact from depreciation. The swift production allowed us to cross over into positive gross margin in Q1 of 2023 from a trough of negative 18% margin as recently as Q3 2022.

例如，即使通貨膨脹繼續更普遍地困擾供應鏈，我們將每磅 COGS 同比降低了約 15%，這主要是由於製造和物流成本的穩步改善，不包括折舊的任何影響.快速的生產使我們能夠從最近的 2022 年第三季度 18% 的負利潤率低谷轉為 2023 年第一季度的正毛利率。

We will continue to imply intense focus on margin restoration and cost reduction versus raising prices as we pursue our long-standing price parity target with animal protein. At this point, we are achieving these margin gains even as our average price per pound is down 6% on a sequential basis and 9% on a year-over-year basis, reflecting both changes in mix as well as deliberate pricing programs consistent with our path to price parity.

在我們追求與動物蛋白的長期價格平價目標時，我們將繼續暗示高度關注利潤率恢復和成本降低而不是提高價格。在這一點上，即使我們的每磅平均價格環比下降 6%，同比下降 9%，我們仍實現了這些利潤率增長，這既反映了產品組合的變化，也反映了與我們的價格平價之路。

More broadly, we are bringing the overall cost of business operations down, taking out approximately $34 million for a total OpEx reduction of 35% year-over-year. Alongside this reduction in operating expenses, our team continues to focus on sweating existing assets, reducing our need for new investments. The combined impact is total cash use of $48.6 million for the quarter, down from $66.8 million in Q4 of 2022, and a steep 74% reduction on a year-over-year basis.

更廣泛地說，我們正在降低業務運營的總體成本，拿出約 3400 萬美元，使總運營支出同比減少 35%。除了運營費用的減少，我們的團隊繼續專注於現有資產，減少我們對新投資的需求。綜合影響是本季度現金使用總額為 4860 萬美元，低於 2022 年第四季度的 6680 萬美元，同比大幅減少 74%。

Two, drawdown of high inventory levels to free up cash. As with our network, the business has raw material and with inventory levels in excess of current demand levels. We're working down these inventory levels and generating cash in the process with inventories down [$30 million] or nearly 6% on a sequential basis. The team continues to implement our plan to draw down inventory across the balance of the year [at] sufficient levels, though as previously noted, the downward curve will not necessarily be linear across the calendar.

第二，降低高庫存水平以釋放現金。與我們的網絡一樣，該企業的原材料和庫存水平超過了當前的需求水平。我們正在降低這些庫存水平，並在此過程中產生現金，庫存連續下降 [3000 萬美元] 或近 6%。該團隊繼續實施我們的計劃，以在今年餘下時間以足夠的水平減少庫存，儘管如前所述，下降曲線在整個日曆中不一定是線性的。

Three, prioritization of near-term growth opportunities at select long-term strategic partners. We are taking specific action to encourage the near-term restoration of growth even as we continue to nurture our most valuable long-term opportunities and partnerships. Here, I've chosen to focus my comments on U.S. Retail grocery with regard to near-term actions, given the segment's impact on our growth, though we are using similar approaches in U.S. Foodservice.

第三，優先考慮選擇長期戰略合作夥伴的近期增長機會。我們正在採取具體行動鼓勵近期恢復增長，同時我們繼續培育最有價值的長期機會和合作夥伴關係。在這裡，考慮到該細分市場對我們增長的影響，我選擇將我的評論集中在美國零售雜貨店的近期行動上，儘管我們在美國食品服務中使用了類似的方法。

In U.S. Retail grocery, we are focused on restoring growth to our refrigerated offerings where we face our most challenging year-over-year comparisons through 4 main actions.

在美國零售雜貨店，我們專注於恢復冷藏產品的增長，我們通過 4 項主要行動面對最具挑戰性的同比比較。

One, as we approach summer, we're rolling out [Better with the Odd], a broad marketing program will air again that highlights the great taste and health benefits of our products while celebrating our clean and sustainable process. This messaging continues to be a critical point of engagement with the consumer as there remains confusion around what we make our plant-based products from and how we make them. Setting the record straight is a key part of the consumers back to the category.

第一，隨著夏季的臨近，我們將推出 [Better with the Odd]，一項廣泛的營銷計劃將再次播出，突出我們產品的美味和健康益處，同時慶祝我們清潔和可持續的流程。這種信息傳遞仍然是與消費者互動的關鍵點，因為人們對我們製造植物性產品的原料和製造方式仍然感到困惑。打破紀錄是消費者回歸品類的關鍵部分。

Two, we are working with our largest retail partners to implement a ground game strategy that features digital marketing, in-store activation and promotional campaigns to reengage the consumer around the important themes of taste and health.

第二，我們正在與我們最大的零售合作夥伴合作，實施以數字營銷、店內激活和促銷活動為特色的地面遊戲戰略，以圍繞口味和健康的重要主題重新吸引消費者。

Three, we continue to evaluate strategic pricing actions to further test elasticities as we seek to narrow the gap between our products and animal protein.

第三，我們繼續評估戰略定價行動，以進一步測試彈性，因為我們試圖縮小我們的產品和動物蛋白之間的差距。

Four, we plan to introduce certain renovations within our refrigerated portfolio.

第四，我們計劃在我們的冷藏產品組合中進行某些改造。

We are intensifying our implementation of each of these 4 tactics, broader marketing programs designed to educate consumers amid substantial noise, [tactic] collaboration with our key retailers, strategic pricing toward our parity goal and select renovation as we head into peak grilling season.

我們正在加強對這 4 種策略中每一種的實施，旨在在大量噪音中教育消費者的更廣泛的營銷計劃，與我們的主要零售商的 [策略] 合作，實現我們平價目標的戰略定價，以及在我們進入燒烤旺季時選擇翻新。

In the frozen set in U.S. Retail, despite its recent launch, Beyond Steak has quickly risen to #2 SKU in frozen plant-based meat at a key retail customer, and we continue to expand distribution for the product. More generally, the frozen category continues to be a growth area for our brand where sequential and year-over-year dollars and units were both up significantly.

在美國零售的冷凍系列中，儘管 Beyond Steak 最近推出，但它在主要零售客戶的冷凍植物肉中迅速上升到 #2 SKU，我們繼續擴大產品的分銷。更一般地說，冷凍品類仍然是我們品牌的增長領域，其連續和同比美元和單位都顯著增長。

Specifically, in the frozen category, Beyond Meat grew units 20.3% and dollars 28.8% when comparing Q1 2023 to Q4 2022. Year-over-year, Beyond Meat grew units 31.5% and dollars 36.4% during the same period, according to SPINS data for the 12 weeks ending March 26, 2023.

具體而言，在冷凍類別中，與 2023 年第一季度和 2022 年第四季度相比，Beyond Meat 銷量增長 20.3%，美元增長 28.8%。根據 SPINS 數據，Beyond Meat 同期銷量增長 31.5%，美元增長 36.4%截至 2023 年 3 月 26 日的 12 週。

Moving on to EU Retail. We are expanding our product portfolio in the EU with localized innovation that draws on the resources and expertise of our global team. In the Netherlands and the U.K., we rolled out a new range of plant-based chicken products. In the Netherlands, the Beyond Chicken Burger, Beyond Schnitzel, Beyond Tenders and Beyond Nuggets can be found at select Albert Heijn and Jumbo stores nationwide. In the U.K., the Beyond Chicken Burger, Beyond Fillet and Beyond Nuggets are available at select Waitrose and Sainsbury's stores. These products complement the existing Beyond Meat portfolio in Europe, which includes Beyond Burger, Beyond Sausage, Beyond Mince and Beyond Meatballs.

轉到歐盟零售。我們正在利用我們全球團隊的資源和專業知識，通過本地化創新擴大我們在歐盟的產品組合。在荷蘭和英國，我們推出了一系列新的植物性雞肉產品。在荷蘭，Beyond Chicken Burger、Beyond Schnitzel、Beyond Tenders 和 Beyond Nuggets 可以在全國的精選 Albert Heijn 和 Jumbo 商店買到。在英國，Beyond Chicken Burger、Beyond Fillet 和 Beyond Nuggets 可在指定的 Waitrose 和 Sainsbury 商店購買。這些產品補充了歐洲現有的 Beyond Meat 產品組合，其中包括 Beyond Burger、Beyond Sausage、Beyond Mince 和 Beyond Meatballs。

Turning to our strategic partners and long-term opportunities. We are encouraged by the success of the plant platform in Europe, which are contributing to our year-over-year growth of 100% in International Foodservice. Both the McPlant Burger and McPlant Nuggets are seeing success across McDonald's in Germany, while the latter is also offered as a happy meal option in Germany.

轉向我們的戰略合作夥伴和長期機會。我們對歐洲工廠平台的成功感到鼓舞，這有助於我們在國際餐飲服務領域實現 100% 的同比增長。 McPlant Burger 和 McPlant Nuggets 在德國的麥當勞都取得了成功，而後者在德國也作為一種快樂的用餐選擇提供。

I've had the pleasure of enjoying the McPlant Nugget at various McDonald's throughout Germany and would certainly agree with the very positive press it is receiving. I'm immensely proud of all the members of our global team who worked so tirelessly to bring this product forward, and I'm grateful for the collaboration and partnership from McDonald's that is making it possible.

我有幸在德國各地的多家麥當勞享受過 McPlant Nugget，並且肯定會同意它收到的非常積極的媒體報導。我為我們全球團隊的所有成員感到無比自豪，他們孜孜不倦地工作以推動該產品的發展，我感謝麥當勞的合作和夥伴關係使它成為可能。

Moreover, the McPlant Burger continues to resonate and succeed with the EU consumer and remains a permanent menu item in the U.K., Ireland, Austria, Germany and the Netherlands, but also being offered for a limited time in Portugal. Additionally, in Austria, McDonald's continues to offer limited time items like McPlant, Steakhouse Burger and the McPlant Fresh Burger on a rotating basis.

此外，McPlant Burger 繼續在歐盟消費者中引起共鳴並取得成功，並且在英國、愛爾蘭、奧地利、德國和荷蘭仍然是永久菜單項，但也在葡萄牙限時供應。此外，在奧地利，麥當勞繼續輪流提供限時商品，如 McPlant、Steakhouse Burger 和 McPlant Fresh Burger。

Turning to Yum!. Our products remain permanent menu items at Pizza Hut restaurants in Canada, the U.K., Singapore, El Salvador, Guatemala and Sweden. In summary, across all segments of the business, net revenues rose 15% Q1 2023 over Q4 2022, which in and of itself is less noteworthy given typical seasonality. However, the increase exceeded the same year-ago metric of 8.7%.

轉向百勝！我們的產品一直是加拿大、英國、新加坡、薩爾瓦多、危地馬拉和瑞典必勝客餐廳的永久菜單。總而言之，在所有業務部門中，2023 年第一季度的淨收入比 2022 年第四季度增長了 15%，考慮到典型的季節性，這本身就不那麼值得注意了。然而，這一增幅超過了去年同期 8.7% 的指標。

This relative progress was driven by modest sequential increases in U.S. Retail and U.S. Foodservice net revenues, with total sequential growth bolstered by a 31% increase in International Retail net revenues and a jump in International Foodservice net revenues, which saw a 45% growth quarter-over-quarter. Though encouraging on a sequential basis, our focus and expectation is the return of Beyond Meat to year-over-year growth on a quarterly basis as we move past Q2 2023 more challenging year-ago comparison and into the back half of the year.

這一相對進展是由美國零售和美國食品服務淨收入的適度環比增長推動的，國際零售淨收入增長 31% 以及國際食品服務淨收入增長 45% 的季度增長推動了總環比增長超過四分之一。儘管在連續的基礎上令人鼓舞，但我們的重點和期望是隨著我們度過 2023 年第二季度更具挑戰性的一年前比較並進入今年下半年，Beyond Meat 將按季度恢復同比增長。

I would now like to turn from the near-term actions to check in on our enduring longer-term strategy. As I maintained, it is our belief that we will cross over the chasm from early adopters to mainstream consumers by relentlessly focusing on: one, advancing the taste and broader sensory profile of our platforms; two, articulating the health benefits of our products to the consumer in a way that resonates; and three, driving our cost structure to the point where we can match and then underprice animal protein. I will focus on each of these crossover elements, chase health and price for much of the balance of my comments today. We continue to advance the taste and sensory profile of our products as well as expand distribution of award-winning offerings.

我現在想從近期行動轉向檢查我們持久的長期戰略。正如我堅持的那樣，我們相信我們將通過不懈地關注以下方面來跨越從早期採用者到主流消費者的鴻溝：第一，提升我們平台的品味和更廣泛的感官形象；第二，以引起消費者共鳴的方式向消費者闡明我們產品的健康益處；第三，將我們的成本結構推向可以匹配並低於動物蛋白價格的水平。我將重點關注這些交叉元素中的每一個，追逐健康和價格，以獲得我今天評論的大部分平衡。我們繼續提升我們產品的口味和感官特徵，並擴大屢獲殊榮的產品的分銷。

This summer, I am pleased to announce that we will be launching a new generation of our burger platform in foodservice and in the retail frozen section. Both offerings contain strong advances in sensory profile, particularly around delivery of animal-like and serum-like notes with a convincing yet neutral beef flavor. A long time in the making, we are receiving very positive reviews from early customer tests.

今年夏天，我很高興地宣布，我們將在餐飲服務和零售冷凍部分推出新一代漢堡平台。這兩種產品都在感官方面取得了重大進展，尤其是在傳遞具有令人信服但中性牛肉風味的動物樣和血清樣風味方面。經過很長時間的開發，我們從早期的客戶測試中收到了非常積極的評價。

Moving to health, the second element of our crossover strategy. We continue to develop products that provide important health benefits to the consumer. Beyond Steak is a great example. As was announced yesterday, Beyond Steak has been certified by the American Heart Association's distinguished Heart-Check program, joining the ranks of a select number of foods that meet the American Heart Association's exacting heart-healthy nutrition requirements, including being low in saturated fats, trans fats and sodium.

轉向健康，這是我們交叉戰略的第二個要素。我們繼續開發可為消費者帶來重要健康益處的產品。 Beyond Steak 就是一個很好的例子。正如昨天宣布的那樣，Beyond Steak 已獲得美國心臟協會傑出的心臟檢查計劃的認證，加入了滿足美國心臟協會嚴格的心臟健康營養要求的精選食品行列，包括低飽和脂肪，反式脂肪和鈉。

More to the same, Beyond Steak has received a good housekeeping Nutritionist Approved Emblem, and is the first plant-based meat to earn this recognition in Good Housekeeping Institute's Nutrition Lab, which assesses foods based on specific nutritional criteria as well as taste, simplicity, convenience and transparency. Here again, I'm very proud of all the hard-working team members at Beyond Meat who've worked for years to bring such a powerful, purposeful and positive innovation to consumers and families. Whether the certification of Beyond Steak at American Heart Association, our 5-year research program with Stanford University School of Medicine, the Plant-Based Diet Initiative, or our 3-year agreement with the American Cancer Society to advance research on plant-based meeting cancer prevention, it should be clear that we are highly focused on helping consumers understand the facts and empirical data underlying the benefits of our plant-based meat.

更重要的是，Beyond Steak 獲得了 Good Housekeeping Nutritionist Approved Emblem，並且是第一個在 Good Housekeeping Institute 的營養實驗室獲得此認可的植物性肉類，該實驗室根據特定的營養標準以及口味、簡單性、方便和透明。在這裡，我再次為 Beyond Meat 所有辛勤工作的團隊成員感到自豪，他們多年來一直致力於為消費者和家庭帶來如此強大、有目的和積極的創新。無論是 Beyond Steak 在美國心臟協會的認證、我們與斯坦福大學醫學院的 5 年研究計劃、植物性飲食計劃，還是我們與美國癌症協會達成的 3 年協議，以推進植物性會議的研究預防癌症，應該清楚的是，我們高度重視幫助消費者了解我們的植物性肉類益處背後的事實和經驗數據。

The third element of our crossover strategy remains price. In an economy where aggressive price taking has been the norm, [quoting] consumer under economic pressure and various important parts of everyday life, we remain committed to our strategy of marching toward price parity with animal protein. The last 18 to 24 months of interjected substantial noise into our production system, but today, we have what is perhaps our clearest line of sight in sometime to further cost reduction. Accordingly, as progress allows, we will continue to explore certain time-limited pricing programs to provide insights into consumer behavior as we narrow the gap between our products and their animal protein equivalent. It remains our strong conviction that by providing consumers with delicious plant-based meats with clearly understood health benefits at a price point that is at or below that of animal meats, we can access a meaningful percentage of the $1.4 trillion global meat industry.

我們交叉策略的第三個要素仍然是價格。在一個激進的價格上漲已成為常態的經濟體中，[引用]消費者在經濟壓力下和日常生活的各個重要部分，我們仍然致力於我們的戰略，與動物蛋白價格平價。過去 18 到 24 個月給我們的生產系統注入了大量噪音，但今天，我們可能是在某個時候最清晰的視線進一步降低成本。因此，在進展允許的情況下，我們將繼續探索某些限時定價計劃，以提供對消費者行為的洞察，因為我們縮小了我們的產品與其動物蛋白等效物之間的差距。我們仍然堅信，通過以等於或低於動物肉類的價格為消費者提供美味的植物性肉類，以及明確了解的健康益處，我們可以在價值 1.4 萬億美元的全球肉類行業中佔有相當大的份額。

In closing, as we look back on the second full quarter of our transition towards a sustainable growth operating model with an emphasis on achieving cash flow positive operations in the second half of this year, we are encouraged by early results, even as we have many miles left to travel. We continue to advance by working the plant, driving margin expansion and OpEx efficiency and the implementation of lean value streams across our beef, pork and poultry portfolio, managing inventory for cash as we push toward much higher efficiency, steady-state inventory levels and pursuing a more narrow set of near-term growth initiatives even as we support our most valuable long-term partners and opportunities. I look forward to returning to you next quarter to share progress.

最後，當我們回顧我們向可持續增長運營模式過渡的第二個完整季度，重點是在今年下半年實現正現金流運營時，我們對早期結果感到鼓舞，儘管我們有很多剩餘行駛里程。我們通過在工廠工作、推動利潤擴張和運營支出效率以及在我們的牛肉、豬肉和家禽產品組合中實施精益價值流、在我們推動更高效率、穩態庫存水平和追求現金的過程中管理現金庫存來繼續推進即使我們支持我們最有價值的長期合作夥伴和機會，我們也將推出一系列範圍更廣的近期增長計劃。我期待著下個季度再次與您分享進展。

With that, I'll turn it over to Lubi to walk us through our first quarter financial results in greater detail as well as our outlook for the balance of the year.

有了這個，我將把它交給 Lubi，讓我們更詳細地了解我們第一季度的財務業績以及我們對今年餘下時間的展望。

Thanks, Ethan. Our first quarter results reflect continued sequential progress and demonstrate the early success our team is having in executing against our operating plan. So net revenues declined 16% year-over-year to $92.2 million as we continue to navigate the challenging environment. We drove a 15% sequential increase relative to Q4, representing our strongest Q4 to Q1 percentage increase since the first quarter of 2019.

謝謝，伊桑。我們第一季度的業績反映了持續的連續進展，並證明了我們的團隊在執行我們的運營計劃方面取得的早期成功。因此，隨著我們繼續應對充滿挑戰的環境，淨收入同比下降 16% 至 9220 萬美元。與第四季度相比，我們實現了 15% 的環比增長，這是自 2019 年第一季度以來我們最強勁的第四季度至第一季度百分比增幅。

We recognize, however, that there is still much work to do as our absolute top line results and category trends continue to reflect demand weakness amid broader macroeconomic headwinds. Within U.S. plant-based meat, our core subcategory of refrigerated continues to experience significant challenges that inflationary pressures have driven a shift towards lower-priced animal protein among consumers. With this backdrop and as we lap a more difficult comparison from last year that included strong sell-in of Beyond Meat Jerky, and particularly strong Q2 results in our foodservice business, we expect to see a more muted sequential increase in revenues from Q1 to Q2 this year than in recent years past. I'll return to this topic momentarily when I discuss our outlook for the balance of the year.

然而，我們認識到仍有許多工作要做，因為我們的絕對收入結果和類別趨勢繼續反映出在更廣泛的宏觀經濟逆風中需求疲軟。在美國植物基肉類中，我們的核心冷藏子類別繼續面臨重大挑戰，通脹壓力已促使消費者轉向價格較低的動物蛋白。在這種背景下，隨著我們與去年進行比較困難的比較，包括 Beyond Meat Jerky 的強勁銷售，以及我們餐飲服務業務的第二季度業績尤其強勁，我們預計第一季度至第二季度的收入環比增長將更加溫和今年比過去幾年都好。當我討論我們對今年餘下時間的展望時，我會馬上回到這個話題。

Turning to the drivers of our first quarter net revenue performance. Net revenue per pound decreased approximately 9.1% year-over-year and volume of products sold declined 7.3%. The decrease in net revenue per pound was primarily attributable to changes in product sales mix, increased trade discounts and, to a lesser extent, unfavorable foreign exchange rate impact, partially offset by higher pricing for certain products.

轉向我們第一季度淨收入表現的驅動因素。每磅淨收入同比下降約 9.1%，產品銷量下降 7.3%。每磅淨收入的減少主要是由於產品銷售組合的變化、貿易折扣的增加以及在較小程度上不利的匯率影響，部分被某些產品的更高定價所抵消。

Gross profit in the first quarter of 2023 was $6.2 million or 6.7% of net revenues compared to $0.2 million or 0.2% of net revenues in the year-ago period. Of note, gross profit and gross margin included the impact from a change in accounting estimate associated with the estimated useful lives of our large manufacturing equipment. For further context, during the first quarter of 2023, we completed a reassessment of the useful lives of our manufacturing and R&D equipment and determined that an increase in the useful lives of certain large equipment from a range of 5 to 10 years to a uniform 10 years was appropriate to reflect more current operating practices and equipment service periods. The resulting change in estimate reduced cost depreciation expense in the quarter by approximately $5.1 million or 5.5 percentage points of gross margin relative to depreciation expense utilizing our previous estimated useful lives.

2023 年第一季度的毛利潤為 620 萬美元，占淨收入的 6.7%，而去年同期為 20 萬美元，占淨收入的 0.2%。值得注意的是，毛利和毛利率包括與我們大型製造設備的估計使用壽命相關的會計估計變更的影響。進一步了解情況，在 2023 年第一季度，我們完成了對製造和研發設備使用壽命的重新評估，並確定將某些大型設備的使用壽命從 5 到 10 年增加到統一的 10 年年是適當的，以反映更多當前的操作實踐和設備服務期。由此產生的估計變化使本季度的成本折舊費用減少了約 510 萬美元或毛利率的 5.5 個百分點，相對於使用我們之前估計的使用壽命的折舊費用。

However, when considering the roughly $0.30 year-over-year improvement in gross profit per pound, inclusive of the aforementioned change in accounting estimate, depreciation expense accounted for only $0.02 of the increase. The primary drivers of the year-over-year improvement in gross profit per pound were reduced manufacturing and logistics cost per pound, which contributed a combined benefit of approximately $0.84. However, these factors were partially offset by lower net revenue and increased inventory reserves per pound.

然而，考慮到每磅毛利同比增長約 0.30 美元，包括上述會計估計變更，折舊費用僅佔增長的 0.02 美元。每磅毛利同比增長的主要驅動因素是每磅製造和物流成本降低，這帶來了大約 0.84 美元的綜合收益。然而，這些因素部分被較低的淨收入和增加的每磅庫存儲備所抵消。

Turning to OpEx. Operating expenses in the first quarter of 2023 were $63.9 million, down approximately 35% year-over-year and reflecting our ongoing focus on rightsizing our expense base. The year-over-year decrease in OpEx was primarily driven by lower marketing expenses, including advertising, reduced nonproduction headcount expenses, lower production trial expenses and decreased outbound freight costs included in our selling expenses. Of note, SG&A expenses in the first quarter of 2023 included $3.9 million in noncash expenses related to losses on sales of certain fixed assets.

轉向運營支出。 2023 年第一季度的運營費用為 6,390 萬美元，同比下降約 35%，反映出我們持續關注調整費用基礎。運營支出的同比下降主要是由於營銷費用減少，包括廣告、非生產人員費用減少、生產試驗費用減少以及我們銷售費用中包含的出境運費減少。值得注意的是，2023 年第一季度的 SG&A 費用包括與某些固定資產銷售損失相關的 390 萬美元非現金費用。

Moving further down the P&L, we saw a $4.1 million increase in net interest income and foreign currency transaction gains compared to the year-ago period, partially offset by a $2.6 million increase in loss from our unconsolidated joint venture, primarily reflecting limited economic activity at TPP in the year-ago period. Overall net loss was, therefore, $59 million in the first quarter of 2023 or a net loss per common share of $0.92 compared to $100.5 million or net loss per common share of $1.58 in the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $45.8 million or minus 49.6% of net revenues in the first quarter of 2023 compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $78.9 million or minus 72.1% of net revenues in the year-ago period.

進一步向下看損益表，我們發現與去年同期相比，淨利息收入和外幣交易收益增加了 410 萬美元，部分被我們未合併的合資企業的虧損增加 260 萬美元所抵消，這主要反映了有限的經濟活動去年同期的 TPP。因此，2023 年第一季度的總體淨虧損為 5900 萬美元或每股普通股淨虧損 0.92 美元，而去年同期為 1.005 億美元或每股普通股淨虧損 1.58 美元。 2023 年第一季度調整後的 EBITDA 虧損 4580 萬美元或淨收入的負 49.6%，而去年同期調整後的 EBITDA 虧損為 7890 萬美元或淨收入的負 72.1%。

Now turning to our balance sheet and cash flow highlights. Our cash and cash equivalents balance, including restricted cash, was $273.6 million, and total debt outstanding was approximately $1.1 billion as of April 1, 2023. Inventory fell to $222.4 million, a reduction of $13.3 million compared to the previous quarter. As you may have seen, we filed a universal shelf registration statement earlier today, which will be used to bolster our balance sheet. Under such a registration statement, we are establishing a $200 million at-the-market facility for our common stock.

現在轉向我們的資產負債表和現金流亮點。截至 2023 年 4 月 1 日，我們的現金和現金等價物餘額為 2.736 億美元，未償債務總額約為 11 億美元。庫存降至 2.224 億美元，比上一季度減少 1330 萬美元。正如您可能已經看到的，我們今天早些時候提交了一份通用貨架註冊聲明，該聲明將用於支持我們的資產負債表。根據這樣的註冊聲明，我們正在為我們的普通股建立一個 2 億美元的市場融資機制。

Turning to cash flows. Net cash used in operating activities in the first quarter of 2023 was $42.2 million or a $123 million decrease compared to the year-ago period. Capital expenditures totaled $5.3 million in Q1 of 2023 compared to $21.5 million in the year-ago period. Cash flows from investing activities also included $3.3 million related to investments in our joint venture, partially offset by $2.3 million in proceeds from the sale of fixed assets.

轉向現金流。 2023 年第一季度經營活動使用的現金淨額為 4220 萬美元，同比減少 1.23 億美元。 2023 年第一季度的資本支出總計 530 萬美元，而去年同期為 2150 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，部分被出售固定資產所得的 230 萬美元抵消。

Let me now provide some commentary about our 2023 outlook. Our guidance remains largely unchanged from the targets we provided on our last earnings call. For the full year 2023, we continue to 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. For the second quarter, we expect net revenues to increase roughly 15% sequentially relative to Q1 of this year. This Q2 outlook takes into consideration tough year-ago comparisons as mentioned earlier, some presumed impact from temporary supply chain issues at third-party warehousing facilities and incrementally higher category headwinds relative to our previous expectations.

現在讓我對我們的 2023 年展望發表一些評論。我們的指引與我們在上次財報電話會議上提供的目標基本保持不變。對於 2023 年全年，我們繼續預計淨收入將在 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%。對於第二季度，我們預計淨收入與今年第一季度相比環比增長約 15%。如前所述，第二季度的展望考慮了艱難的一年前比較，第三方倉儲設施的臨時供應鏈問題以及相對於我們之前預期的逐漸增加的類別逆風的一些假定影響。

Overall, for the full year, we expect revenue contributions for the first and second halves to be relatively evenly distributed, with a slightly higher weighting towards the first half. This implies an acceleration in revenue growth in the second half of 2023, which we expect to be driven by continued distribution expansion of recently launched products in the U.S., including Beyond Steak, Beyond Chicken Nuggets, Beyond Popcorn Chicken and Beyond Chicken Fillet, distribution expansion and contribution from new products in international markets and the cycling of weaker year-ago comparisons.

總體而言，對於全年，我們預計上半年和下半年的收入貢獻將相對平均分配，上半年的權重略高。這意味著 2023 年下半年收入增長加速，我們預計這將受到最近在美國推出的產品的持續分銷擴張的推動，包括 Beyond Steak、Beyond Chicken Nuggets、Beyond Popcorn Chicken 和 Beyond Chicken Fillet，分銷擴張以及國際市場新產品的貢獻以及一年前比較疲軟的循環。

With respect to gross margin, as a result of the change in accounting estimate for depreciation, gross margin is now expected to be 1 to 2 percentage points above our prior guidance of low double digits for the full year. Gross margin is still expected to increase sequentially through the remainder of the year. We continue to expect total operating expenses to be approximately $250 million for the full year 2023, weighted slightly more heavily towards the front half of the year. And our previous CapEx estimate of $30 million to $35 million for the full year remains unchanged. We continue to target the achievement of positive free cash flow within the second half of 2023.

在毛利率方面，由於折舊會計估計的變化，毛利率現在預計比我們先前對全年低兩位數的指導高出 1 至 2 個百分點。預計今年剩餘時間毛利率仍將繼續增長。我們繼續預計 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。我們之前對全年 3000 萬至 3500 萬美元的資本支出估計保持不變。我們繼續以在 2023 年下半年實現正自由現金流為目標。

Finally, let me provide a quick update on TPP. In the first quarter of 2023, we continued the process of restructuring certain contracts and operating activities related to Beyond Meat Jerky, and we intend to assume distribution responsibilities for Beyond Meat Jerky starting in the fourth quarter of 2023, a move which we believe will support our overall objectives for gross margin expansion. TPP will remain as the vehicle to evaluate a range of plant-based products for potential future business development.

最後，讓我簡要介紹一下 TPP。 2023 年第一季度，我們繼續重組與 Beyond Meat Jerky 相關的某些合同和運營活動，我們打算從 2023 年第四季度開始承擔 Beyond Meat Jerky 的分銷責任，我們認為此舉將支持我們毛利率擴張的總體目標。 TPP 將繼續作為評估一系列植物基產品以促進未來潛在業務發展的工具。

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) Today's first question comes from Alexia Howard with Bernstein.

（操作員說明）今天的第一個問題來自 Alexia Howard 和 Bernstein。

Can I ask -- I guess the main question is about the return to cash flow positive in the second half of the year. I know you gave pretty good ideas of where the big levers are. But are you able to sort of prioritize those? Where are the biggest levers that get you back to that in the second half of the year given that pricing is coming down and you've got some of the, I think you said, higher category headwinds than previously expected in some of the prepared remarks?

我能問嗎 - 我想主要問題是關於今年下半年現金流量的正回報。我知道你對大槓桿在哪裡給出了很好的想法。但是你能對這些進行優先排序嗎？考慮到定價正在下降，你有一些，我想你說過，在一些準備好的評論中，你有一些比之前預期的更大的類別阻力，讓你在今年下半年回到那個狀態的最大槓桿在哪裡？

Sure. Thank you. So we really have 4 levers, as you know, to guide ourselves into a cash flow positive position, net revenue margin, OpEx, and of course, freeing up cash from inventory. And so it's just a question of optimizing the combination of those factors. We are obviously going to lean very heavily into freeing up cash and inventory. We have a significant amount of inventory relative to current demand environment. So we're going to use that as a source of cash.

當然。謝謝。因此，如您所知，我們確實有 4 個槓桿來引導我們自己進入正現金流狀態、淨收入利潤率、運營支出，當然還有從庫存中釋放現金。所以這只是一個優化這些因素組合的問題。顯然，我們將非常依賴於釋放現金和庫存。相對於當前的需求環境，我們有大量庫存。所以我們打算用它作為現金來源。

We're also very much focused on gross margin improvement. And if you look at what we were able to accomplish swinging into positive this quarter relative to where we were, let's say, in the third quarter at negative 18, you can see that some of the kind of systemic shocks that our business went through are starting to subside and we're starting to, quarter-over-quarter, get back into a much stronger position with a business that is more appropriate for the current market. So we feel confident that we'll continue to get cash out of inventory and, in fact, accelerate that to get to that cash flow positive goal in the second half of this year.

我們也非常關注毛利率的提高。如果你看看我們在本季度相對於我們的情況能夠實現的積極影響，比方說，在第三季度為負 18，你可以看到我們的業務經歷的一些系統性衝擊是開始消退，我們開始，一個季度一個季度地，通過更適合當前市場的業務回到更強大的位置。因此，我們有信心我們將繼續從庫存中獲取現金，事實上，我們將加快這一進程，以在今年下半年實現正現金流目標。

Now continuing on a cash flow positive trajectory. We're also comp in that regard, but want to caution that there'll be some quarters where we're adding cash and some quarters where we're not as we overall continue to orient the business in that direction. But I think the main piece of information that I want people to take away is that we have organized the business around that principle, right? Our decision-making is governed by achieving and then sustaining over time cash flow positive operations. So if we get into a situation where some of the levers aren't working as well as we thought, we'll also attack the problem through operating expense.

現在繼續在現金流積極的軌道上。我們在這方面也很滿意，但要提醒的是，在某些季度我們會增加現金，而在某些季度我們不會增加現金，因為我們總體上會繼續將業務導向這個方向。但我認為我希望人們帶走的主要信息是我們圍繞該原則組織了業務，對嗎？我們的決策是通過實現並隨著時間的推移維持現金流正向運營來管理的。因此，如果我們遇到一些槓桿沒有像我們想像的那樣有效的情況，我們也會通過運營費用來解決這個問題。

The next question comes from Adam Samuelson with Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題來自高盛的亞當薩繆爾森。

So I guess 2 questions. I mean, Lubi, I think in the prepared remarks, you alluded to $200 million at the market equity facility. I just would like to hear you elaborate on kind of the decision to pursue that route for financing, kind of the intention that -- or the aim of actually raising that much capital and kind of over what time frame do you think you could possibly do that.

所以我猜有兩個問題。我的意思是，Lubi，我認為在準備好的發言中，你提到了 2 億美元的市場股權融資。我只是想听聽你詳細說明選擇那種融資途徑的決定，那種意圖 - 或者實際籌集那麼多資金的目的，以及你認為你可以在什麼時間框架內完成那。

And then maybe coming back to the point on cash flow this year, just to maybe put a finer point on cash flow positive operations in the second half of the year. Is that specifically saying in one specific quarter? Or cumulatively in second half, in total, you actually expect cash flow positive operations. I just want to be clear on kind of how we're measuring that goal.

然後可能會回到今年的現金流點，只是為了在今年下半年的現金流正操作上提供一個更好的點。這是專門針對某個特定季度說的嗎？或者在下半年累計，您實際上預計現金流為正的操作。我只想弄清楚我們是如何衡量這個目標的。

Yes. Thanks. So I'll tackle the first one and then Lubi can elaborate on the timing of the cash flow positive. So on the ATM, it's something that we wanted to put out there. We are, again, very confident in the progression the business is making. I think the story is one where, week-over-week, we're making considerable progress toward restoring growth and creating a sustainable business model. So it's in no way a signal that we're needing the cash immediately. So as a result, we're just going to use it opportunistically. We'll use it as we think the conditions are appropriate. But it's really to bolster our cash reserves and put it out there because I think there was a lingering question about what we're going to do. And so this provides an answer, but we are going to be very judicious and thoughtful about when and how we use it.

是的。謝謝。所以我會解決第一個，然後 Lubi 可以詳細說明現金流為正的時間。所以在 ATM 上，這是我們想要放在那裡的東西。我們再次對業務的發展充滿信心。我認為這個故事是這樣一個故事，一周又一周，我們在恢復增長和創建可持續商業模式方面取得了長足進步。所以這絕不是我們立即需要現金的信號。因此，我們只是機會主義地使用它。我們會在我們認為條件合適時使用它。但這確實是為了增加我們的現金儲備並將其投入使用，因為我認為我們將要做什麼是一個揮之不去的問題。所以這提供了一個答案，但我們將非常明智和深思熟慮我們何時以及如何使用它。

Yes. Thanks, Ethan. And then so, Adam, on your question regarding the guidance around cash flow positive, what we've said is we're targeting being cash flow positive within the second half. And so that can either mean both quarters, Q2 and Q3 or one quarter. Now we're doing everything that we can around some of the levers that Ethan mentioned already to drive stronger gross margin performance and making sure that we manage operating expenses within a very tight sort of range, right?

是的。謝謝，伊桑。然後，亞當，關於你關於正現金流指導的問題，我們所說的是我們的目標是在下半年實現正現金流。因此，這可能意味著兩個季度，Q2 和 Q3 或一個季度。現在我們正在盡一切努力圍繞 Ethan 已經提到的一些槓桿來推動更強勁的毛利率表現，並確保我們在非常狹窄的範圍內管理運營費用，對吧？

And so we would, of course, love to be able to hit that mark in both the third quarter and the fourth quarter. But what we've said was within. So we think we should be able to do it within the second half. And again, just to remind you, the way we've defined that cash flow positive objective is it is free cash flow. So operating cash flow from operations less CapEx.

因此，我們當然希望能夠在第三節和第四節都達到這個目標。但我們所說的是內在的。所以我們認為我們應該能夠在下半場做到這一點。再次提醒您，我們定義現金流為正目標的方式是自由現金流。因此，來自運營的運營現金流量減少了資本支出。

The next question comes from Rob Dickerson with Jefferies.

下一個問題來自 Jefferies 的 Rob Dickerson。

Great. Ethan, kind of fairly broad question just around household penetration. Clearly, household penetration dropped. It has elevated through COVID, and then some headwinds. Obviously now it's pulled back some. And just kind of looks like, given you're the largest player, right, that the category itself has compressed. But driven more by you, right, let's say, than others. And if you look at that, you think through that and then we think through kind of the forthcoming innovation pipeline that you're speaking to in the back half, would you say that there have been kind of like decent material product development changes that are inherent within that innovation that gives you now kind of a better, kind of higher conviction feel on consumer reaction to that innovation relative to clearly the drop in household penetration we've seen over the past 12 months? That's it.

偉大的。 Ethan，關於家庭滲透率的問題相當廣泛。顯然，家庭普及率下降了。它已經通過 COVID 提升，然後是一些逆風。顯然現在它已經退縮了一些。看起來有點像，因為你是最大的玩家，對吧，這個類別本身已經被壓縮了。但比起其他人，更受你的驅使，對吧，比方說。如果你看一下，你仔細想想，然後我們通過你在後半部分談到的即將到來的創新管道來思考，你會說有一些像體面的物質產品開髮變化是與我們在過去 12 個月中看到的家庭普及率明顯下降相比，這種創新內在的內在特性讓你現在對消費者對該創新的反應有了更好、更堅定的感覺？就是這樣。

I appreciate it, and great question. So you're right. There has been, I think, from like 27.8% to 25.5% or something like that reduction. We continue to really look at this in 3 ways. One, there's the macro issue of the inflationary environment and obviously seeing some moderation there, so that gives us a little bit of hope on that front. But if you look at recent earnings of animal meat providers, they're also seeing that trading down that's occurring. So we believe some of that is still at play for sure.

我很感激，很好的問題。所以你是對的。我認為，已經有 27.8% 到 25.5% 或類似的減少。我們繼續以 3 種方式真正看待這個問題。第一，存在通貨膨脹環境的宏觀問題，並且顯然在那裡看到了一些緩和，所以這給了我們一點希望在這方面。但是，如果您查看動物肉供應商最近的收益，他們也會看到正在發生的交易下降。因此，我們相信其中一些肯定仍在發揮作用。

The second is there is a induced level of ambiguity, I think, around the health benefits of our products. And some of that is purposely ceded through interest group campaigns and some of that is just genuine, new category, new products, people doing to figure out what's what. And the third, brand-specific issues where a tremendous number of entrants came into the category, and it became a very crowded and somewhat confusing landscape for the consumer, and I don't think we did enough to really stand out during that.

第二，我認為，圍繞我們產品的健康益處存在一定程度的歧義。其中一些是通過利益集團活動故意放棄的，其中一些只是真正的、新類別、新產品，人們正在做以弄清楚什麼是什麼。第三，品牌特定的問題，大量的進入者進入了這個類別，這對消費者來說變得非常擁擠和有些混亂，我認為我們在這期間做得還不夠，無法真正脫穎而出。

Now some of that's taking care of itself as the category shakes out, and I think the consumer is left with a much more rational and approachable decision that went in the grocery. So -- but those are the kind of 3 main factors that we felt would contribute to the household penetration numbers that you just shared.

現在，隨著類別的淘汰，其中一些正在自行解決，我認為消費者在雜貨店做出了更加理性和平易近人的決定。所以 - 但這些是我們認為會影響您剛剛分享的家庭普及率數字的 3 個主要因素。

Now on the positive side, and I'll get into some of the things that we're doing also on the innovation and renovation side. But first, I do want to pause and look a little bit at the frozen category where we saw units up about 32% and dollars up about 36% year-over-year. And that's obviously from a smaller base. But it shows the power of Beyond innovation. When we launch a new product, for example, like Beyond Steak, that, I think, rose very quickly, as I mentioned in my comments, the #2 position with very short distribution life in a major retailer. And so I think we'll continue to see real progress on that.

現在從積極的方面來說，我將談談我們在創新和革新方面正在做的一些事情。但首先，我確實想暫停一下，看看冷凍類別，我們看到單位同比增長約 32%，美元增長約 36%。這顯然來自較小的基數。但它顯示了超越創新的力量。當我們推出一種新產品時，例如 Beyond Steak，我認為，正如我在評論中提到的那樣，它上升得非常快，在一家大型零售商中排名第二，分銷週期非常短。所以我認為我們將繼續看到這方面的真正進展。

And if you look at in terms of responding to the ambiguity around health, yesterday's announcement from the American Heart Association, that's not an easy thing to do, right? So we've created a piece of steak that is, by all reviews, delicious. And it's earning the endorsement and the certification from AHA, which is very selective, right? So now a product that -- I think (inaudible) has the endorsement. Now something as a center-of-the-plate protein typically associated with kind of very indulgent eating is now something that people can feel really good about consuming it. It's 62% less saturated fat than animal protein -- than the animal protein equivalent. It's a terrific source of protein with fava beans, et cetera. So responding not only through our marketing efforts, but through the products we're putting out to this question that's being raised, I think, largely by incumbent players around the health benefits of our products.

如果你從回應圍繞健康的模糊性的角度來看，昨天美國心臟協會的聲明，這不是一件容易的事，對吧？所以我們製作了一塊牛排，根據所有評論，它都很美味。而且它獲得了 AHA 的認可和認證，這是非常有選擇性的，對吧？所以現在一個產品——我認為（聽不清）得到了認可。現在，作為盤子中心蛋白質的東西通常與一種非常放縱的飲食有關，現在人們食用它會感覺非常好。它的飽和脂肪比動物蛋白少 62%——比同等動物蛋白少 62%。它是蠶豆等蛋白質的極好來源。因此，不僅通過我們的營銷努力，而且通過我們推出的產品來回應這個問題，我認為，主要是由現有參與者圍繞我們產品的健康益處提出的。

So as inflation starts to moderate, as the health message becomes clearer, we're then set up with both the renovation and innovation that we're bringing to market to really reengage the consumer. So I'll talk a little bit about the renovation. So some of that renovation is targeted directly at the refrigerated case where we've had the most significant issues, right? And so you'll see something later this year coming out, which in all of the kind of CLT, the consumer test we do, scores well above the current product in the market.

因此，隨著通貨膨脹開始緩和，隨著健康信息變得更加清晰，我們將進行翻新和創新，並將其推向市場，以真正重新吸引消費者。所以我會談談裝修。因此，其中一些翻新直接針對我們遇到過最重大問題的冷藏箱，對嗎？所以你會在今年晚些時候看到一些東西出來，在所有類型的 CLT 中，我們所做的消費者測試，得分遠高於市場上的當前產品。

Second, we're introducing some really exciting products, which I mentioned, a new iteration of the burger, which all the testing that we've done with customers, for example, on the foodservice side, we've gotten really good reviews. On the consumer side, people all the time looking at it. And it's true, I think, advanced in taste and sensory experience. So that will actually be going into the frozen section and I think will give us a lift.

其次，我們正在推出一些非常令人興奮的產品，我提到過，漢堡的新版本，我們對客戶進行的所有測試，例如，在餐飲服務方面，我們得到了非常好的評價。在消費者方面，人們無時無刻不在關注著它。我認為，這是真的，在味覺和感官體驗方面是先進的。所以這實際上將進入冷凍部分，我認為這會給我們帶來幫助。

Further down the year, you'll see some innovation in some categories where we've been quieter. And so I'm excited to get that out. And then there's price parity program. So we're not going all the way down to the price of animal protein, but we're starting to tease out that elasticity. And as you do that in the stores where we can really control for noise, we are seeing some very good results.

今年再往下，您會在我們比較安靜的某些類別中看到一些創新。所以我很高興能把它說出來。然後是價格平價計劃。因此，我們不會一路走低到動物蛋白的價格，但我們開始梳理出這種彈性。當您在我們可以真正控制噪音的商店中這樣做時，我們看到了一些非常好的結果。

Now that's not in any way a broad statement, right? It's -- these are more limited efforts, and the data is still pretty rough and early. So I caution against using it for anything other than what it is, which is just nascent information. But we are seeing some elasticity that's encouraging around those pricing tests. And then finally, as the shakeout continues to occur, we think we'll have a straighter shot to the consumer. So we are building momentum.

現在這絕不是一個廣泛的聲明，對吧？這是 - 這些都是更有限的努力，數據仍然非常粗糙和早期。所以我告誡不要將它用於除它本身之外的任何其他用途，這只是新生信息。但我們看到圍繞這些定價測試的一些彈性令人鼓舞。最後，隨著洗牌的繼續發生，我們認為我們將更直接地面向消費者。所以我們正在建立勢頭。

Now the second quarter is obviously lapping a very, very significant quarter for us last year, I think, at $147 in revenue. So I think it's really more about quarter 3 and 4 with the lower comps. I think we're finally going to get this business back to being a pretty decent margin and seeing growth again in the second half of the year, which I'm really excited to do.

現在第二季度顯然對我們去年來說是一個非常非常重要的季度，我認為，收入為 147 美元。所以我認為這實際上更多地是關於第 3 和第 4 季度的較低補償。我認為我們最終將使這項業務恢復到相當可觀的利潤率，並在今年下半年再次看到增長，我真的很高興這樣做。

The next question comes from Peter Galbo with Bank of America.

下一個問題來自美國銀行的 Peter Galbo。

Just one quick clarification and then my actual question. Just Lubi, I wanted to understand the change around the depreciation impact to the gross margin. Is that something that continues then throughout the rest of the year? Was it kind of pulled into just 1Q? And so that's really the only flow through kind of to the higher gross margin would be my first question.

只是一個快速的澄清，然後是我的實際問題。只是 Lubi，我想了解折舊對毛利率影響的變化。在今年餘下的時間裡，這種情況會持續嗎？它是否只是被拉入了 1Q？因此，這真的是我的第一個問題，是提高毛利率的唯一途徑。

Yes, sure. So it does continue throughout the year because essentially, as we mentioned, we've done a reassessment of the useful lives of our large equipment and where previously we had a range anywhere from 5 to 10 years across a number of our large manufacturing equipment. We've now moved to a more uniform sort of 10 years, which actually moves us more in line with industry standards. And so there will be a benefit, and that actually is the reason for us -- the primary reason for us taking up the gross margin guidance for the full year.

是的，當然。所以它確實持續了一整年，因為基本上，正如我們提到的，我們已經對我們的大型設備的使用壽命進行了重新評估，而以前我們對許多大型製造設備的使用壽命範圍從 5 到 10 年不等。我們現在已經轉向更統一的 10 年，這實際上使我們更符合行業標準。因此會有一個好處，這實際上是我們的原因——我們接受全年毛利率指導的主要原因。

Now it won't be the -- the benefit won't necessarily be the same throughout the year, particularly when you look at our second and third quarters of the year, which tend to be our strongest quarters from a revenue perspective, just due to seasonality. So we would expect depreciation as a percentage of total net revenues to be lower in those. And so we did increase our gross margin guidance for the full year. We said it would be higher than previous guidance by 1 to 2 percentage points, and it is primarily driven by that.

現在它不會 - 全年的收益不一定相同，特別是當你看看我們今年的第二和第三季度時，從收入的角度來看，這往往是我們最強勁的季度，只是由於到季節性。因此，我們預計折舊佔總淨收入的百分比會更低。因此，我們確實提高了全年的毛利率指引。我們說它會比之前的指導高出 1 到 2 個百分點，這主要是受此驅動的。

Okay. That's helpful. And then maybe, Ethan, just if we could go back on the quarter, just some of the sales trends, I've got a few questions. Just one on U.S. Retail, obviously underperformed a lot of the scan data. Just trying to understand the gap there. And then in International Foodservice, where I think there was a pretty large positive delta, I know you mentioned some of the factors around McPlant and some of the others, but just whether there's any kind of load-in factor there to be conscious of on the first quarter would be helpful.

好的。這很有幫助。然後，伊森，如果我們能回到這個季度，只是一些銷售趨勢，我有幾個問題。只有一個關於美國零售業，顯然表現不及很多掃描數據。只是想了解那裡的差距。然後在 International Foodservice，我認為那裡有一個相當大的正增量，我知道你提到了 McPlant 周圍的一些因素和其他一些因素，但是否有任何類型的加載因素需要注意第一季度會有幫助。

Yes, no problem. So I think you're referencing year-over-year, I think, 100% growth in International Foodservice. And there's obviously some performance in mom-and-pops, but also the TGIFs are really driving that. And while we've had a lot of turbulence in the last several years, I think that the overarching trajectory of the business remains exactly as it has been in the sense of we want to make this transition to plant-based meat. All factors are pointing to it. There's been some disruption to that.

是沒有問題。所以我認為你指的是國際餐飲服務同比增長 100%。夫妻店顯然有一些表現，但 TGIF 也確實推動了這一點。雖然我們在過去幾年經歷了很多動盪，但我認為該業務的總體軌跡仍然與我們想要向植物性肉類過渡的意義完全一樣。所有因素都指向它。有一些中斷。

But as you look at the progress we're making with strategics in Europe, when you spend time over there with the European consumer, you begin to see, I think, what I see, which is a sort of inevitable transition that's occurring. And so to have a major customer like a McDonald's or a Yum! show that kind of progress in a very limited market and do it so profoundly, I think, is really encouraging. So no, there wasn't really load in. It's just progress, quarter-after-quarter progress. And it hasn't been a straight line, but it's -- but I think the arc of this thing is going to continue to be impressive.

但是當你看到我們在歐洲的戰略取得的進展時，當你在那裡與歐洲消費者共度時光時，你開始看到，我認為，我所看到的，這是一種正在發生的不可避免的轉變。所以要擁有像麥當勞或百勝這樣的大客戶！在一個非常有限的市場上展示這種進步並如此深刻地做到這一點，我認為，這真的很令人鼓舞。所以不，並沒有真正加載。這只是進步，一個季度一個季度的進步。它不是一條直線，而是——但我認為這件事的弧度將繼續令人印象深刻。

On the retail side, it kind of gets back to the issues I talked about. It's a tough retail quarter for animal meat as well, right? So there's just a lot of noise in the system right now. We're making the steps that you should make to do this. We're putting in marketing programs at a high level around taste and health. We're doing tactical store programs. We're concentrating very much on our top retailers and have great relationships working there.

在零售方面，它有點回到我談到的問題。對於動物肉來說，這也是一個艱難的零售季度，對吧？所以現在系統中只有很多噪音。我們正在執行您應該執行的步驟。我們正在圍繞口味和健康開展高水平的營銷計劃。我們正在做戰術商店計劃。我們非常專注於我們的頂級零售商，並在那裡建立了良好的合作關係。

If you look at the pricing actions that we're experimenting with and seeing some decent results around, that gives us some encouragement. And then we're doing an overdue renovation of some of our key products and putting in products that are terrific. We're both defending our existing products in terms of our core approach and putting the information out there that consumers need to make informed decisions rather than decisions driven by propaganda or by confusion, whether it's the Stanford Health study that we've done the SWAP-MEAT study, I've talked about a lot in the past, but again, it probably bears repeating where consumers had animal protein twice a day for 8 weeks and then switched over to Beyond Meat twice a day, 8-week period and then back to animal protein. And just in that 8-week period, and if I do nothing else and help the people on this phone call understand this, they saw a drop in bad cholesterol, statistically significant drop.

如果你看看我們正在試驗的定價行動，並看到一些不錯的結果，這會給我們一些鼓勵。然後我們對我們的一些關鍵產品進行了逾期的翻新，並投入了非常棒的產品。我們都在用我們的核心方法來捍衛我們現有的產品，並把消費者需要做出明智決定的信息放在那裡，而不是在宣傳或混淆的驅動下做出決定，無論是我們完成 SWAP 的斯坦福健康研究-MEAT 研究，我過去談過很多，但再次重申，消費者每天兩次食用動物蛋白，持續 8 週，然後每天兩次轉向 Beyond Meat，為期 8 週，然後回到動物蛋白。就在這 8 週的時間裡，如果我什麼都不做，幫助這個電話中的人理解這一點，他們就會看到壞膽固醇下降，統計上顯著下降。

They also saw -- and I think this is even more meaningful. So it's not just LDL cholesterol dropping, with TMAO drops, which is the compound in the gut that they're increasingly associating with heart disease. So you see that benefit, right? And then you see organizations like the American Heart Association endorsing the product, then you see the partnership with American Cancer Society. And there's more to come.

他們還看到了——我認為這更有意義。所以不僅僅是低密度脂蛋白膽固醇下降，TMAO 下降，這是腸道中的化合物，它們越來越多地與心髒病聯繫在一起。所以你看到了那個好處，對吧？然後你會看到像美國心臟協會這樣的組織認可該產品，然後你會看到與美國癌症協會的合作夥伴關係。還有更多。

We are not doing what others do. We're not putting propaganda out there. We're not criticizing other companies. What we are doing is doing the research, right? We're bringing together the medical community to continue to study these issues. But the inevitability of this, the truth that stands behind our products, the proof points that we have, that is what's going to bring us back in retail. And we have to continue to communicate that.

我們不做別人做的事。我們不會在那裡進行宣傳。我們不是在批評其他公司。我們正在做的是做研究，對吧？我們正在召集醫學界繼續研究這些問題。但這是不可避免的，我們產品背後的真相，我們擁有的證據，這將使我們重新回到零售業。我們必須繼續傳達這一點。

So pricing, new products coming in, clear marketing around health and taste. Those are the things that are going to drive us back to a growth position in the second half of the year. And again, week-after-week, we're making progress here. It's gotten to be exciting and fun.

因此，定價、新產品的推出、圍繞健康和口味的明確營銷。這些都是將推動我們在今年下半年恢復增長的因素。再一次，一周又一周，我們在這裡取得進展。它變得令人興奮和有趣。

The next question comes from Ben Theurer with Barclays.

下一個問題來自巴克萊銀行的 Ben Theurer。

Just wanted to follow up on the International Foodservice piece, which clearly was one of the better growth stories in the quarter. And if we kind of look into what you've printed just in 1Q '23, it's kind of the level that we just had before the pandemic hit back in the first quarter of 2020. So I want to understand if you can help us maybe put that into context where we are 1Q '23 versus the 1Q 2020 as it relates to outlets in Europe, the volume itself and how much some of these partnerships you've highlighted have helped you to basically back at those levels and what we should expect for that particular line item in International Foodservice as it relates to the cadence for the rest of the year?

只想跟進 International Foodservice 的文章，這顯然是本季度增長較好的故事之一。如果我們看看你們在 23 年第一季度打印的內容，這就是我們在 2020 年第一季度大流行病爆發之前的水平。所以我想知道你們是否可以幫助我們將其置於我們在 23 年第一季度與 2020 年第一季度的背景下，因為它與歐洲的網點有關，數量本身以及您強調的這些合作夥伴關係中有多少幫助您基本上回到了這些水平以及我們應該期待的對於國際食品服務中的特定行項目，因為它與今年剩餘時間的節奏有關？

Good question. Thank you for the question. So one of the rules that I've always tried to follow is to let our partners kind of speak for their progress. I will say we're just, as I mentioned in my remarks, really proud to be working with McDonald's in Europe and really proud to be working with Yum! and select European markets as well as globally. And to see some of the traction we're making, where you see the McPlant Burger come out, you see the good results there, and then you see the McNugget -- the McPlant Nugget come out and see good results there in the press. I can't share the -- their results to share not mine. But if you look at the press reaction and the consumer reaction in Germany, we're seeing some things we really like. So to see -- after the years and years of investment, to see that start to pay off is something that's very gratifying for us.

好問題。感謝你的提問。所以我一直試圖遵循的規則之一就是讓我們的合作夥伴為他們的進步說話。我要說的是，正如我在發言中提到的，我們真的很自豪能與歐洲的麥當勞合作，也很自豪能與百勝合作！並選擇歐洲和全球市場。看看我們正在製造的一些牽引力，你會看到 McPlant Burger 的出現，在那裡你會看到好的結果，然後你會看到 McPlant Nugget——McPlant Nugget 出現並在媒體上看到好的結果。我不能分享他們的結果，而不是我的。但如果你看看德國媒體的反應和消費者的反應，我們就會看到一些我們真正喜歡的東西。所以看到 - 經過多年的投資，看到開始得到回報對我們來說是非常令人欣慰的。

And what we need to do is continue to work with our supply chain, continue to work with our partners to provide these products at a price point that the everyday consumer can afford. And again, I've always maintained this is around to get the taste right, get the health message super clear and get to the price to the point where it's at parity or below that of animal protein. And in each one of those cases, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, we're doing that, right? We're making it taste more and more like animal protein. We're getting clearer on the health and it for the consumer, and we're driving price reduction. I think I said in the prepared remarks, year-over-year, we're down 9% on average price.

我們需要做的是繼續與我們的供應鏈合作，繼續與我們的合作夥伴合作，以日常消費者能夠承受的價格提供這些產品。再一次，我一直堅持認為這是為了讓口味正確，讓健康信息非常清晰，並將價格定在與動物蛋白相當或低於動物蛋白的水平。在每一種情況下，正如我在準備好的發言中提到的那樣，我們正在這樣做，對嗎？我們正在讓它嘗起來越來越像動物蛋白。我們對消費者的健康狀況和健康狀況越來越清楚，我們正在推動降價。我想我在準備好的發言中說過，與去年同期相比，我們的平均價格下降了 9%。

That's a mix and some of the pricing programs. But I really want to call out the operations team on this. To be able to deliver products, restoring to at least some positive margin while we're also putting price pressure on it, is impressive. And it shows, I think, that they're just scratching the surface. And as we continue to optimize our network and continue to gain scale globally, that will be easier and easier. So the success of the strategics in Europe, I think, is, again, sort of the tip of the iceberg. It's been a successful test, and we expect those to roll out. I can't speak for any one of them, but we do expect those to roll out into other markets over time.

這是一個混合和一些定價程序。但我真的很想就此召集運營團隊。為了能夠交付產品，在我們也對其施加價格壓力的同時至少恢復到一定的正利潤率，這令人印象深刻。我認為，這表明他們只是觸及表面。隨著我們繼續優化我們的網絡並繼續在全球範圍內擴大規模，這將變得越來越容易。因此，我認為，歐洲戰略的成功又是冰山一角。這是一次成功的測試，我們希望它們能夠推出。我不能代表其中任何一個，但我們確實希望隨著時間的推移，這些產品會推廣到其他市場。

The next question comes from Peter Saleh with BTIG.

下一個問題來自 BTIG 的 Peter Saleh。

Great. Ethan, I want to come back to that conversation around International Foodservice real quick. You guys seem to be finding some success over in Europe with your product. I was hoping you could give us -- and I know you don't want to provide too much detail, but maybe just give us a sense on how much of the success that you're seeing there is trial versus repeat purchases. Any sort of details you can provide around the characteristics of the customer who's buying it there? Are they older or younger? Are they lower income, higher income? Anything that can just help us kind of identify what might work here in the U.S. that's already resonating over in Europe?

偉大的。 Ethan，我想很快回到關於 International Foodservice 的談話。你們的產品似乎在歐洲取得了一些成功。我希望你能給我們 - 我知道你不想提供太多細節，但也許只是讓我們了解你所看到的成功有多少是試用與重複購買。您可以提供有關在那裡購買它的客戶的特徵的任何類型的詳細信息嗎？他們是年長的還是年輕的？他們是低收入還是高收入？有什麼可以幫助我們確定在美國可能行得通並且已經在歐洲引起共鳴的東西嗎？

Yes. So I can't really dive too much into the repeat data and things of that nature. But I will say that I think the fact that we're contemplating expansion with various partners is a good thing. And so on the -- the thing that is so strong in Europe, which I think these need to be developed here in the U.S., is while we're hammering on healthier and the true and amazing benefits that we think we can deliver with a piece of steak, for example, that, again, has a such strong health credentials, in Europe, it's really about the environment, right? And so consumers that are maybe less focused on the category for health are going to come into it because of climate and there's so much proactive and progressive behavior there around climate that you have situations where major fast food organizations are battling it out on plant-based offerings.

是的。所以我不能真正深入研究重複數據和那種性質的東西。但我要說的是，我認為我們正在考慮與各種合作夥伴進行擴張這一事實是一件好事。等等 - 在歐洲如此強大的事情，我認為這些需要在美國這裡開發，同時我們正在努力追求更健康以及我們認為我們可以提供的真正和驚人的好處以一塊牛排為例，它再次具有如此強大的健康證明，在歐洲，這真的與環境有關，對吧？因此，由於氣候的原因，可能不太關注健康類別的消費者會加入其中，並且圍繞氣候存在如此多的積極主動和進步的行為，以至於你會遇到主要快餐組織正在以植物為基礎的情況下與之抗爭產品。

And so it's really encouraging. I don't know that, that kind of environmental context is going to develop overnight here in the U.S. It seems to be more health-driven. But certainly here in the U.S., we try to lean into those categories. Or there are other consumer segments where we see very strong interest in the environment and climate. So younger people here in the U.S., college-age students here in the U.S., those folks actually care about climate, and we're working very closely with them. And the way they embrace the product is very different from someone who's in their 50s, right? There are far fewer kind of traditional roadblocks or ways of thinking that might get in the way of it. So we do take the lessons from the European consumer and try to find pockets here in the U.S. that maybe are more dialed into some of the urgency of the environmental crisis we face.

所以這真的很鼓舞人心。我不知道，那種環境背景會在一夜之間在美國形成。它似乎更受健康驅動。但當然在美國這裡，我們試圖傾向於這些類別。或者還有其他消費者群體，我們看到他們對環境和氣候非常感興趣。所以美國這裡的年輕人，美國這裡的大學生，這些人實際上關心氣候，我們正在與他們密切合作。他們接受產品的方式與 50 多歲的人非常不同，對吧？可能阻礙它的傳統障礙或思維方式要少得多。因此，我們確實吸取了歐洲消費者的教訓，並試圖在美國尋找可能更能應對我們面臨的環境危機的緊迫性的地區。

The next question comes from Andrew Strelzik with BMO Capital Markets.

下一個問題來自 BMO Capital Markets 的 Andrew Strelzik。

This is Matt Linden on for Andrew. I wanted to touch on pricing quickly. When we think about some of the challenges to consumer adoption, and plant-based often comes up as the premium price point relative to animal-based protein. Understanding price parity is a long-term goal. I wanted to ask how you think about balancing that move to price parity while also protecting near-term margin growth as we execute the turnaround strategy?

這是安德魯的馬特林登。我想快速談談定價。當我們考慮消費者採用的一些挑戰時，植物性蛋白質通常被認為是相對於動物性蛋白質的溢價點。理解價格平價是一個長期目標。我想問一下，在我們執行扭虧為盈戰略時，您如何考慮平衡向價格平價的轉變，同時保護近期利潤率增長？

Sure. That's a great question. I think first and foremost, it's really around we are emphasizing total profit dollars versus percent margin. And so getting some of these bigger programs going, whether in Europe or here in the U.S. with some of the grocers and things of that nature and just putting more volume through our system really helps us, right? And so not being madly focused on percent, but rather on profit dollars is a good way to think about it and how we're tackling that question.

當然。這是一個很好的問題。我認為首先也是最重要的是，我們確實在強調總利潤美元與百分比利潤率。因此，無論是在歐洲還是在美國，通過一些雜貨店和類似性質的東西，讓這些更大的計劃中的一些繼續下去，只是通過我們的系統增加數量真的對我們有幫助，對吧？因此，不要瘋狂地關注百分比，而是關注利潤美元是思考這個問題以及我們如何解決這個問題的好方法。

I think the second piece that gets back to this disruption that's occurred to the business over the last couple of years, we went from, I think, 8 now to 3 co-packers and doing that while also lowering cost is really hard. There's just so many variables that are moving. And so I'm really excited to see what our team is going to do now that they kind of have some pathways that are more stable. We start getting around some of the leaning out that we've been doing in a more stable environment. So I don't think we're in a position, for example, with a more stable -- like a more stable company would be where we kind of already squeezed a lot of the juice out of this, and we don't have much more room to go.

我認為第二件事情要回到過去幾年業務中發生的這種中斷，我認為我們從現在的 8 個到 3 個聯合包裝商，在降低成本的同時做到這一點真的很困難。有太多變數在變化。所以我真的很高興看到我們的團隊現在要做什麼，因為他們有一些更穩定的途徑。我們開始繞過我們在更穩定的環境中一直在做的一些傾斜。所以我不認為我們處於一個更穩定的位置——就像一個更穩定的公司，我們已經從中榨取了很多果汁，我們沒有更多的空間去。

We have a tremendous amount of little hanging fruit to grab from here. And so we can do this where we're taking a 9% reduction in average pricing over the course of a year and achieve these margin targets. If you adopt the lean methodology that we're adopting, you eliminate waste at every step you can. You drive profit across product families and you create a nice entrepreneurial environment within your company between product families, beef, pork and poultry. You can get there, and that's what we're doing. And I think the team is having fun doing it.

我們有大量的小掛果可以從這裡獲取。因此，我們可以在一年內將平均定價降低 9% 並實現這些利潤率目標的情況下做到這一點。如果您採用我們正在採用的精益方法，您就可以在每一步中消除浪費。您可以推動跨產品系列的利潤，並在公司內部的產品系列、牛肉、豬肉和家禽之間創造良好的創業環境。你可以到達那裡，這就是我們正在做的。而且我認為團隊在做這件事時很開心。

The next question is from Michael Lavery with Piper Sandler.

下一個問題來自 Michael Lavery 和 Piper Sandler。

Two possibly related questions. Can you just touch on -- you mentioned your inventory came down a little bit. What's the outlook there in terms of just overall? And is there any spoilage risk or write-offs that you might have to wrestle with? And maybe related, maybe not, but can you also just talk about the decision to bring Jerky from the partnership in-house and just some of the thinking there and how that unfolds.

兩個可能相關的問題。你能不能談談 - 你提到你的庫存下降了一點。就整體而言，前景如何？是否存在任何您可能需要努力應對的變質風險或註銷？也許相關，也許不相關，但你能否也談談將 Jerky 從內部合作夥伴關係中帶走的決定，以及那裡的一些想法以及它是如何展開的。

Yes. Sure. So let me take the first one -- the second one first. So yes, bringing Jerky in-house, we love to work with Pepsi. We think we're going to be able to utilize that vehicle down the road. But in this particular case, again, like once you start to really focus on this goal of cash flow positive, change the operating model towards more sustainable growth, it made more sense for us to have that in-house. Did some good things. I think we reached the size of the plant-based Jerky market in 1 year, I think, six-fold. It's a good product. We like it, but let's get the margin right. And so that's why we're bringing it in-house, and that will help take that drag off of our overall margin.

是的。當然。所以讓我先講第一個——第二個。所以是的，將 Jerky 引入內部，我們喜歡與百事可樂合作。我們認為我們將能夠在未來使用該車輛。但在這種特殊情況下，同樣，一旦你開始真正關注現金流為正的目標，改變運營模式以實現更可持續的增長，我們內部擁有它就更有意義了。做了一些好事。我認為我們在一年內達到了植物肉乾市場規模的六倍。這是一個很好的產品。我們喜歡它，但讓我們把邊距弄好。這就是我們將其引入內部的原因，這將有助於減少我們整體利潤率的拖累。

Your question about the levels of inventory and are we looking at any spoilage, we have a very active program there. We have a specific program to make sure that we're putting all of that to use. We can't control for everything, so we obviously continue to have reserves. But the goal there is to monetize any excess ingredients we have as well as keep a very tight control on any aging inventory to avoid write-offs. So being very proactive about that, looking ahead several quarters to make sure that we don't get caught in a situation we don't like, but you never know. But feel really good about that and have some good people in the company focused on that.

您關於庫存水平的問題以及我們是否正在查看任何損壞情況，我們在那裡有一個非常活躍的計劃。我們有一個特定的程序來確保我們將所有這些都投入使用。我們無法控制所有事情，所以我們顯然繼續有儲備。但我們的目標是將我們擁有的任何多餘成分貨幣化，並嚴格控制任何老化庫存以避免註銷。因此，對此要非常積極主動，展望未來幾個季度，以確保我們不會陷入我們不喜歡的情況，但你永遠不會知道。但對此感覺非常好，並且公司中有一些優秀的人專注於此。

So if you take those things where you're looking at inventory levels very proactively, both finished goods as well as WIP and ingredients and making sure that you're managing toward a good outcome there. You look at increasing volumes and the kind of fixed overhead absorption you get as you do that, this collaboration we have throughout the supply chain to get lower overall cost to grow the business, we're increasing throughput on our equipment and then just trying to eliminate waste again at every turn within our system, trying to move as much as we can away from batch and continuous flow. All of these things are helping us drive the type of margin improvement that I think you've seen over the last couple of quarters, and I think you'll see in the next few quarters going forward.

因此，如果您將這些東西帶到您非常主動地查看庫存水平的地方，包括成品以及 WIP 和配料，並確保您在那裡取得了良好的結果。當你這樣做時，你會看到增加的數量和你獲得的固定管理費用吸收，我們在整個供應鏈中進行這種合作以降低總體成本來發展業務，我們正在增加我們設備的吞吐量，然後只是試圖在我們系統中的每一個環節再次消除浪費，盡可能地遠離批處理和連續流。所有這些都在幫助我們推動我認為你在過去幾個季度看到的利潤率改善類型，我認為你會在接下來的幾個季度看到。

What was the first question?

第一個問題是什麼？

The sort of inventory outlook, which you sort of addressed, but I'll just add to that, Michael, that Ethan mentioned that the trajectory of our total inventory balances will not necessarily look like a straight line down, right, in part due to some of these pre-existing contracts that we have in place. And so we do expect that the inventory levels will move around somewhat.

您提到的那種庫存前景，但我要補充一點，邁克爾，Ethan 提到我們的總庫存餘額的軌跡不一定看起來像直線下降，對，部分原因是我們已經簽訂了一些預先存在的合同。因此，我們確實預計庫存水平會有所波動。

However, we've said before that part of us being able to achieve this cash flow positive objective of ours in the back half of this year is dependent on us significantly reducing our total inventory levels, right? We've said quite frankly that our inventory levels are too high, and we're very focused on lowering that. And I think our team has done a great job. And we absolutely do still believe that we will end this year with substantially lower inventory levels than where we came into the year, but that won't necessarily look like just a straight line down.

但是，我們之前說過，我們中的一部分能夠在今年下半年實現我們的現金流正目標取決於我們大幅降低總庫存水平，對嗎？我們坦率地說，我們的庫存水平太高了，我們非常專注於降低庫存水平。我認為我們的團隊做得很好。而且我們絕對仍然相信，我們今年年底的庫存水平將大大低於我們今年進入的水平，但這不一定看起來只是一條直線下降。

Today's last question comes from John Baumgartner with Mizuho Securities.

今天的最後一個問題來自瑞穗證券的 John Baumgartner。

Ethan, just back to your commentary on temperature state. Does categories performance in frozen, I think would suggest that pricing and even the product itself may not be that central of an issue. There's other premium categories in the store doing okay right now as well. But I think what you do have in refrigerated is this really big entrenched competition from animal meat that culturally could be a lot harder and more expensive to just dislodge over time. So I guess how do you think about refrigerated going forward independent of price points? Is there a strategic pivot here to get more involved in the frozen case? Is the runway to dislodge the animal meat eater much longer than you would have thought 3 or 4 years when you sort of started out? I'd like just your high-level impressions there.

Ethan，回到你對溫度狀態的評論。類別在凍結中的表現，我認為這表明定價甚至產品本身可能不是問題的核心。商店中的其他高級類別現在也表現不錯。但我認為你在冷藏中所擁有的是來自動物肉的這種非常大的根深蒂固的競爭，從文化上來說，隨著時間的推移，這種競爭可能會更加困難和昂貴。所以我想你如何看待獨立於價格點的冷藏技術？這裡是否有一個戰略支點來更多地參與凍結案件？驅逐食肉動物的跑道是否比您剛開始時想像的 3 或 4 年要長得多？我只想要您對那裡的總體印象。

Yes, that's a great question. So a bunch of ways to unpack it. And again, I think some really good stuff in there. So first and foremost, our strategy and our goal, right, our goal rather, is not to be a high-priced niche item, right? But it is to be a major player in the $1.4 trillion global protein market. And so we're going to go after that every way we can, right? And so there's certainly -- and of course, people have been taking price right and left. So there's a lot of suggestions we should do that as well. It's not interested because we really want to make sure that we're getting to the mainstream consumer and having the impact that we want and can generate the really outsized return for folks that we think is possible if we're successful at doing that.

是的，這是一個很好的問題。所以有很多方法可以解壓它。再一次，我認為那裡有一些非常好的東西。因此，首先，我們的戰略和目標，對，我們的目標不是成為高價利基產品，對吧？但它將成為價值 1.4 萬億美元的全球蛋白質市場的主要參與者。因此，我們將竭盡所能，對吧？所以肯定有——當然，人們一直在左右價格。所以有很多建議我們也應該這樣做。它不感興趣，因為我們真的想確保我們能夠接觸到主流消費者並產生我們想要的影響，並且能夠為人們帶來真正的超額回報，如果我們成功做到這一點，我們認為這是可能的。

The frozen case is interesting. It would be not very interesting if it were just the frozen meat all case of 10 years ago to kind of refer to as the penalty box. But if you have the data, look, for example, how our Cookout Classic product does relative to -- I think it's a [double] burger as a percentage of sales, and it's a pretty interesting ratio. And so the -- what's interesting about that is 2 things. One, it's in the frozen section. Two, that's -- our Cookout Classic is one where the price point is closer to animal protein than in the fresh section.

冷凍箱很有趣。如果它只是 10 年前的冷凍肉箱，那麼將其稱為懲罰箱就不是很有趣了。但是，如果你有數據，例如，看看我們的 Cookout Classic 產品相對於 - 我認為它是一個 [double] 漢堡佔銷售額的百分比，這是一個非常有趣的比率。所以 - 有趣的是兩件事。一，它在冷凍區。第二，我們的 Cookout Classic 是一款價格更接近動物蛋白而不是新鮮產品的產品。

And so if you were to -- you shouldn't do this, but like just to dream a minute, if you would extrapolate that ratio, you could see how powerful this can be once we get the proposition right. And so in the fresh section, I think that's where consumers obviously shop for animal protein and for mainstream protein percent of their plate. I think we do have to be successful there. It is going to take longer than it looked like 2 or 3 years ago.

因此，如果你要 - 你不應該這樣做，但就像做夢一分鐘，如果你推斷這個比率，你就會看到一旦我們得到正確的命題，它會有多強大。因此，在新鮮食品部分，我認為消費者顯然會在這裡購買動物蛋白和他們盤子中的主流蛋白質百分比。我認為我們必須在那裡取得成功。這將比 2 或 3 年前看起來需要更長的時間。

But you never know what's going to turn it, right? So is it as we get to the right pricing? We're certainly seeing, in some cases, an uplift there. Is it when we do the next iteration and bring more consumers in because the taste profile is closer? Is it these breakthroughs like the American Heart Association endorsement of one of our products? All of those things start to come together. And the next thing you know, it's something that is, again, coming off the shelves in the fresh section. So I don't think we'd give up on it, but we clearly take advantage of the traction that we're seeing in frozen.

但你永遠不知道什麼會改變它，對吧？那麼，當我們獲得正確的定價時呢？在某些情況下，我們肯定會看到那裡的提升。是在我們進行下一次迭代並因為口味更接近而吸引更多消費者時嗎？這些突破是否像美國心臟協會認可我們的一種產品？所有這些事情開始融合在一起。接下來你知道的是，它再次在新鮮部分下架。所以我不認為我們會放棄它，但我們顯然利用了我們在凍結中看到的牽引力。

This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the call back to Ethan Brown for closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我現在想把電話轉回給 Ethan Brown 以作結束語。

Thanks. So as I said, I think this is a business that is turning a corner. This next quarter, the quarter we're in, is a high comp, but we're looking forward to really the second half of the year getting back to growth, getting back to growth with a reasonable margin and instituting some of these changes we're making. Team feels good, and we look forward to reporting in the next quarter.

謝謝。所以正如我所說，我認為這是一個正在轉折的企業。下個季度，我們所在的這個季度，是一個高競爭力，但我們真的期待下半年恢復增長，以合理的利潤率恢復增長，並實施我們的一些改變正在製作。團隊感覺良好，我們期待在下個季度報告。

Thanks, everybody.

謝謝大家。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連接。