The Marzetti Company (MZTI) 2026 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is [Didi], and I will be your conference call facilitator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to The Marzetti Company's fiscal year 2026 third-quarter conference call. Conducting today's call will be Dave Ciesinski, President and CEO; and Tom Pigott, CFO. (Operator Instructions)

早安。我叫[Didi]，今天將擔任本次電話會議的主持人。此刻，我謹代表The Marzetti Company，歡迎各位參加本公司2026會計年度第三季財報電話會議。今天的會議將由總裁暨執行長Dave Ciesinski，以及財務長Tom Pigott共同主持。（接線員指示）

And now, to begin the conference call, here is Dale Ganobsik, Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations for The Marzetti Company.

現在，為開始本次電話會議，請The Marzetti Company企業財務與投資人關係副總裁Dale Ganobsik發言。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for The Marzetti Company's fiscal year 2026 third-quarter conference call.

各位早安，感謝各位今天參加The Marzetti Company 2026會計年度第三季財報電話會議。

Our discussion this morning may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these statements based on subsequent events. A detailed discussion of these risks and uncertainties is contained in the company's filings with the SEC.

我們今天上午的討論可能包含前瞻性陳述，並受1995年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》的安全港條款所規範。此等陳述存在多項風險與不確定性，可能導致實際結果與所述內容出現重大差異；公司亦不承擔因後續事件而更新此等陳述之義務。關於這些風險與不確定性的詳細討論，已載於公司向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）提交的文件中。

Also note that the audio replay of this call will be archived and available at our website, investors.marzetticompany.com later today.

另請注意，本次電話會議的音訊重播將予以存檔，並將於今日稍晚在我們的網站investors.marzetticompany.com提供。

For today's call, Dave Ciesinski, our President and CEO, will begin with an update on our Bachan's acquisition that was successfully completed on Friday, May 1, along with a business update and highlights for the quarter. Tom Piggott, our CFO, will then provide an overview of the financial results. Dave will then share some comments regarding our current strategy and outlook. At the conclusion of our prepared remarks, we'll be happy to respond to any of your questions.

在今天的會議中，我們的總裁暨執行長Dave Ciesinski將先就我們於5月1日（週五）成功完成的Bachan's收購案提供最新進展，並分享本季的營運更新與重點。接著，我們的財務長Tom Piggott將概述財務結果。之後Dave將就我們目前的策略與展望提出一些看法。在我們的準備發言結束後，我們很樂意回覆各位的提問。

Once again, we appreciate your participation this morning. I'll now turn the call over to The Marzetti Company's President and CEO, Dave Ciesinski. Dave?

再次感謝各位今天上午的參與。接下來我將把電話交給The Marzetti Company總裁暨執行長Dave Ciesinski。Dave？

Thanks, Dale, and good morning, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here with you today as we review our third-quarter results for fiscal year 2026.

謝謝你，Dale，各位早安。很高興今天能與各位一同回顧我們2026會計年度第三季的業績。

I would like to start today's call by providing you with some insights specific to our acquisition of Bachan's, the fast-growing Japanese American barbecue sauce brand known for its delicious, authentic, clean-label products. I'm happy to share that in advance of last week's closing of the transaction, we have been collaborating closely with the Bachan’s team on our future plans for the business. Everything we've learned has made us even more convinced about what a great addition this is to our family of brands.

我想先從我們收購Bachan's談起。Bachan's是一個成長快速的日裔美式燒烤醬品牌，以美味、正宗、潔淨標示（clean-label）的產品聞名。我很高興分享，在上週交易完成交割之前，我們已與Bachan's團隊就該業務的未來規劃密切合作。我們所了解的一切，都讓我們更加確信：這將是我們品牌家族的一項絕佳補強。

Since our announcement, the Bachan’s business has continued on a path of strong growth, with Circana data for the quarter ending March 31, showing strong sales growth of over 25% and TDPs up over 50%. This growth has resulted in share gains for Bachan’s in the barbecue sauce category, positioning them as the second leading retail brand. Consumers love both the brand and the products as evidenced by its broad usage across a wide variety of proteins, food types and meal locations.

自我們發布公告以來，Bachan's業務持續維持強勁成長。根據Circana截至3月31日止季度的數據顯示，其銷售額成長超過25%，TDP（總配銷點數）提升超過50%。這樣的成長帶動Bachan's在燒烤醬品類的市占提升，使其成為零售市場第二大品牌。消費者對品牌與產品都非常喜愛，從其在多種蛋白質、食品類型及不同用餐場景中的廣泛使用即可見一斑。

We believe this brand has tremendous potential and is the perfect fit for our sauce portfolio. Our thoughtful plans for the Bachan’s integration are fully on track. They will remain based in California with their very strong team retained to lead the business.

我們相信這個品牌具備巨大的成長潛力，且與我們的醬料產品組合高度契合。我們對Bachan's的整合規劃周延且進度完全如期。他們將維持以加州為據點，並保留其非常強大的團隊來領導業務。

We are also delighted that Bachan’s founder, Justin Gill, has agreed to continue working with us on product development and marketing strategy. At the same time, we are developing plans to provide this team with the opportunity to draw from Marzetti's resources, including our go-to-market capabilities, culinary expertise, procurement capabilities, and supply chain expertise to support both their continued growth and cost synergies.

我們也很高興Bachan's創辦人Justin Gill同意繼續與我們合作，投入產品開發與行銷策略。同時，我們也在規劃讓該團隊有機會運用Marzetti的資源，包括我們的上市推廣（go-to-market）能力、廚藝研發專長、採購能力與供應鏈專業，以支持其持續成長並實現成本綜效。

Over time, we anticipate additional opportunities for Bachan's to more fully leverage Marzetti's supply chain network. We believe our light-touch integration approach will allow Bachan's to continue its strong growth trajectory, and we look forward to a bright future with the Bachan's team. This acquisition strategically expands our portfolio of leading sauces, dressings, and dip brands that now represent two-thirds of our consolidated net sales.

隨著時間推進，我們預期Bachan's將有更多機會更充分地運用Marzetti的供應鏈網絡。我們相信以「輕度介入」的整合方式，能讓Bachan's延續其強勁的成長軌跡；我們也期待與Bachan's團隊共同迎向光明的未來。此項收購在策略上擴大了我們在領先醬料、沙拉醬與沾醬品牌的產品組合，而這些品牌目前已占我們合併淨銷售額的三分之二。

It also specifically strengthens our portfolio of sauces, which alone account for nearly 40% of our consolidated net sales. In the era of MAHA and GLP-1s, we believe consumers will continue to seek flavor enhancements for their meals. We believe our deep culinary expertise and focused scale in these categories positions us well to support the continued growth of Bachan's, as well as our other brands.

此外，這也特別強化了我們的醬料產品組合；醬料單一品類即占我們合併淨銷售額近40%。在MAHA與GLP-1盛行的時代，我們相信消費者仍會持續尋求為餐點增添風味的方式。我們深厚的廚藝研發能力，以及在這些品類的聚焦規模優勢，使我們具備良好條件來支持Bachan's及我們其他品牌的持續成長。

Moving on to The Marzetti Company's results for our fiscal third quarter, which ended March 31. Consolidated net sales declined 1% to $453 million. Excluding non-core sales attributed to the Temporary Supply Agreement, or TSA, adjusted net sales decreased 0.9% of 1% to $452 million. Despite the lower sales, we were pleased to report record third-quarter gross profit of $107.2 million. An increase of 1.2%, driven by our cost savings programs.

接著談The Marzetti Company截至3月31日止的2026會計年度第三季業績。合併淨銷售額下滑1%至4.53億美元。若排除歸因於臨時供應協議（Temporary Supply Agreement，TSA）的非核心銷售，調整後淨銷售額下降0.9%（約1%）至4.52億美元。儘管銷售較低，我們仍很高興報告第三季毛利創新高，達1.072億美元，年增1.2%，主要受惠於我們的成本節省計畫。

In our Retail segment, net sales declined 3.2%, while volume measured in pound shipped declined 5.6%. Our category-leading frozen bread brands were a bright spot as sales of our New York Bakery frozen garlic bread products continued to grow and increased market share, while sales of our Sister Schubert's dinner rolls benefited from the pull-forward of demand due to the earlier Easter holiday.

在零售（Retail）事業部，淨銷售額下滑3.2%，以出貨磅數衡量的銷量下降5.6%。我們在品類中領先的冷凍麵包品牌表現亮眼：New York Bakery冷凍蒜香麵包產品銷售持續成長並提升市占；Sister Schubert's餐包則受惠於復活節假期較早，需求提前釋放。

These sales gains were more than offset by the impacts of category softness and reduced sales into the club channel. We have initiatives in place with our club channel partners to pursue future growth for both our Chick-fil-A sauces and Olive Garden dressings. Circana scanner data for the quarter ending March 31, showed sales of our core brands and licensed items up two-tenths of 1%.

然而，這些銷售成長被品類需求疲弱以及對會員制通路（club channel）出貨減少的影響所抵銷。我們已與會員制通路合作夥伴推動相關計畫，以追求Chick-fil-A醬料與Olive Garden沙拉醬在未來的成長。Circana截至3月31日止季度的掃描數據顯示，我們核心品牌與授權商品的銷售額小幅成長0.2%。

In the frozen garlic bread category, our category-leading New York Bakery brand grew sales 4.4%, adding 260 basis points of market share for a category-leading share of 46.7%. In the frozen general category, our own Sister Schubert's brand and our licensed Texas Roadhouse brand combined to grow 10.1% for a category-leading market share of 61%.

在冷凍蒜香麵包品類中，我們品類領先的New York Bakery品牌銷售成長4.4%，市占增加260個基點，並以46.7%的市占維持品類第一。在冷凍一般麵包品類中，我們自有的Sister Schubert's品牌與授權的Texas Roadhouse品牌合計成長10.1%，以61%的市占維持品類領先。

In the shelf-stable sauces and condiments category, sales of our licensed Chick-fil-A sauces grew 4.4%, resulting in a 5-basis points growth of share.

在常溫保存（shelf-stable）醬料與調味品品類中，我們授權的Chick-fil-A醬料銷售成長4.4%，市占提升5個基點。

In the Crouton category, our branded croutons added 40 basis points of market share for a category-leading 28.5%. In the Foodservice segment, excluding the non-core TSA sales, adjusted net sales grew 1.8%, while volume measured in pound-shipped improved 0.01%. In addition to the benefit of inflationary pricing, the increase in Foodservice segment net sales reflects increased demand from several of our core national chain restaurant customers.

在麵包丁（Crouton）品類中，我們自有品牌麵包丁市占增加40個基點，以28.5%的市占維持品類第一。在餐飲服務（Foodservice）事業部，若排除非核心TSA銷售，調整後淨銷售額成長1.8%，以出貨磅數衡量的銷量改善0.01%。除通膨性定價帶來的助益外，餐飲服務事業部淨銷售額的增加亦反映我們多家核心全國連鎖餐廳客戶需求提升。

We were pleased to report record third-quarter gross profit of $107 million with reported gross margin of 50 basis points. Our focus on supply chain productivity, value engineering, and revenue management all remain core elements to further improve our margins and financial performance.

我們很高興報告第三季毛利創新高，達1.07億美元，且報告毛利率提升50個基點。我們對供應鏈生產力、價值工程（value engineering）與營收管理的聚焦，仍將是進一步提升毛利率與財務表現的核心要素。

I'll now turn the call over to Tom Pigott, our CFO, for his commentary on our third-quarter results. Tom?

接下來我將把電話交給我們的財務長Tom Pigott，請他就第三季業績發表看法。Tom？

Thanks, Dave. Overall, the company delivered improved gross profit performance despite a modest decline in revenue. In addition, investments were made to support future growth.

謝謝你，Dave。整體而言，儘管營收小幅下滑，公司仍交出更佳的毛利表現。此外，我們也進行了投資，以支持未來成長。

Third quarter consolidated net sales decreased by 1% to $453.4 million. The revenue performance was primarily driven by a decline in core volume and product mix of 120 basis points. This decline was partially offset by net pricing, which was accretive by approximately 30 basis points.

第三季合併淨銷售額下降 1% 至 4.534 億美元。營收表現主要受核心銷量下滑及產品組合不利影響 120 個基點所致。此下滑部分被淨定價所抵銷，淨定價約帶來 30 個基點的正向貢獻。

Despite the decline in revenue, consolidated gross profit increased by $1.3 million or 1.2% versus the prior year quarter to $107.2 million, and reported gross margin expanded by 50 basis points. The gross profit growth was driven by our productivity program where we benefited from cost savings across a number of areas including procurement, manufacturing, value engineering and distribution.

儘管營收下滑，合併毛利仍較去年同期增加 130 萬美元（增幅 1.2%）至 1.072 億美元，且報告毛利率擴張 50 個基點。毛利成長主要來自我們的生產力計畫，我們在多個領域受惠於成本節省，包括採購、製造、價值工程與配送。

This quarter marked the 11th straight quarter of gross margin improvement versus the prior year. This accomplishment is a reflection of the many cost savings initiatives, network restructuring programs, revenue growth management projects and the ongoing pricing net commodities management program that the company has successfully implemented.

本季為連續第 11 季毛利率較去年同期改善。此一成果反映公司成功推動並落實多項節省成本措施、網路重整計畫、營收成長管理專案，以及持續進行的定價與淨大宗商品管理計畫。

Selling, general and administrative expenses grew $5.4 million or 9.5%. The increase was primarily driven by a net increase in acquisition-related costs, higher IT expenses and personnel-related costs as we invested to support continued growth. Consolidated reported operating income decreased $3.3 million. The gross profit growth was offset by the higher investments made in SG&A.

銷售、一般及行政費用增加 540 萬美元（增幅 9.5%）。增加主要來自併購相關成本的淨增加、較高的 IT 費用，以及為支持持續成長而投入的人員相關成本。合併報告營業利益減少 330 萬美元。毛利成長被 SG&A 較高的投資所抵銷。

Our tax rate for the quarter was 23.3% versus 20.7% in the prior year quarter. We estimate our tax rate for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 to be 23%. Third-quarter diluted earnings per share decreased $0.14, or 9.4%, to $1.35, driven by the reduced operating income and higher tax rate.

本季稅率為 23.3%，去年同期為 20.7%。我們估計 2026 會計年度第四季稅率為 23%。第三季稀釋每股盈餘下降 0.14 美元（降幅 9.4%）至 1.35 美元，主要受營業利益下降及稅率提高所致。

Turning to the balance sheet and cash flow. The company had strong cash flow generation during the quarter, and year-to-date operating cash flow is up over $55 million versus the prior year. Year-to-date payments for property additions totaled $54.6 million.

接著談資產負債表與現金流。公司本季現金流量創造強勁，年初至今營運現金流較去年同期增加超過 5,500 萬美元。年初至今不動產增添（資本性支出）付款合計 5,460 萬美元。

For the full year of fiscal 2026, we are forecasting total capital expenditures of $80 million. We will continue to invest in both cost savings projects and other manufacturing improvements, as well as the Atlanta facility we acquired to support future growth.

就 2026 會計年度全年而言，我們預估資本支出總額為 8,000 萬美元。我們將持續投資於節省成本專案及其他製造改善，同時也投資於我們為支持未來成長而收購的亞特蘭大廠房。

In addition to investing in the business, we also returned funds to shareholders. Our quarterly cash dividend of $1 per share paid on March 31, represented a 5% increase from the prior year's amount. Our enduring streak of annual dividend increases stands at 63 years.

除投資於業務外，我們也回饋股東。我們於 3 月 31 日支付的季度現金股利為每股 1 美元，較去年金額提高 5%。我們連續年度提高股利的紀錄已達 63 年。

As we've completed three quarters of the year, we are pleased to report growth across a number of metrics in a difficult operating environment. Reported and adjusted net sales increased 2.2% and 0.9%, respectively. Reported and adjusted gross margin reflected increases of 40 basis points and 80 basis points, respectively.

在完成年度前三季後，我們很高興在艱困的營運環境下，多項指標仍呈現成長。報告與調整後淨銷售額分別成長 2.2% 與 0.9%。報告與調整後毛利率分別提高 40 個基點與 80 個基點。

Reported operating income was flat, while adjusted operating income increased 1%. In addition, operating cash flow grew by 32%. We finished the quarter with a debt-free balance sheet and over $218 million in cash.

報告營業利益持平，而調整後營業利益成長 1%。此外，營運現金流成長 32%。本季結束時，我們的資產負債表為零負債，現金超過 2.18 億美元。

As was previously announced, we closed on the $400 million acquisition of Bachan's on May 1. The transaction was funded by a $200 million term loan and cash on the balance sheet. The interest rate on the debt is currently less than 5%. The company's strong cash-generating capabilities and low debt levels put us in a position to continue to invest for growth and return funds to our shareholders.

如先前所公告，我們已於 5 月 1 日完成以 4 億美元收購 Bachan's。該交易以 2 億美元定期貸款及資產負債表上的現金支應。目前該筆負債利率低於 5%。公司強勁的現金創造能力與低負債水準，使我們得以持續投資成長並回饋股東。

To wrap up my commentary, our results demonstrate strong execution across a number of areas, and we continue to invest to support the future growth of our business and return funds to our shareholders.

總結我的說明，我們的成果展現了在多個面向的強勁執行力；我們也將持續投資，以支持業務未來成長並回饋股東。

I'll now turn it back over to Dave for his closing remarks. Thank you.

接下來我把時間交回 Dave 做結語。謝謝。

Thanks, Tom. Going forward, The Marzetti Company will continue to leverage the combined strength of our team, our operating strategy, and our balance sheet in support of the three simple pillars for our growth plan. To one, accelerate core business growth. Two, to simplify our supply chain to reduce our costs and grow our margins. And number three, to expand our core with focused M&A and strategic licensing.

謝謝你，Tom。展望未來，The Marzetti Company 將持續運用我們團隊、營運策略與資產負債表的綜合優勢，來支持我們成長計畫的三個簡單支柱。第一，加速核心業務成長。第二，簡化供應鏈以降低成本並提升毛利率。第三，透過聚焦的併購（M&A）與策略授權來擴展核心。

As we look ahead to The Marzetti Company's fiscal fourth quarter, in addition to the incremental sales attributed to the Bachan's acquisition, we expect retail sales will benefit from new product introductions, including Marzetti protein ranch dressing and veggie dips, a new Olive Garden Zesty Italian dressing flavor, and the addition of a larger-sized bottle for the popular Chick-fil-A Avocado-Lime Ranch dressing.

展望 The Marzetti Company 的 2026 會計年度第四季，除 Bachan's 併購帶來的增量銷售外，我們預期零售銷售將受惠於新品上市，包括 Marzetti 蛋白質牧場沙拉醬與蔬菜沾醬、新的 Olive Garden Zesty Italian 沙拉醬口味，以及為熱銷的 Chick-fil-A 酪梨萊姆牧場沙拉醬新增更大容量瓶裝。

In the Foodservice segment, we anticipate continued growth from select customers in our mix of national chain restaurant accounts. Specific to the contribution of the Bachan's business, as part of The Marzetti Company for two-thirds of our fiscal fourth quarter, we would guide to a net sales run rate moderately above the $87 million that the business reported in calendar year 2025, with an operating margin similar to Marzetti's current level.

在餐飲服務（Foodservice）事業部，我們預期在全國連鎖餐廳客戶組合中，部分客戶將持續帶動成長。就 Bachan's 業務的貢獻而言，作為 The Marzetti Company 的一部分涵蓋我們會計年度第四季的三分之二期間，我們指引其淨銷售額的運行率將略高於該業務在 2025 曆年所報告的 8,700 萬美元，且營業利益率將與 Marzetti 目前水準相近。

Like many of you, we continue to monitor external factors, including US Economic performance and consumer behavior that may impact the demand for our products. With respect to input costs, in the aggregate, we anticipate that inflation will continue to tick up during the months ahead, and we will continue to carefully monitor the macroeconomic impact of the Iran War.

與各位一樣，我們持續關注外部因素，包括美國經濟表現與消費者行為，這些因素可能影響我們產品的需求。就投入成本而言，整體來看，我們預期未來幾個月通膨仍將持續上行；同時，我們也將持續密切關注伊朗戰爭的總體經濟影響。

We believe our commodity risk management program will serve us well in these volatile times. Specific to soybean oil prices, we believe we have sufficient coverage in place to mitigate the near-term impact of the price run-up, and moreover, to implement relevant pricing.

我們相信在這些波動時期，我們的大宗商品風險管理計畫將能發揮效用。就大豆油價格而言，我們認為已具備足夠的避險覆蓋，以緩解價格上漲對短期的影響，並且能夠進一步落實相應的定價。

In closing, I would like to thank the entire Marzetti Company team for all their hard work this past quarter and their ongoing commitment to grow our business. I would also like to reiterate to Justin Gill and the entire Bachan's team how excited we are about the opportunities for future growth and shared success.

最後，我要感謝整個 Marzetti Company 團隊在本季的辛勤付出，以及持續致力於推動業務成長。我也想再次向 Justin Gill 與整個 Bachan's 團隊表達，我們對未來成長與共同成功的機會感到非常振奮。

This concludes our prepared remarks for today, and we'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Operator?

以上為我們今天的預先準備發言，我們很樂意回答各位的任何問題。接線員？

Thank you. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝。（接線員指示）

Jim Salera, Stephens.

Jim Salera，Stephens。

Dave, you almost read my mind in your prepared comments there. I wanted to start on soybean oil, so it's very convenient the last thing that you mentioned. Can you just give us a sense for how the duration of the coverage in place right now, I know there's a lot of moving pieces. But certainly, it's an important input.

Dave，你在準備好的評論裡幾乎讀到我的想法了。我想先從大豆油談起，所以你最後提到的內容很剛好。你能否讓我們了解一下目前避險覆蓋的期間有多長？我知道有很多變動因素，但這確實是一項重要的投入成本。

And I know we get questions from investors about as you're doing kind of demand forecasting and procurement planning for 2027, how the recent run-up impacts the mix and kind of the margin outlook. So any thoughts there would be very helpful.

我也知道投資人會問，當你們在做 2027 年的需求預測與採購規劃時，近期這波上漲如何影響產品組合以及毛利展望。因此你們若能分享一些看法會很有幫助。

Jim, I'd be happy to share that with you. So we have, I would call it, intermediate term coverage that takes us through essentially the end of the summer on board and basis, which should be more than enough time for us to be able to get into the marketplace and implement pricing so that our retail team is in the throes of putting those plans together right now.

Jim，我很樂意跟你分享。我們目前有我稱之為中期的避險覆蓋，無論是期貨（on board）或基差（basis）層面，基本上可一路覆蓋到夏末。這應該給我們足夠的時間進入市場並落實定價，因此我們的零售團隊目前正全力在制定這些計畫。

And in the case of private label, we've already begun to see the market start to move within the last few weeks. So we feel like we're in a much better position as it pertains to that than we were in 2022, the last time we saw a spike.

至於自有品牌（private label），我們在過去幾週已開始看到市場出現變動。因此就這一點而言，我們覺得相較於 2022 年上一次出現飆升時，我們目前處於更有利的位置。

On the Foodservice business, as you recall, it's a mark-to-market process where we have some of our customers on national accounts that have taken positions, some that were a little closer nearby. But independent, the pricing differential is passed through. So I think for you and others that track us, the watch is our coverage on retail, and we feel like we're in a strong position relative to where we were in 2022.

在餐飲服務業務方面，如你所記得，這是一個按市價調整（mark-to-market）的流程；我們有些全國性帳戶客戶已採取部位，有些則是較接近即期。但不論如何，價格差異都會轉嫁。因此我認為對你以及其他追蹤我們的人來說，重點在於我們零售端的避險覆蓋，而我們覺得相較於 2022 年，我們目前處於強勢位置。

And I was hoping you could help us size up how you're thinking about the protein launch. I know the protein craze, all these protein-forward new products have been very odd with consumers. If I recall correctly, I think your produce dressing business is around $150 million, inclusion of Chick-fil-A on a retail sales basis. Given that I would imagine this would maybe pull some people that aren't historical consumers in that category into the category, can you help us think about how we should think about that business scaling?

我原本希望您能協助我們評估您對蛋白質新品上市的思考方式。我知道這波蛋白質熱潮、各種以蛋白質為主打的新產品，消費者的反應一直很微妙。若我沒記錯，我想你們的生鮮沙拉醬（produce dressing）業務規模大約是1.5億美元（以零售銷售口徑計，包含 Chick-fil-A）。基於此，我想這可能會把一些過去不是該品類的既有消費者拉進來。您能否幫我們理解，應該如何看待這門業務的擴張與規模化？

Yeah, I'd be happy to. So this was a fast launch in the marketplace now. It's continuing to build distribution, and we attacked it in two different places. One was as the first change to produce dressing, and you're right, the overall category is about $525 million of which we have about $150 million, $140 million or so size of our business.

可以，我很樂意。這次在市場上的上市節奏很快，目前仍在持續擴大通路鋪貨，我們從兩個不同的切入點來推進。第一個是作為生鮮沙拉醬的首次變革；你說得沒錯，整體品類規模約為5.25億美元，其中我們大約有1.5億美元、約1.4億美元左右是我們的業務規模。

And we've launched a ranch protein SKU that's in the marketplace that we're watching carefully. And then we also launched it in cups, in a 75-millimeter dip cup. And then we've launched the product in dips as well. And what we're seeing so far is that the product actually in the portable cups seems to be performing the best. So we're excited about both of those.

我們已推出一個牧場風味（ranch）的高蛋白 SKU，已在市場上販售，我們正密切觀察其表現。同時我們也以杯裝形式推出，採用75毫米的沾醬杯（dip cup）。此外，我們也在沾醬（dips）品類推出了該產品。到目前為止我們看到的是：可攜式杯裝的表現似乎最好。因此我們對這兩個方向都感到很興奮。

And to help you size dips for you, let me look here, the size category is about $200 million. If you remember, we have about a 75% or stronger share there. So we have two different places where we see that there is an opportunity, and it really depends.

為了幫你估算沾醬品類的規模，我看一下，該品類大約是2億美元。你如果記得的話，我們在那裡的市占約75%或更高。所以我們看到有兩個不同的機會點，而最終會取決於……

I think for this launch, we're going to be, I would say, an agile innovator. In particular, looking at making sure that we nail the right size format. Our supposition is this is something that's going to be perfect for, kids and adults that are on the go. So that the dip cup in particular seems like it's particularly interesting to us.

我認為這次上市，我們會是一個敏捷的創新者。特別是要確保我們把正確的規格與包裝形式做到位。我們的假設是，這會非常適合外出中的孩童與成人。因此，尤其是沾醬杯這個形式，對我們來說特別有吸引力。

Alton Stump, Loop Capital.

Alton Stump，Loop Capital。

I just wanted to ask first off, obviously, of course, you mentioned the sell-through data, which was, once again, very strong for both your frozen dinner rolls and for Chick-fil-A, yet obviously, overall segment sales were down. So, what do you think were the key areas of weakness that you saw when -- as you look at your just over 5% volume decline in quarter for the Retail segments?

我想先問一下，顯然你提到了銷售穿透（sell-through）數據，再一次在你們的冷凍餐包（frozen dinner rolls）以及 Chick-fil-A 兩個品項上都非常強勁；但同時，整體分部銷售卻是下滑的。所以，當你回頭看零售（Retail）分部本季略高於5%的銷量下滑時，你認為主要的疲弱點出現在哪些地方？

Alton, I'd point to three things. One is January and February weather resulted in the Northeast being particularly hard hit. The second is category softness in both produce dressings as well as horrible dressings, where the category is down about five points. And then the third is that we're lapping the pipeline build of both Chick-fil-A into the club channel and Texas Roadhouse rolls.

Alton，我會指出三點。第一，1月與2月的天氣使得美國東北部受到特別嚴重的影響。第二，生鮮沙拉醬以及冷藏沙拉醬（refrigerated dressings）兩個品類都偏弱，品類整體大約下滑5個百分點。第三，我們正好在對比（lapping）去年 Chick-fil-A 進入倉儲量販（club）通路以及 Texas Roadhouse 餐包的通路鋪貨（pipeline build）所帶來的高基期。

So really, those three things combining together are what really drove that decline on the volume front. As you swing around and you say, what of this came as maybe a surprise to us or below our expectation? Well, whether you just necessarily can't plan for when we were talking to you in January.

所以基本上就是這三件事疊加在一起，推動了銷量端的下滑。若你再換個角度問：其中哪些是我們可能感到意外、或低於預期的？嗯，天氣這件事，當我們在1月跟你們溝通時，確實很難去規劃或預測。

I would say, as it pertains to the launch of our Roadhouse rolls, the velocities in Walmart continue to be particularly strong. It's taken us a little bit longer to build up the quality of distribution that we want in retail. So as a consequence, those velocities are lagging a little bit. But I think as you put all those together, I'd ladder back to some January, February weather, category softness in produce and in refrigerated dressings at about 5 points, which is significant.

我會說，就我們 Roadhouse 餐包的上市而言，在 Walmart 的動銷速度（velocities）仍然特別強勁。只是我們在零售端建立到我們想要的通路鋪貨品質，花的時間稍微久了一點。因此，這些動銷速度會稍微落後一些。但把這些因素放在一起看，我仍會回到1、2月的天氣因素，以及生鮮與冷藏沙拉醬品類約5個百分點的疲弱，這是相當顯著的。

And then lapping that pipeline build and the executional component that we're really continuing to focus on is continuing to drive improved velocities on Roadhouse, not in the aggregate, look at the shared data that's out there, but in Retail in particular.

再加上對比那段通路鋪貨的高基期，以及我們持續聚焦的執行面工作：持續推動 Roadhouse 的動銷速度改善——不是看整體、也不是看外部共享數據的總和，而是特別聚焦在零售（Retail）端。

And then I guess just a question I wanted to ask is just with your comments, I think you used the word moderately higher. As far as modeling, much on sales, now that obviously that has closed for the last two months of the current quarter, but then you mentioned that something data was up over 25% during the first quarter.

另外我還想問一個問題：就你剛才的評論，我記得你用了「中度提高」（moderately higher）這個詞。就建模而言，關於銷售（sales），現在當然本季前兩個月已經結束了，但你也提到某項數據在第一季成長超過25%。

Is this just you guys, look, we just closed, want to be a little conservative here, or is there any reason why we should think that there should be any slowdown as it pertains to the current growth profile of that brand, or of that business, I should say?

這是否只是你們覺得「我們剛完成結帳（close），想先保守一點」？還是有任何理由讓我們認為，這個品牌——或我應該說這門業務——目前的成長曲線在本季會出現放緩？

what I would point to, Alton, is let's kind of look at it strategically. First of all, an amazing product, authentic founder story, great ingredients, and really connecting with consumers has been growing in strong double-digits, both the velocity as well as distribution. And we expect that to continue.

Alton，我會建議我們用策略角度來看。首先，這是一個很棒的產品，有真實的創辦人故事、優質的原料，並且確實與消費者產生連結；不論是動銷速度還是通路鋪貨，都以強勁的雙位數成長。我們預期這樣的趨勢會延續。

Now, as we work our way through the next handful of quarters, they have some new item launches that they have that are in the queue and some other activities. So I can't tell you it's necessarily going to be linear at the exact same rate, but we continue to be extremely bullish on the growth of the brand.

接下來幾個季度，他們有一些新品上市已排在隊列中，還有其他活動。因此我無法告訴你成長一定會以完全相同的速度線性前進，但我們對這個品牌的成長仍然非常看多。

And as a proof point, I think what I would look to is two important pieces of data in the recent Circana period. They actually became the number two barbecue sauce right behind Ken's. So they passed -- or not Ken's, excuse me, but behind Ken's and Sweet Baby Ray's, but in front of Kraft that's been Kinder's in that period.

作為佐證，我會看最近一段 Circana 期間的兩個重要數據。第一，他們實際上已成為第二大燒烤醬品牌，僅次於 Ken's——不對，抱歉，是在 Ken's 與 Sweet Baby Ray's 之後，但在 Kraft 之前；在那段期間，Kinder's 的排名就是如此。

The second thing that I would point to is the velocities on those items. They continue to be extremely high, satisfying, both retailers, of course, us. And then the last item that I would point to, and this is sort of a longer-term piece, when we look at something like a Net Promoter Score, the brand actually connects and scores more strongly than almost any other soft brand that's out there.

第二個我想指出的是這些品項的動銷速度：仍然非常高，讓零售商滿意，當然也讓我們滿意。最後一點、也是偏長期的指標：當我們看像是淨推薦值（Net Promoter Score, NPS）這類指標時，這個品牌與消費者的連結度與得分，實際上比市面上幾乎任何其他醬料品牌都更強。

So all of these make us confident that this is a great platform with room to continue to grow. As you're aware, we closed on the transaction on Friday. I'm jumping on a plane tomorrow morning, first thing, and flying out there along with the leader of our retail team, where we're going to spend a couple of days with them celebrating the close. We've been working with them and the leadership team to put together their AOP for our fiscal year that will be forthcoming.

因此，這些因素都讓我們有信心：這是一個很好的平台，且仍有持續成長的空間。如你所知，我們在週五完成了這筆交易的交割（close）。我明天一早就會搭機飛過去，並與我們零售團隊的負責人一起，和他們待上幾天，慶祝交割完成。我們一直與他們及管理團隊合作，為我們即將到來的會計年度制定年度營運計畫（AOP），後續也會公布。

And I can tell you that they couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to work with our culinary product development. So we really -- were very bullish about it. Great brand, and maybe later in the call, I'll talk about why I think that this transaction in particular marks an important evolution in our company's strategy.

我可以告訴你，他們對於能與我們的廚藝與產品開發團隊合作的機會感到無比興奮。所以我們確實——對此非常看多。這是個很棒的品牌；也許在電話會議稍後，我會談談為什麼我認為這筆交易特別標誌著我們公司策略的一個重要演進。

I would say we're probably a little conservative in what we put out there. And we'll see as we progress deeper into it.

我會說，我們對外給出的指引可能稍微保守一些。接下來就看我們深入推進後的進展。

Todd Brooks, Benchmark Stonex.

Todd Brooks，Benchmark Stonex。

Two questions. I've got some friction in the club channel. Can you walk through details behind that? And is that related to maybe the new SKU introductions on the Olive Garden side around this year? Can you just walk us through maybe some of that friction you saw and how you work that out and restore the momentum in the club channel?

兩個問題。我在倉儲量販（club）通路看到一些阻力。你能說明背後的細節嗎？這是否可能與今年 Olive Garden 端的新 SKU 導入有關？能否帶我們梳理一下你們看到的那些摩擦點，以及你們如何解決、並在 club 通路恢復成長動能？

So good eye., but that's not the cause, that new item that's coming out there is really the response. So within club, two different points of noise. One is we're lapping the launch of Chip-fil-A sauce last year, so we had a big pipeline build in the period. When we went out with that item, we launched it in a two-pack, so two 20-ounce Chip-fil-A sauce.

你觀察得很敏銳，但那不是原因；那個即將推出的新產品其實是因應措施。就 club 而言，有兩個不同的雜訊來源。第一，我們正在對比去年 Chick-fil-A 醬料的上市，因此當期有很大的通路鋪貨（pipeline build）。當時我們推出該品項時，是以雙入裝上市，也就是兩瓶20盎司的 Chick-fil-A 醬料。

What we found is that the sell-through was strong, however, buyers didn't come back, and when we did the math, what we realized is that we were selling consumers about what becomes a year's worth of supply of Chick-fil-A sauce. So in conversations with the buyers at Chick-fil-A, what we've elected to do is to come back with a three-pack, so it's going to be two smaller originals and one Polynesian sauce, and that's shipping into the marketplace now.

我們發現銷售出清（sell-through）表現強勁，但買方並沒有回補；而當我們做了計算後意識到，我們其實是在向消費者銷售大約相當於一整年用量的 Chick-fil-A 醬料。因此，在與 Chick-fil-A 的採購方溝通後，我們決定改以三入組重新推出：兩瓶較小容量的原味，再加上一瓶波利尼西亞（Polynesian）醬；目前已開始出貨到市場。

The other thing that happened, and this isn't related, is that, as you recall, you followed us up for a while, we've been in club with our Olive Garden dressing for quite a long time with the exact same variance. We had a couple of different regions on Costco, not on Sam's, that elected to move us from full-time distribution to more of a rotation sort of distribution.

另外一件發生的事（這件事不相關）是：如你所記得的，你也追蹤我們一段時間了，我們的 Olive Garden 沙拉醬在會員制通路（club）已經上架很長一段時間，而且一直是相同的變體（variance）。Costco（不是 Sam's）有幾個不同區域選擇把我們從常態性鋪貨改為較偏輪替式的鋪貨。

And in response to that, we've gone back and retooled the offering to offer a multi-pack as well, where it's the original plus the Zesty that we're bringing to the marketplace there. So, we are working with our club partners to work on innovating and ensuring that that offering is relevant. But it doesn't have to do with the Zesty. The Zesty is part of the response.

針對這點，我們也回頭重新調整產品組合，推出多入裝，內容是原味加上 Zesty 口味，並帶到該市場。因此，我們正與會員制通路夥伴合作，在創新上著力並確保該產品組合仍具相關性。不過這並不是因為 Zesty 本身；Zesty 是回應方案的一部分。

And then can we talk through just within the concept of frozen bread, how we should be thinking about Easter shift impacts with the two-week earlier Easter that we had this year versus prior? Just think about so that we can really fine-tune the modeling that segment of the business as we're looking at the upcoming quarter.

另外，我們能否在冷凍麵包這個品類的框架下，談談今年復活節比往年提早兩週，對需求移轉（shift）造成的影響該如何看待？我想更精準地微調我們對該業務區塊在即將到來季度的模型預估。

While Tom and Dale are going to give you specific information on Sister, I think what I would point to is maybe just a quick set of words on what's going on with New York Texas Toast, which really continues to be our evergreen legacy brand growth story, where it was up several points in the period behind both the strength of our gluten-free item, which I think in sales value now is pushing $20 million, and also our value size of sticks, which continues to grow in the high single-digit, if not double-digit range.

Tom 和 Dale 會就 Sister 提供具體資訊；我想我會先簡短說一下 New York Texas Toast 的狀況。它仍然是我們長青的傳統品牌成長故事：本期成長了好幾個百分點，主要來自兩個動能——其一是我們的無麩質（gluten-free）產品強勁，我認為以銷售金額計目前已接近 2,000 萬美元；其二是我們的大包裝棒狀產品（value size of sticks），持續以高個位數、甚至雙位數的幅度成長。

So that brand just continues to grow almost independent of the economic circumstances. That category is down about 1.5 points, but we're continuing to deliver not only just market share gains, but actual sales gains through this. And increasingly, what you're seeing is the category seems to be closing in on more and more of a two-brand set where it's our brand and private label and select retailers.

因此，這個品牌幾乎不受經濟環境影響而持續成長。該品類整體下滑約 1.5 個百分點，但我們不僅持續帶來市占提升，也在此期間實現實際銷售成長。而且你會愈來愈看到，這個品類似乎正逐步收斂成更偏「兩大品牌」的格局：我們的品牌，加上部分零售商的自有品牌（private label）。

But that's Toast. And then, Tom?

不過那是 Toast。接著，Tom？

The Retail segment, we benefited only about 30 basis points, really driven by Sister's in terms of the revenue impact, maybe slightly less than what we had anticipated when we talked to at the prior quarter.

在零售（Retail）部門，我們僅受惠約 30 個基點，主要是由 Sister 在營收影響面所帶動；可能比我們在上一季電話會議時所預期的略低一些。

And then on Roadhouse, just to finish up the frozen side. You talked about good performance, really actually very strong performance of Walmart in the retail distribution the way that you wanted to get it so you can really accelerate that role. And I think at one point you thought that was an extendable category as well with different flavor type of SKUs. Do we need to get retail distribution in place before we start to see SKU extension or how do we stage those two?

再談 Roadhouse，作為冷凍品類的收尾。你提到表現良好，實際上 Walmart 在零售鋪貨上的表現非常強勁，符合你希望的鋪貨方式，讓你能加速推進。我記得你曾認為這也是一個可延伸的品類，可以用不同風味的 SKU 來擴展。我們是否需要先把零售鋪貨到位，才會開始看到 SKU 延伸？還是這兩件事要如何分階段推進？

So maybe I'll give you a little bit of backdrop. So when we originally launched the item into Walmart, it was in a 10-count displayable case. And the velocities were so fast, we were having a hard time keeping it on the shelf. At the request of our partner, we shifted it to a 20-count case. The case was not a display-ready case. So that worked fine for Walmart where they had already built the awareness and trial and repeat was strong and continued to grow.

我先補充一些背景。當初我們把該產品導入 Walmart 時，是用 10 入、可直接陳列的外箱（displayable case）。銷售速度（velocity）非常快，我們一度很難讓貨架保持有貨。依合作夥伴要求，我們改成 20 入外箱；但那個外箱不是可直接陳列的包裝。因此，對 Walmart 來說仍運作良好，因為他們已建立知名度與試用，回購也很強且持續成長。

But as we then pivoted into driving retail distribution, having a case that wasn't displayed ready resulted in, let's just say, a suboptimal merchandising on the shelf. So the team has been working for, let's say, the last three or four months on strengthening the display of that item, and we feel like we're starting to make some progress there.

但當我們轉向推動更廣泛的零售鋪貨時，外箱無法直接陳列，導致貨架上的陳列效果只能說不夠理想。因此，團隊在過去三到四個月一直在強化該產品的陳列呈現，我們覺得已開始看到一些進展。

So really, as we look through the remainder of this fiscal year and into next fiscal year in the Retail segment, what you can expect to see is more effort on getting display strengthened and getting where we want it on shelf.

所以，展望本財年剩餘期間以及下一財年在零售部門的表現，你可以預期我們會投入更多力道在強化陳列，並把貨架呈現做到我們想要的水準。

As it pertains to extending the platform into new flavors, those plans are already in place, and we should have some news here shortly to share with you. But we're well down the path on that. We continue to believe that it's not only viable, but we have great confidence in it.

至於把這個平台延伸到新口味的計畫，其實已經就緒，我們應該很快就能分享一些消息。我們在這條路上已推進得相當深入。我們仍相信這不僅可行，而且我們對此非常有信心。

Scott Marks, Jefferies.

Scott Marks，Jefferies。

First thing I wanted to ask about, I don't think we've really touched as much on the Foodservice side of things. So I'm wondering if you can help us understand some of the puts and takes there, maybe how the businesses are doing within Chick-fil-A operator as well as some of the other bigger customers you have and help us understand how we should be thinking about that going forward?

我第一個想問的是，我覺得我們對餐飲服務（Foodservice）端的討論還不夠多。想請你協助我們理解其中的利多與利空（puts and takes），例如在 Chick-fil-A 營運商（operator）體系內的業務表現，以及你們其他較大型客戶的狀況，並幫助我們理解未來該如何看待這一塊？

Yeah. I'm glad that you asked. And Foodservice actually had a pretty solid quarter when you look at it, where volume and sales were both up in the period and let's maybe pull it apart, if you look at the whole industry, the industry is essentially where it was three months ago, it's flat. Now you pull that apart and we look at national accounts.

好的，我很高興你問到。整體來看，餐飲服務本季其實表現相當穩健：本期的出貨量與銷售額都成長。我們把它拆開來看：就整個產業而言，基本上與三個月前差不多，呈現持平。接著再拆開來看我們的全國型客戶（national accounts）。

What I would point you, Scott is, it bifurcates into the concepts that are emerging as the continuous winners and those that I think are struggling. Within our portfolio, we have a handful of those performers that continue to do pretty well. One of those is Chick-fil-A, but they're doing it on their base business, but they're also doing it behind several of their LTOs, which we've been fortunate enough to support.

Scott，我想指出的是，它呈現兩極分化：一端是持續勝出的連鎖概念（concepts），另一端則是我認為正在掙扎的品牌。在我們的組合中，有幾個表現者持續做得很好，其中之一是 Chick-fil-A；他們不僅基本盤業務表現良好，也受惠於多個限時供應（LTO）活動，而我們很幸運能提供支援。

Taco Bell has also continued, even in this economic environment to emerge as a winner. And we have a handful of others that I would say we're continuing to win with. What we're seeing then on the other side of the ledger, though, is for those concepts that can't lead with price, or they have a product offering that isn't necessarily connecting with consumers, they're struggling. But all in on our [national] accounts component, which is 75% of our Foodservice business, we were able to grow it really led by Chick-fil-A and our winners, offset partially by some of the others.

Taco Bell 也在這樣的經濟環境下持續成為勝出者。我們還有其他幾個客戶，我會說我們也持續在他們那邊取得勝利。另一方面，對於那些無法以價格領先、或其產品組合未必能與消費者產生連結的概念品牌，他們就比較辛苦。不過整體而言，在我們的（全國型）客戶組成——約占餐飲服務業務的 75%——我們仍能實現成長，主要由 Chick-fil-A 與這些勝出者帶動，並部分抵銷其他客戶的疲弱。

And on our branded piece of the business, that business was flattish, would have been up were it not for the fact that we exited a very low margin breadstick business, which is pulling it back slightly, so net-net for our Foodservice business in a competitive environment, I think we continue to do well. Part of it is we sell sauces.

至於我們的品牌業務（branded piece），整體大致持平；若不是因為我們退出了一項毛利非常低的麵包棒（breadstick）業務，原本應該會成長一些，該退出動作讓表現略被拉回。因此，綜合來看，在競爭激烈的環境中，我認為我們的餐飲服務業務仍表現不錯。部分原因是我們銷售的是醬料。

And it continues to be the area where our partners look to differentiate their menu, and the other part of it is because we're fortunate enough to have partners with the big, strong concepts that seem to be performing best in this environment.

而醬料仍是合作夥伴用來讓菜單差異化的關鍵領域；另一部分原因則是我們很幸運擁有一些大型且強勢的概念品牌夥伴，而他們在這樣的環境下似乎表現最佳。

Second question from you would be, you made some comments about higher investments in personnel and IT. I know you've also been working through testing some different advertising concepts within the retail business. So just wondering if you can give us an update on some of those initiatives and some of the extra costs that you've called out and how we should be thinking about where those investments are going and the kind of growth you're looking for because of them?

第二個問題是，你提到在人員與 IT 上的投資提高。我也知道你們一直在零售業務中測試一些不同的廣告概念。想請你更新一下這些計畫的進展，以及你提到的額外成本；並請你說明我們應如何看待這些投資的去向，以及你們希望因此帶來的成長類型？

Oo on the IT side, after we put in SAP, there are a number of legacy systems that, quite frankly, needed to be replaced and were not being supported by vendors anymore. And then there was opportunity to put in systems that would give us more sophistication.

哦，在 IT 方面，在我們導入 SAP 之後，有一些舊有系統，坦白說，需要被汰換，而且供應商也不再提供支援。接著也有機會導入能讓我們更具成熟度與精細化的系統。

So a couple of examples would be on the Foodservice side, the trade system we put in really helps us on the branded business to improve the trade optimization, and that's been a key contributor to the improved P&L performance we've seen in Retail on a year-to-date basis. So that's been very positive.

舉兩個例子，在餐飲服務（Foodservice）方面，我們導入的貿易系統確實幫助我們在品牌業務上提升通路促銷（trade）最佳化，而這也成為我們今年迄今在零售端所看到的損益表（P&L）表現改善的重要貢獻因素之一。所以這是非常正面的。

And then there's some other legacy systems that we've had to replace that are not as value-added, but necessarily to sustain the business and the growth. What I can tell you is that from an IT standpoint, a lot of that spending is now behind us. And as we plan the future years, we're not putting as much emphasis on that aspect of it.

另外還有一些我們必須汰換的舊有系統，它們的附加價值沒那麼高，但為了維持業務運作與成長是必要的。我可以告訴各位，從 IT 的角度來看，這類支出現在大多已經過去了。而在規劃未來年度時，我們也不會把那一塊作為同樣的重點。

So going forward, I think you'll see -- in Q4, you'll see, even with Bachan's, just a modest increase in SG&A. In line with inflation, so as we plan for the next fiscal year, I think we're in the same mode in terms of our SG&A spend. Now, as we see good marketing spends to support growth in Bachan's and other brands, we will continue to invest, but that's kind of our overall profile going forward.

因此往後看，我認為你們會看到——在第四季，即使納入 Bachan's，SG&A 也只會小幅增加，與通膨大致一致。所以在規劃下一個會計年度時，我認為我們在 SG&A 支出方面仍是同樣的模式。當然，當我們看到為了支持 Bachan's 與其他品牌成長而需要的有效行銷支出時，我們會持續投資，但這就是我們往後的整體輪廓。

And then just one quick just technical question. I think you called out earlier, the Bachan's op margin is the same as The Marzetti Company, is that referring specifically to the retail segment or is that total Marzetti?

另外再問一個很快、偏技術性的問題。我記得你先前提到，Bachan's 的營業利益率與 The Marzetti Company 相同，這是特指零售部門，還是 Marzetti 的整體？

That's total operating margin. Now again, I think we're being a little conservative at the onset and as we get into it. Certainly, what we know to be true is that they're an investment -- invest to grow brand, and so there's a higher level of marketing spend there as they expand into markets and build awareness, as Dave shared.

那是整體營業利益率。當然，我想我們在一開始以及逐步推進時會稍微保守一些。我們確定的一點是，他們屬於「投資以推動品牌成長」的類型，因此在拓展市場、建立知名度時，行銷支出水準會更高，正如 Dave 所分享的。

It's a fantastic brand, it's number two in barbecue sauce, but the awareness is relatively low. So their margins are slightly below -- their operating margins are slightly below our existing retail, and part of that is the amount of investment going into the brand to sustain its growth and to build it out. At the gross margin level with Bachan's, it's nicely margin accretive to the business.

這是一個非常出色的品牌，在烤肉醬品類中排名第二，但品牌知名度相對仍偏低。因此他們的利潤率略低——他們的營業利益率略低於我們既有的零售業務，其中一部分原因就是為了維持成長並擴大品牌所投入的資源。在 Bachan's 的毛利率層面，它對整體業務的毛利率是有明顯增益的。

And as we get into next quarter's call, we'll have completed the planning process with the team, and we'll have certainly more to share. But as Dave shared, everything we can see in terms of their performance gives us comfort in terms of our business model for what we can achieve with that acquisition.

等到下一季的電話會議時，我們將與團隊完成規劃流程，屆時一定會有更多可以分享。不過如同 Dave 所說，我們目前所看到的他們各項表現，都讓我們對於這項收購在我們商業模式下可達成的成果感到安心。

Thank you. (Operator Instructions)

謝謝。（接線員指示）

And if there are no further questions, we will now turn the call back to Mr. Ciesinski for his closing comments.

如果沒有進一步的提問，我們現在把電話交回給 Ciesinski 先生作結語。

Thank you, operator. And before we end the call, I just wanted to make a couple of short comments about, strategically, the disposition of the company and where we're heading, and I believe that the acquisition of Bachan's is an opportune time to kind of take a step back and take an inventory of where we've been and where we are and where we look to go. And really over the last 10 years, if you've looked at the evolution of our company, we started as a company really focused on driving our legacy brands.

謝謝你，接線員。在結束電話會議之前，我想就公司策略面、公司的定位以及我們的前進方向，做幾點簡短的說明。我認為收購 Bachan's 是一個適當的時點，讓我們稍微退一步，盤點我們走過的路、目前的位置，以及我們希望前往的方向。回顧過去 10 年，如果你們看我們公司的演進，我們一開始是一家真正專注於推動既有傳統品牌的公司。

And really, we've focused in that mode, and then we started to add to that with our restaurant brand licenses. And I would argue that over the course of the last seven years, we've built out our retail business essentially by leaning into the growth of those licensed restaurant brands. As we sit today, it's about $550 million or so of Circana sales, it's about $350 million more than that of net sales, and it's been really an important driver of our growth story.

我們確實一直以那樣的模式為重點，接著又透過餐廳品牌授權來加以擴充。我會主張，在過去七年的過程中，我們的零售業務基本上是藉由加碼這些授權餐廳品牌的成長而建立起來的。以目前來看，Circana 的銷售額大約是 5.5 億美元左右，淨銷售額大約比這個數字少 3.5 億美元左右，而它一直是我們成長故事中非常重要的驅動力。

At the same time, we've leveraged our strong balance sheet as a means by which to go back and make key investments in our infrastructure, both our plant infrastructure by retiring old lines and putting in place high-speed, more efficient lines, and then putting in place scalable IT infrastructure.

同時，我們也運用強健的資產負債表，回頭對基礎建設進行關鍵投資，包括工廠端的基礎設施——汰換舊產線並導入高速、更有效率的產線——以及建立可擴充的 IT 基礎設施。

What Bachan's really marks for us is not only just the acquisition of a phenomenal brand and the opportunity to work with tremendously talented people. But the first of what we believe will be more acquisitions in an area that we're calling authentic flavors. So with 10 years ago, the growth of our company, Marzetti, or then Lancaster Colony was driven by legacy brands, Marzetti Sister Schubert and New York. The more recent period has been driven by that plus restaurant brands.

對我們而言，Bachan's 的意義不僅是收購一個卓越的品牌，以及有機會與極具才華的人才合作；它也代表我們所相信、未來將有更多收購的第一步，落在我們稱之為「道地風味（authentic flavors）」的領域。回到 10 年前，我們公司（Marzetti，或當時的 Lancaster Colony）的成長是由傳統品牌所驅動，例如 Marzetti、Sister Schubert 和 New York。較近期的階段，則是由傳統品牌加上餐廳品牌共同驅動。

As we look to go forward, what we're excited about is the opportunity to add a whole new growth leg to our overall story, which has authentic flavors. So if you look at what our aspirations are going forward, it's to continue to innovate and market and grow against our legacy brands and our restaurant licensed brands, but also to use our end-to-end focus scale from culinary to product development through the supply chain to help highly relevant brands like Bachan's achieve their full potential in the marketplace.

展望未來，讓我們感到興奮的是，有機會為我們的整體故事再增加一個全新的成長支柱，也就是「道地風味」。因此，如果你看我們未來的企圖心，就是持續在傳統品牌與餐廳授權品牌上進行創新、行銷並推動成長，同時也運用我們端到端的聚焦與規模能力——從料理研發到產品開發，再到供應鏈——來協助像 Bachan's 這樣高度相關的品牌，在市場上充分發揮其潛力。

And what we would love to be able to do as we learn more about Bachan's and we get the integration successfully underway is to start to think about where are those opportunities to continue to leverage our balance sheet and find other authentic flavors where those brands and those teams can come and take their business to the next level.

而當我們對 Bachan's 了解更多、整合也順利展開之後，我們希望開始思考：有哪些機會可以持續運用我們的資產負債表，去尋找其他「道地風味」領域的品牌，讓那些品牌與團隊加入我們，並把他們的業務帶到下一個層級。

So as we look at the next 10 years going forward, it really gives us a platform for a much more balanced pathway to grow in Retail and in Foodservice. And before we wind down the call, I just wanted to share that with those of you that are listening.

因此，展望未來 10 年，這確實為我們提供了一個平台，使我們能以更均衡的路徑在零售與餐飲服務兩端成長。在我們結束電話會議之前，我只是想把這點分享給正在收聽的各位。

But with that, operator, and everybody else, thank you for your time today. We look forward to being with you in August. Have a great rest of the day.

那麼，接線員以及各位，感謝今天撥冗參與。我們期待在八月與各位再相會。祝各位今天剩下的時間愉快。

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與，現在可以掛線。