Utz Brands, Inc. (UTZ) 2026 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Thank you for standing by. My name is Kate, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Utz Brands, Inc. first-quarter 2026 earnings call.

感謝各位耐心等候。我叫 Kate，今天將擔任各位的電話會議接線員。此刻，我想歡迎各位參加 Utz Brands, Inc. 2026 年第一季財報電話會議。

(Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the call over to Trevor Martin, Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Finance.

(接線員指示) 現在我想把電話交給 Trevor Martin，資深副總裁兼企業財務主管。

Please go ahead.

請開始。

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today for our live Q&A session of our first-quarter 2026 earnings results. With me today on today's call are Howard Friedman, CEO; and BK Kelley, CFO. I hope everyone has had a chance to read our prepared remarks and our presentation, all of which are available on our Investor Relations website.

謝謝，接線員，各位早安。感謝各位今天加入我們 2026 年第一季財報結果的即時問答環節。今天與我一同出席的有執行長 Howard Friedman，以及財務長 BK Kelley。希望各位都已閱讀我們的事先準備講稿與簡報，相關資料皆可於我們的投資人關係網站取得。

Before we begin our Q&A session, I just have a few administrative items to review. Please note that some of our comments today will contain forward-looking statements based on our current view of the business and that actual future results may differ materially. Please see our recent SEC filings, which identify the principal risks and uncertainties that could affect future performance.

在開始問答之前，我先說明幾項行政事項。請注意，我們今天的部分評論將包含以前瞻性陳述為主，係基於我們目前對業務的看法，而實際未來結果可能有重大差異。請參閱我們近期向 SEC 提交的文件，其中列示可能影響未來表現的主要風險與不確定性。

Today, we will discuss certain adjusted or non-GAAP financial measures, which are described in more detail in this morning's earnings materials. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures and other associated disclosures are contained in our earnings materials posted on our website.

今天我們將討論若干經調整或非 GAAP 的財務衡量指標，相關內容在今早的財報資料中有更詳細說明。非 GAAP 財務衡量指標的調節表及其他相關揭露，均包含於我們網站上發布的財報資料中。

Now operator, we are ready to open the line for questions.

接線員，現在我們準備開放提問。

(Operator Instructions)

(接線員指示)

Peter Galbo, Bank of America.

美國銀行的 Peter Galbo。

Howard, maybe to start, just -- you had some commentary on the second-quarter in your prepared remarks kind of addressing some of the softness to start 2Q, particularly in April. So I was hoping maybe you could expand a little bit just on that point as well as whether or not you think April represents kind of the bottom within the quarter, and then we should see improvement in May and June. So maybe I'll start there and let you kind of elaborate on your commentary?

Howard，先從這裡開始——你在事先準備講稿中對第二季有一些評論，提到第二季初期（特別是 4 月）有些疲弱。所以我想請你再多談一點：這點的背景是什麼？以及你是否認為 4 月大致代表本季的低點，接著 5 月與 6 月應該會改善。我先從這裡開始，請你延伸說明一下你的評論？

Yes. Thanks for tfirst quarterhe question, Pete. So a couple of things. Look, I think, first of all, we always expected that April was going to be sort of -- it would be a more difficult lap for a couple of reasons. Beyond sort of the Easter shift, we have year-over-year programming that we had done in the prior year. Specifically, you see it on Boulder Canyon, and you can see it on the cheese business. We also had some laps in some larger customers where there's some merchandising timing that actually shifted.

是的。謝謝你的問題，Pete。有幾點。首先，我想我們一直預期 4 月會是相對——基於幾個原因——比較難比較的一段期間。除了復活節檔期移動之外，我們去年也做了一些年對年促銷/活動安排。特別是在 Boulder Canyon，你看得到；在起司業務上也看得到。另外，在一些較大型客戶那邊，我們也遇到部分陳列/促銷時點的變動，實際上是往後移了。

So as you look at the year-over-year, we expected the quarter to start out a little bit softer than the run rate had been. I think if you look at the food channel overall, 50% of our business, I think it's a pretty good indicator of our underlying strength, which continues to be positive. And as we progress through the second-quarter, you'll actually see some incremental activations coming. Boulder Canyon has some activity behind Tallow. You'll see new product innovations start to hit.

因此從年對年的角度來看，我們預期本季一開始會比先前的運行水準稍微疲弱一些。我認為如果你看整體食品通路——約占我們業務的 50%——這是衡量我們基本面強度的一個相當好的指標，而目前仍維持正向。而隨著第二季推進，你會看到一些額外的啟動活動陸續到位。Boulder Canyon 會有圍繞 Tallow 的一些活動。你也會看到新產品創新開始上市。

And obviously, California will continue to grow. So I think we're off to where we expected to be in the second-quarter and largely through the -- through Q1 as well.

而且很明顯地，加州將持續成長。所以我認為第二季的開局大致符合我們的預期，而第一季也大致如此。

Great. And BK, just maybe as a follow-up, you left the guidance unchanged for the year, actually reiterated all elements of it. I think there was a bit of concern out there in the market that just given maybe less of a scaled DSD platform, things like freight, resins might hit you a bit sooner. So maybe you could just talk a little bit about the hedging program and kind of how you're locked on freight and go forward for the rest of the year.

很好。BK，再追問一下：你們維持全年指引不變，實際上也重申了所有要素。市場上有些擔憂，認為在 DSD 平台規模較小的情況下，像運輸費、樹脂等成本可能會更快對你們造成影響。所以你能否談談避險計畫，以及你們在運輸費用上的鎖定情況，並說明今年剩餘期間的展望？

Yes. Thanks, Pete. Thanks for the question. So first of all, I would say we're covered for most of the year on fuel, ags and freight. Our productivity program that we've touted a bit here at approximately 4% is going well, and we'll continue to build on those plans in H2. And that will help us offset any incremental inflation, which we think comes from primarily a small impact from fuel for us, but mostly packaging driven by the resin impact.

是的。謝謝，Pete。謝謝你的問題。首先我會說，我們在燃料、農產品（ags）以及運輸費用方面，涵蓋了今年大部分期間的保障。我們先前提到、約 4% 的生產力提升計畫進展良好，我們也會在下半年持續推進並加碼這些計畫。這將有助於抵消任何額外的通膨壓力；我們認為通膨主要來自包材（受樹脂影響），燃料對我們的影響相對較小。

We'll continue to maximize the other levers that we have, the RGM tools around price pack architecture, and we'll be using AI to improve our promo effectiveness, and we'll continue to improve our sales mix. The net impact for us is that we have many levers to address potential inflation, but we are mostly covered on the fuel, ags and freight pieces to your point.

我們也會持續最大化其他可用的槓桿，例如圍繞價格與包裝架構的 RGM 工具；我們也會運用 AI 來提升促銷成效，並持續改善銷售組合。對我們而言，整體淨影響是：我們有多種槓桿可因應潛在通膨；而就你提到的燃料、農產品（ags）與運輸費用部分，我們大多已做好保障。

Michael Lavery, Piper Sandler.

Piper Sandler 的 Michael Lavery。

This is Luke on for Michael. I just wanted to ask on marketing spend. You increased marketing spend by 35% in the first-quarter, and I believe your long-term target is for 3% to 4% of sales. How close do you get to that target this year and in 2027? And then also, where do you see the biggest opportunities for return on marketing spend?

我是 Luke，代 Michael 提問。我想問一下行銷支出。你們第一季行銷支出增加了 35%，我記得你們的長期目標是占銷售額的 3% 到 4%。今年以及 2027 年，你們會離這個目標有多近？另外，你們認為行銷支出回報最大的機會在哪些方面？

Thanks for the question. Look, I think what we've said, we're largely in line with what we would have expected on the marketing investment for the year. We will expect to add (technical difficulty) about 40% year-over-year, and we continue to have conviction that, that's the right place to be. We're still many -- probably a couple of years out from being able to get to that 3% to 4% longer-term target because as you can imagine, when we start to think about the available resources we have and the opportunities we have to grow, whether it's with westward expansion, continue to drive capabilities as well as marketing and innovation, there is a reasonable competition for those dollars.

謝謝你的問題。我想我們所說的，基本上與我們對今年行銷投資的預期一致。我們預期年對年將增加（技術問題）約 40%，而我們仍然堅信這是合適的投入水準。我們距離達到 3% 到 4% 的長期目標，可能還需要——大概還要幾年時間；因為如你所想，當我們考量可用資源與成長機會時，不論是向西部擴張、持續推動能力建置，以及行銷與創新，這些資金之間會有合理的競爭。

I would tell you that we feel great about the innovation this year, and I think it's probably the strongest lineup we've certainly had in the -- in my time here. I think in terms of where we see ongoing investment, I think there are a couple of places. One is obviously supporting our Power Four Brands, Utz, Boulder Canyon, Zapp's and On The Border. Boulder Canyon has new advertising that will be out this year to support the momentum on that brand, which continues to grow very quickly.

我可以告訴你，我們對今年的創新感到非常振奮，我認為這可能是——至少在我任內——最強的一次產品陣容。至於我們看到的持續投資方向，我認為主要有幾個面向。第一，當然是支持我們的四大主力品牌：Utz、Boulder Canyon、Zapp's 與 On The Border。Boulder Canyon 今年會推出新的廣告，以支持該品牌持續快速成長的動能。

Second is in our expansion markets where we're introducing the brand. In California, we'll obviously get investment as we continue to scale that area. And then the last is in supporting our core where it's a little bit more traditional competitive dynamics for us within the category. So I think over time, you'll continue to see us grow our advertising and consumer spend, and we'll remain focused and disciplined on how we deploy those resources.

第二是在我們的擴張市場，也就是我們正在導入品牌的地區。在加州，隨著我們持續擴大該區規模，當然也會投入資源。最後則是支持我們的核心市場，在該品類中，我們面臨的競爭動態相對更傳統。因此，隨著時間推進，你會持續看到我們增加廣告與消費者端支出，而我們也會在資源配置上保持聚焦與紀律。

Okay. That's great. And your household penetration increased just over one point. What's working there? And what opportunities are ahead?

好的。很棒。另外，你們的家戶滲透率提升了略高於 1 個百分點。目前是哪些因素在發揮作用？接下來還有哪些機會？

Yes. So look, I think part of our household -- we feel very good about the household penetration trend we've been on. I think equally important to us is that the loyalty rates continue to grow because, obviously, as you grow penetration, you're introducing yourself to newer users, and they may not repeat quite as much. And what we're seeing is very strong loyalty rates as well, which I think is a testament to the quality of our products and the variety of items that we offer.

是的。所以你看，我認為我們家庭端的一部分——我們對目前所處的家庭滲透率趨勢感到非常滿意。我認為對我們同樣重要的是，忠誠度持續提升，因為很明顯，當你提高滲透率時，你是在向更新的使用者介紹自己，而他們的重複購買可能不會那麼高。而我們看到的忠誠度也非常強勁，我認為這證明了我們產品的品質以及我們所提供品項的多樣性。

I think that the major drivers, again, are going to be -- partially it's going to be about expansion geographies which obviously, for the Utz brand is as we're moving westward and for the remaining Power of Three, it's also bringing it into Utz's core geography. So we're introducing new households in both places.

我認為主要驅動因素，還是會是——部分來自於地理版圖的擴張；很顯然，對 Utz 品牌而言是我們正往西部推進，而對其餘的「三大動能」（Power of Three）來說，則也是把它帶進 Utz 的核心地理區域。因此我們在兩個地方都在導入新的家庭戶。

Second, our innovation is introducing products into households that they may not have had before. We feel very good about the early start on Tallow. And then lastly is just driving incremental advertising, which is also doing a good job of being both effective and efficient, but also driving our brand story. So I think we're kind of hitting on most of the cylinders right now and lots left to do.

第二，我們的創新正在把消費者過去可能沒有買過的產品帶進家庭。我們對 Tallow 的早期起步感到非常樂觀。最後就是推動額外的廣告投放；這同樣在有效性與效率上表現良好，同時也在傳遞我們的品牌故事。所以我認為我們現在大致上各個面向都在發力，而且還有很多事情可以做。

Scott Marks, Jefferies.

Scott Marks，Jefferies。

First thing I wanted to ask about in the prepared remarks, you made a comment about not seeing any need to change commercial plans because of competitor activity. Wondering if you can expand on that a little bit and just help us understand what you're seeing out there from a competitive perspective and how some of the recent changes within the category may or may not have impacted your own business.

我第一個想問的是，在事先準備的發言中，你提到因為競爭對手的活動而不需要改變商業計畫。想請你再多展開說明一下，幫助我們理解你們從競爭角度看到的情況，以及品類內近期的一些變化，可能如何影響或不影響你們自身的業務。

Yes. Thanks for the question, Scott. Look, I think overall, we feel like we're where we expected to be at this point in the year and that our commercial plans are holding. And a lot of the innovation expansion and investment in marketing consumer, I think, is going to deliver on the goals that we've had for the year. I think with respect to what we're seeing competitively, I'd tell you what we've observed is, obviously, the Bell-Mark prices or the on-pack price has come down, and we have seen some sharper promotional price points with some customers in some of the subcats.

是的。謝謝你的問題，Scott。你看，我認為整體而言，我們覺得目前在年度進度上符合我們的預期，我們的商業計畫也在按部就班地推進。而我認為，許多創新、擴張以及在行銷與消費者端的投資，將能達成我們今年設定的目標。至於競爭態勢，我會說我們觀察到的是，很明顯，Bell-Mark 的價格或包裝上的標示價格已經下調，而且我們也在某些子品類、某些客戶那裡看到更尖銳的促銷價位。

And this isn't wildly different than what we had seen in Q4 as we were going through the -- observing the early testing. And we do believe that at this point, it will continue to be a targeted and focused activity from the competition. From our perspective, we feel pretty good. I think if you look at the first two major merchandising windows of the year, Super Bowl and Easter, we were able to take dollar share. We grew our distribution 7% on TDPs, and we increased marketing to, as we said, to 35%, while also being mindful of where our price gaps need to be to remain competitive.

而這與我們在第四季所看到的情況並沒有天差地遠，當時我們正經歷——並觀察早期測試。我們也相信在目前這個時間點，競爭對手的行動仍會是有針對性且聚焦的。就我們而言，我們感覺相當不錯。我認為如果你看今年前兩個主要的陳列檔期——超級盃與復活節——我們都能提升美元市占。我們在 TDP（總配銷點數）上的配銷成長了 7%，我們也如先前所說把行銷提高到 35%，同時也留意我們需要維持的價差，以保持競爭力。

So I think we feel confident in our drivers for the year. I think we feel confident that California will continue to build and that we've invested in our revenue management capabilities to make sure that we are able to compete. And the nice thing about our company is we can be fairly agile and with productivity giving us more resources potentially to deploy it if we had to, we feel like we can compete in a variety of contexts.

所以我認為我們對今年的驅動因素很有信心。我認為我們也有信心加州會持續建立動能，而且我們已投資強化收益管理能力，以確保我們能夠競爭。而我們公司的一個優勢是，我們可以相當敏捷；在生產力提升可能帶來更多可部署資源的情況下，如果有需要，我們覺得自己能在各種情境下競爭。

Appreciate the thoughts there. And then just a follow-up for me. A lot of comments in today's remarks about the bonus bags. Hate to bring up the term again, but obviously, it's in there. You obviously helped us -- give us a little bit of context in terms of what the numbers look like, excluding the Bonus Packs.

感謝你的看法。接著我有個追問。今天的發言中有很多關於加量袋（bonus bags）的評論。我不想再提這個詞，但很顯然它就在內容裡。你們先前也幫助我們——提供了一些背景，說明若排除加量包（Bonus Packs）後，數字大概會長什麼樣子。

Wondering if you can break that down between core markets versus expansion markets. What would the impact have been if we exclude the bonus bags just in terms of price versus volume and kind of where that growth has come from?

想請問你能否把它拆分成核心市場與擴張市場來看。如果排除加量袋，對價格與銷量的影響各會是什麼？以及成長主要來自哪裡？

Yes. So a couple of things. I think -- I know we haven't broken it out between core and expansion geographies. It's kind of more difficult for us to do just given the nature of the fact that bonus bags were actually the same UPC. So we have to do quite some additional work to be able to offer that.

是的。所以有幾點。我想——我知道我們尚未在核心與擴張地理區域之間做拆分。主要是因為這對我們來說比較困難，因為加量袋其實使用的是相同的 UPC。所以我們需要做相當多額外的工作，才能提供那樣的拆分。

I think what you can take (technical difficulty) is that bonus bags broadly were mostly in the core geography because that's where the majority of our distribution is with respect to things like Utz and On The Border, which is where it was. But we tried to give you a perspective of on a two-year basis, we're holding up quite well competitively and that both volume mix and price are being similar contributors to our overall growth rate, which is I think really kind of the point we wanted to make sure we got across.

我想你可以理解（技術問題）的是，加量袋整體而言主要是在核心地理區域，因為像 Utz 與 On The Border 這些品牌的大部分配銷都在那裡，也就是加量袋投放的地方。但我們想提供的觀點是，以兩年期基礎來看，我們在競爭上維持得相當不錯，而且銷量組合與價格對我們整體成長率的貢獻相近——我想這就是我們希望確保傳達到的重點。

Rob Dickerson, BTIG.

Rob Dickerson，BTIG。

Yes, just a quick question on the category. I realize you're using retail dollars in the quarter, category is not flat, right? It was up, I think, over 2% based off of what you spoke to, the guidance that you've been talking for a while of kind of expecting kind of flat for the year. Is it just kind of -- obviously, the market is very dynamic right now, kind of we're still in the early or at least first half of the year. So there's no need to say, oh, we actually think the category could be more than flat this year and maybe we'll be in line with the category.

是的，關於品類我有個簡短問題。我知道你們在本季使用的是零售美元口徑，品類並不是持平，對吧？根據你剛才提到的內容，我想品類成長超過 2%。而你們之前談了好一段時間的指引，是預期全年大致持平。是不是只是——很顯然市場現在非常動態，而且我們仍在年初或至少上半年。所以你們不需要說「我們其實認為今年品類可能不只持平，或許我們會與品類表現一致」？

I'm just trying to gauge a sense of kind of where your head is right now sitting in early May with respect to the category and maybe its potential for the year and then kind of how you could maybe operate vis-a-vis that category growth?

我只是想在 5 月初這個時間點，了解你們目前對品類的看法——包括今年的潛在走勢，以及你們可能如何相對於品類成長來運作？

Yes. I think -- first, I think when you think about the beginning of the year, we have continued to project a more flattish category, just given how early it has been in the year, and there is a very -- it's certainly been noisy in the first three, four months of the year. So I think at this point, we're just continuing to take a conservative view on the category. I think what we would expect is that as the year continues and as the category sort of starts to demonstrate more consistency, then we would -- we'll relook at that, look at our assumptions.

是的。我想——首先，我認為當你看年初時，我們仍持續預測品類會比較偏持平，主要是因為今年才剛開始，而且在前 3、4 個月確實雜訊很多。所以在目前這個時間點，我們只是延續對品類較保守的看法。我認為我們會期待，隨著年度推進、品類開始展現更一致的趨勢，我們就會——再回頭檢視，重新檢討我們的假設。

But from our perspective, obviously, we've never been solely dependent on the category for our growth. The expansion geographies remain a significant area of white space for us and our increases in innovation in A&C, we believe, puts us in a position to make sure that we are delivering against the guidance that we've provided as we go forward. And obviously, if the category continues to improve, then we'll take a different decision as we continue to navigate the year.

但就我們而言，很明顯，我們的成長從來不只依賴品類本身。擴張地理區域對我們來說仍是很大的「白地」機會，而我們在 A&C（廣告與消費者）上的創新投入增加，我們相信這讓我們處於有利位置，能在往前走的過程中持續達成我們所提供的指引。而且很明顯，如果品類持續改善，那麼在我們持續應對今年的過程中，我們也會做出不同的決策。

All right. Super. And then I guess just on the innovation front, I think you mentioned you were saying like Beef Tallow going for $20 on auction. And then I know you have flavored tortillas coming and Utz Protein, some Utz Protein SKUs. There are a few other competitors that might have some healthier options coming in as well. But just as we think about kind of consumer reengagement, right, in the category like Boulder is clearly doing very well, engaging well with the consumer.

好的。很棒。那我想再問一下創新方面，我記得你提到像牛脂（Beef Tallow）在拍賣上賣到 20 美元。然後我也知道你們有風味玉米餅（tortillas）要推出，還有 Utz Protein，以及一些 Utz Protein 的 SKU。也有一些其他競爭對手可能也會推出更健康的選項。但當我們思考消費者重新參與（reengagement）時，對吧，在這個品類裡像 Boulder 顯然表現很好，與消費者互動也很到位。

Again, kind of coming back, I guess, to Utz, but then also to the category, it just feels like there's clearly action in motion that would support kind of category improvement potentially as we get through the year, but especially just within consumer reengagement. I don't know if that makes sense. Just to hear your comments.

再回到剛才的話題，我想是回到 Utz，但也回到整個品類；感覺很明顯有一些正在推進的動作，可能會在今年接下來的時間裡支持品類改善，尤其是在消費者重新參與這一塊。我不知道這樣講有沒有道理。想聽聽你的看法。

Yes, it does. Look, we think that there are kind of three areas where consumer engagement really kind of matters to us. I think the first, to your point, is around better-for-you, and we're certainly seeing many people entering into the better-for-you category, larger scale competitors and smaller guys. We feel really good about Boulder Canyon's ability to compete. Tallow has gotten off to a great start.

有，是有道理的。你看，我們認為消費者參與度對我們真正重要的大概有三個面向。第一個，如你所說，是「更健康（better-for-you）」；我們確實看到很多人進入這個更健康品類，既有大型競爭對手，也有小型玩家。我們對 Boulder Canyon 的競爭能力非常有信心。牛脂（tallow）產品的起步也非常好。

It was a new one for me to go on to an auction site and see the product there, but really around better-for-you attributes and non-seed oil and that business continues to grow in both the Natural and conventional channels.

對我來說，第一次上拍賣網站看到那個產品還挺新鮮的；但重點其實在於更健康的屬性、非種子油（non-seed oil），而且這塊業務在天然通路與傳統通路都持續成長。

I think we've also seen that it's actually able to stretch with, to your point, both unflavored and now flavored tortilla chips, which we feel very good about the authorizations and early consumption trends on that business is strong. I think Protein in Utz is introducing that brand into what we call an elevated performance, not necessarily all the way to the Boulder Canyon side, but the presence of positives, we think, is a big territory for consumers who are looking to incorporate more protein in, and we'll continue to try and work on the better-for-you attributes across.

我想我們也看到它其實能延伸到你提到的兩個方向：無調味以及現在的調味玉米餅片（tortilla chips）。我們對該業務的上架核准（authorizations）以及早期消費趨勢都很有信心，表現很強勁。Utz 的 Protein 產品正在把這個品牌帶入我們所稱的「進階性能」領域，不一定完全走到 Boulder Canyon 那一端，但我們認為「正向加值（presence of positives）」的呈現，對於想增加蛋白質攝取的消費者而言是一個很大的領域；我們也會持續在各產品上推進更健康的屬性。

We have Snacking Made Simple on our Utz brand is our sort of our organizing idea, which highlights the simple ingredients that are in our core products. The next 2 areas really are around flavor and value. And those two areas also are places where I think consumers have always engaged in this category and we will continue to do so as we go forward. So I do think you're going to see more effort by everybody to continue to introduce presence of positives. I think it's a consumer trend, but I also think flavor and value you'll also see.

我們在 Utz 品牌上有「Snacking Made Simple」這個主軸概念，用來凸顯我們核心產品中的簡單配方成分。接下來兩個面向主要是風味與價值。而這兩個面向也是我認為消費者一直以來在這個品類中會投入的地方，未來我們也會持續如此。所以我確實認為你會看到大家更努力地持續導入「正向加值」的呈現。我覺得這是消費者趨勢，但同時你也會看到風味與價值方面的動作。

All right. And then just maybe a quick one for me, too, for BK. Just on the free cash flow front, is there kind of anything to call out as we get -- as we're now in early May, for the year. And I'm really just kind of speaking to that expected kind of sequential improvement in free cash flow this year and then kind of that ability to hit that larger target longer term. That's all.

好。那我再快速問 BK 一題。關於自由現金流，有沒有什麼需要特別指出的——我們現在已經進入 5 月初、就今年而言。我主要是想問今年自由現金流預期逐季改善的走勢，以及長期達成更大目標的能力。就這樣，謝謝。

Yes. I think the -- thanks for the question. Our confirmation of our guidance included the $60 million to $80 million of free cash flow that we were chasing this year. The Q1 for us is always going to be a quarter where we burn cash as we build for the seasons. I think the improvement in our leverage year-on-year is something that is indicative of the improvement we're making in our processes and capabilities in this area.

有。謝謝你的問題。我們重申指引時，包含了今年要達成的 6,000 萬到 8,000 萬美元自由現金流目標。對我們來說，第一季一向會是因為為旺季備貨而消耗現金的一季。我認為我們槓桿（leverage）年對年的改善，反映了我們在這方面流程與能力的提升。

We continue to think that, that will build over the year, and we'll be on track for the free cash flow that we expect to generate as well as the leverage targets that we set.

我們仍然認為這種改善會在全年逐步累積，我們也會按計畫達成預期可產生的自由現金流，以及我們設定的槓桿目標。

(Operator Instructions)

（接線員指示）

Jim Salera, Stephens.

Jim Salera，Stephens。

I wanted to circle back on the pricing actions you mentioned by large competitors and kind of the limited impact on the commercial plan. From some of the work that we've done, it seems like those pricing actions are most pronounced in mass, particularly the largest mass retailer. I wonder if you could share how you're thinking about your pricing maybe on a kind of channel basis relative to peers and if we should see maybe a more strategic opportunity for you to differentiate yourself in channels outside of mass?

我想回到你提到大型競爭對手的定價動作，以及對商業計畫影響有限這點。根據我們做的一些研究，看起來這些定價動作在大眾通路（mass）最為明顯，尤其是最大的那家大眾零售商。想請你分享一下，你們如何按通路來思考自身定價、相對於同業的位置；以及在大眾通路以外，你們是否有更具策略性的機會來做出差異化？

Yes. Thanks for the question. Certainly, we've seen similar performance in the mass channel, which is not that much of a surprise to us. I think you've seen that -- we've seen that historically, which kind of goes back to the original point of the nothing that we're doing -- we've seen so far has been all of that surprising to us. And if you think about how our commercial strategy kind of unfolds, we have got a wide range of competitive dynamics across the price ladder.

好的。謝謝你的問題。我們在大眾通路確實也看到類似的表現，這對我們來說並不太意外。我想你也看到——我們過去就看過這種情況，這也回到最初的觀點：到目前為止，我們看到的狀況並沒有讓我們特別驚訝。而如果你看我們商業策略的展開方式，我們在價格階梯上面對非常廣泛的競爭動態。

So we continue to grow very nicely in the Natural channel. We've been making good progress in Club behind some of our premium brands, notably Boulder. Our expansion geographies and frankly, the food channel overall continues to perform for us with the larger national grocers as well as the regional players. And so we will compete there. Obviously, our [ rev man ] capability really comes through in the food channel because that's where promotional effectiveness and timing can really kick in.

因此，我們在天然通路仍持續有很不錯的成長。在會員制量販（Club）通路，我們依靠一些高端品牌（premium brands），尤其是 Boulder，取得了良好進展。我們的擴張地區，以及坦白說整體食品通路（food channel），在大型全國性雜貨商與區域型業者那邊都持續為我們帶來良好表現。所以我們會在那裡競爭。當然，我們的 [ rev man ] 能力在食品通路特別能發揮，因為促銷效益與時點安排在那裡真的能起作用。

And then I think more broadly, as you think about sort of the rest -- the remainder of the mass channel, we are feeling very good about the performance of our business there. We've seen distribution gains. So overall, we are -- it is a subcat by subcat, channel-by-channel game for us. And that's -- again, I think we have a lot of different ways to get to our goals and our objectives. And I think that's kind of what you're seeing in the first-quarter.

再更廣泛一點，當你看大眾通路其餘部分——也就是剩下的部分——我們對那裡的業務表現感到非常滿意。我們看到配銷（distribution）有所提升。所以整體而言，對我們來說這是一個按子品類（subcat）與按通路逐一應對的競賽。而這也——再次強調——我認為我們有很多不同方式可以達成我們的目標與目的。我想這就是你在第一季看到的情況。

Great. And then if I could shift gears and ask a quick one on California. You mentioned in your prepared remarks, California was up high single digits. It might be too early, but I want to ask if -- do you have any sense for the repeat rates in California given your brand is going to be new to a lot of folks out there. Curious to see kind of the initial loyalty response.

很好。那我想換個話題，快速問一下加州。你在事先準備的發言中提到，加州成長是高個位數。可能還太早，但我想問——鑑於你們的品牌對那邊很多人來說會是新品牌，你們對加州的回購率（repeat rates）有沒有任何初步感覺？我想了解一下初期的忠誠度反應。

Yes. It's early for us to see. We have to get through a couple of purchase cycles before we really be able to give you a better sense of loyalty. What I can tell you is if you look at our overall marketing metrics nationally, which, of course, our expansion geographies are a significant portion of our growth, you continue to see loyalty and repeat rates actually fairly consistent across. So I think that, that gives us quite a bit of confidence that even with a lower relative brand awareness on a brand like Utz that the product once in consumers' hands and pantries will have -- will earn its right to stay there.

是的。對我們來說現在還太早看出來。我們需要經過幾個購買週期，才能更好地給你忠誠度的判斷。我可以告訴你的是，如果你看我們全國整體的行銷指標——當然，我們的擴張地區占我們成長的很大一部分——你會持續看到忠誠度與回購率其實相當一致。所以我認為，這讓我們很有信心：即使像 Utz 這樣的品牌在相對品牌知名度較低的情況下，產品一旦進到消費者手中與儲藏櫃裡，就會——會靠表現贏得繼續留在那裡的資格。

I think beyond that, remember that Boulder Canyon and Hawaiian are also brands that exist in that marketplace today. And so that -- it's also the opportunity for us to expand distribution of those items, which are more familiar to the California market. So it will be a full suite of our Power Four Brands and some of our targeted brands as we kind of mature that geography over time. But like I said, high single digits, a couple of weeks in, call it, five, six weeks into it, we feel pretty good about where we are in California, lots to do, but we're excited about it.

另外也要記得，Boulder Canyon 和 Hawaiian 也是目前在那個市場已經存在的品牌。因此，這也代表我們有機會擴大這些品項的配銷，因為它們對加州市場更為熟悉。所以隨著我們逐步讓該地區成熟，我們會以「Power Four Brands」的完整組合，加上一些我們鎖定的品牌來推進。但如我所說，高個位數的成長，在推進幾週——大概五、六週——的時間點，我們對目前在加州的位置感覺相當不錯；還有很多事要做，但我們很期待。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

各位女士、先生，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位參與。您現在可以掛線。