• The Company recorded its highest-ever quarterly billed revenue of $8.4M (CAD $11.5M) for the quarter ending March 31, 2024.
• This was the first quarter of positive EBITDA, with the Company finishing with EBITDA of +$0.3M (CAD +$0.4M) and adjusted EBITDA of +$0.4M (CAD +$0.5M).
• The Company passed its annual food-safety audits at its two production facilities with scores of 97 and 98.

CAROL STREAM, IL / ACCESSWIRE / May 31, 2024 / The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd. (TSXV:FRSH)(FRA:Q4Z) ("The Fresh Factory" or the "Company"), a mission-driven company for fresh, clean-label, and better-for-you food and beverage brands, reports financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2024 ("Q1 2024").

"Although The Fresh Factory is proud to share results from each quarter, Q1 2024 was particularly special as this was the first quarter since going public in 2021 that we achieved positive EBITDA," said Bill Besenhofer, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of The Fresh Factory. "Attaining positive EBITDA is a major milestone for any company. While we are incredibly proud of the results, we know the path may not always be linear. As we continue our growth trajectory, there may be speed bumps on the way to our next milestone, achieving positive net income, but we continue to build a strong foundation with existing customers while adding new customers to the mix when they are strong fits with our company. The Fresh Factory will continue to prioritize delivering quality products while being an industry leader in sustainable business practices. We look forward to seeing what the rest of 2024 brings."

Financial and Operational Highlights: Q1 2024 vs. Q1 2023

Record Billed Revenue: $8.4M (CAD $11.5M) in Q1 2024 vs. $5.5M (CAD $7.5M) in Q1 2023, an increase of 52.7%

Adjusted EBITDA: +$0.3M (CAD +$0.4M) in Q1 2024 vs. ($0.5M) (CAD ($0.6M)) in Q1 2023, an increase of 178.9%

Adjusted Gross Margins: $3.0M (CAD $4.1M) in Q1 2024 vs. $1.5M (CAD $2.1M) in Q1 2023, an increase of 100%.

Share Buyback: As of May 30, 2024, the Company has purchased 113,600 Subordinate Voting Shares at a cost of $70,302, representing a weighted average price of $0.62 per share.

Strategic Areas of Focus

The Fresh Factory is building a platform to serve emerging food and beverage brands in the fresh-food sector with an emphasis on better-for-you products. The Company has established the following three key areas of focus on which it will report on a quarterly basis moving forward.

Execution: Focus on safety, high-quality operations, and strong margins.

Adjusted Gross Margins increased to $3M (CAD $4.1M) for Q1 2024 compared to $1.5M (CAD $2.1M) in Q1 2023.

Adjusted Gross Margins, on a percentage basis, were 35.7% in Q1 2024 compared to 26.6% in Q1 2023.

Operating profit on a dollar basis increased by $1.5M ($2.1M CAD) for Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023. Operating profit on a percentage basis increased to 20.4% in Q1 2024 compared to 4.6% in Q1 2023, driven by increased sales volume and production efficiencies.

Growth: Invest in and grow with the right brands across diversified channels.

Billed revenue for Q1 2024 was $8.4M (CAD $11.5M) compared to $5.5 (CAD $7.5M) in Q1 2023, representing a 52.7% increase. The increase is attributed to new customers onboarded in mid-2023 and increased demand from existing customers, including support of a limited-time offer promotion.

In February 2024, the Company set a new monthly record with billed revenue of $2.9M (CAD $3.9M).

Total revenue increased 53.9% in Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023.

The Company produced 5.2M total units in Q1 2024, a 126.0% increase from Q1 2023.

Sustainability: Become a market leader in sustainability.

The Company continues to compost 100% of its food waste and donates 100% of produce extras.

The Company continues to improve its FOG (fats, oils, grease) mitigation system to reduce environmental waste.

The Company passed its annual SQF (Safe Quality Food) audits at its two production facilities with scores of 97 and 98.

This earnings news release should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited financial statements for the first quarter ending March 31, 2024 (the "Audited Financial Statements") and the related Management's Discussion and Analysis (the "MD&A"); both documents are available to download on The Fresh Factory's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

For conversion purposes, this release used $0.73 as the conversion rate from CAD to USD.

All figures in this news release are in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

About The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd.

The Fresh Factory is a vertically integrated company focused on accelerating the growth of the fresh, clean-label, plant-based food and beverage brands of tomorrow. The Fresh Factory owns or partners with emerging brands in the plant-based space to develop, manufacture, and sell products made from fresh produce and recognizable ingredients. It operates from its centrally located manufacturing facility near Chicago, serving customers across the United States. As a public benefits corporation, The Fresh Factory is ESG-focused, driven to make a lighter, greener impact on the environment and a stronger, positive impact on local communities and the food system as a whole. Learn more about The Fresh Factory at www.thefreshfactory.co and find The Fresh Factory on social media at Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Contacts
Bill Besenhofer
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
1-877-495-1638
info@thefreshfactory.co

Cole Lesueur
Media and Investor Relations
1-877-495-1638
healthyinvestors@thefreshfactory.co

Non-IFRS Measures

There are measures included in this news release that do not have a standardized meaning under international financial reporting standards (IFRS) and therefore may not be comparable to similarly titled measures and metrics presented by other publicly traded companies. The Company includes these measures because it believes certain investors use them as a means of assessing financial performance. Billed revenue, adjusted gross margin, operating profit, EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA are financial measures that do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS. EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, one-time transaction expenses, and change in fair value of derivative liabilities. Adjusted gross margin is defined as billed revenue minus food, packaging, and labor (i.e., COGs). Operating profit is adjusted gross margin less utilities, facilities, and maintenance costs. Billed revenue is a financial measure defined as the revenue billed to customers as opposed to total revenue, which represents billed revenue less trade and variable selling and any production credits and samples.

We prepare and release quarterly unaudited and annual audited financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS. We also disclose and discuss certain non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial information used to evaluate our performance in this and other earnings releases and investor conference calls as a complement to results provided in accordance with IFRS. We believe that current shareholders and potential investors in the Company use non-GAAP financial measures, such as billed revenue, adjusted gross margin, operating profit, EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA in making investment decisions about the Company and measuring its operational results.

Management believes that investors and financial analysts measure our business on the same basis, and we are providing the billed revenue, adjusted gross margin, operating profit, EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA as financial metrics to assist in this evaluation and to provide a higher level of transparency into how we measure our own business.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to hereafter as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements that address activities, events, or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will, or may, occur in the future, including statements about the Company's new product offerings, its ability to execute on its goals, general macro and micro economic impacts of inflation on the business and operation of the Company, the timing pertaining to these goals and receipt of applicable consents and approvals, and Company's business prospects, future trends, plans, and strategies. In some cases, forward-looking statements are preceded by, followed by, or include words such as "may", "will," "would", "could", "should", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "expects", "plans", "intends", "proposes", "anticipates", "targeted", "continues", "forecasts", "designed", "goal", "anticipate" or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words. Although the management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company, as well as trends identified by the Company affecting its industry, can be found in the final long-form prospectus of the Company dated November 10, 2021, and the Company's continuous disclosure record available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Such cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements made in this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd.