National Beverage 10K/A 2023 Annual report (amended)

United States Securities and Exchange Commission

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K/A

Amendment No. 1

☑ Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the fiscal year ended April 29, 2023

--04-29FY2023

☐ Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the transition period from __________ to _________

Commission file number 1-14170

NATIONAL BEVERAGE CORP.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	59-2605822
(State of incorporation)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

8100 SW Tenth Street, Suite 4000, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33324

(Address of principal executive offices including zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (954) 581-0922

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $.01 per share	FIZZ	The NASDAQ Global Select Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes ☐ No ☑

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☑

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months. Yes ☑ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.: Large accelerated filer ☑ Accelerated filer ☐ Non-accelerated filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐ Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☑

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☑

The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates of Registrant computed by reference to the closing sale price of $46.78 on October 28, 2022 was approximately $1.1 billion.

The number of shares of Registrant’s common stock outstanding as of July 10, 2023 was 93,353,546.

RSM US LLP

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

PCAOB ID No. 49

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference in Part III of this report.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

National Beverage Corp. (the “Company”) is filing this Amendment No. 1 on Form 10‑K/A (this “Amendment”) to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 29, 2023 (the “Form 10-K”), filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on June 28, 2023, to provide certain information inadvertently omitted from Part I of Form 10-K.

As a result of a processing error by the third party responsible for the electronic transmission to the SEC, certain paragraphs of Item 1–Business (contained on pages 2 through 9) were not included in the Form 10-K. This Amendment revises Item 1 to include those paragraphs.

No changes have been made to the Form 10-K other than as described in the preceding paragraph. This Amendment does not reflect subsequent events occurring after the original filing date of the Form 10-K or modify or update in any way the financial statements, consents or any other items or disclosures contained therein. Accordingly, this Amendment should be read in conjunction with the Form 10-K and any subsequent filings with the SEC.

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

GENERAL

National Beverage Corp. innovatively refreshes America with a distinctive portfolio of sparkling waters, juices, energy drinks and, to a lesser extent, carbonated soft drinks. We believe our creative product designs, innovative packaging and imaginative flavors, along with our corporate culture and philosophy, make National Beverage unique as a stand-alone entity in the beverage industry.

Points of differentiation include the following:

Healthy Transformation – We focus on developing and delighting consumers with healthier beverages in response to the global shift in consumer buying habits and lifestyles. We believe our portfolio satisfies the preferences of a diverse mix of consumers including ‘crossover consumers’ – a growing group desiring healthier alternatives to artificially sweetened or high-calorie beverages.

Creative Innovations – Building on a rich tradition of flavor and brand innovation with more than a 130-year history of development with iconic brands such as Shasta® and Faygo®, we have extended our flavor and essence leadership and technical expertise to the sparkling water category. Proprietary flavors and our naturally-essenced beverages are developed and tested in-house and made commercially available only after extensive concept and sensory evaluation. Our variety of distinctive flavors provides us a unique advantage with today’s consumers who demand variety and refreshing beverage alternatives.

Innovation Ethic – We believe that innovative marketing, packaging and consumer engagement is more effective in today’s marketplace than traditional higher-cost national advertising. In addition to our cost-effective social media platforms, we utilize regionally-focused marketing programs and in-store “brand ambassadors” to interact with and obtain feedback from our consumers. We also believe the design of our packages and the overall optical effect of their placement on the shelf (“shelf marketing”) has become more important as millennials and younger generations become increasingly influential consumers, and are now influencing baby boomers and older generations.

Creative Dynamics – In a beverage industry dominated by the “cola giants”, we pride ourselves on being able to respond faster and more creatively to consumer trends than competitors burdened by legacy production and distribution complexity and costs. The ability to identify consumer trends and create new market-leading concepts defines our new product development model. Speed to market with the appropriate concept, unique flavor creation and trend-forward ‘better-for-you’ ingredients continues to be our goal. Internal development teams are responsible for concept creation, packaging and design, which allow for rapid ‘go to market’ timing and reduced development costs.

Presently, our primary market focus is the United States and Canada. Certain of our products are also distributed on a limited basis in other countries and options to expand distribution to other regions are being considered.

National Beverage Corp. is incorporated in Delaware and began trading as a public company on the NASDAQ Stock Market in 1991. In this report, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “Company” and “National Beverage” mean National Beverage Corp. and its subsidiaries unless indicated otherwise.

BRANDS

Our brands consist of beverages geared to the active and health-conscious consumer (“Power+ Brands”) including sparkling waters, energy drinks, and juices. Our portfolio of Power+ Brands includes LaCroix®, LaCroix Cúrate®, and LaCroix NiCola® sparkling water products; Clear Fruit®; Rip It® energy drinks and shots; and Everfresh®, Everfresh Premier Varietals™ and Mr. Pure® 100% juice and juice-based products. Additionally, we produce and distribute carbonated soft drinks (“CSDs”) including Shasta® and Faygo®, iconic brands whose consumer loyalty spans more than 130 years.

Power+ Brands –

LaCroix

LaCroix Sparkling Water, our most significant brand, has uniquely redefined the Sparkling Water category that is rapidly becoming the alternative to traditional carbonated soda. With zero calories, zero sweeteners and zero sodium, LaCroix leads the premium domestic sparkling water category. Naturally-essenced, LaCroix has gained the support of national retailers in multiple channels, including mass-merchandisers, club stores, drug stores, mainstream supermarkets and natural and specialty food retailers.

Continual flavor and packaging innovations for LaCroix in recent years include the unique flavor of Cherry Blossom – a botanical twist of sweet and just a ‘kiss’ of tart. The distinctive taste and stunning packaging of Cherry Blossom conveys the ‘Dazzling Taste of Spring!’ The launch of Cherry Blossom featured an integrated effort involving social and outdoor media, spot radio, consumer sampling and attractive retail in-store displays. In June 2022, PEOPLE Magazine recognized LaCroix Cherry Blossom as the winner of the Flavored Water Category in the PEOPLE’s Food Awards 2022. PEOPLE described Cherry Blossom as “spring in a can…with fruity, lightly floral notes.”

Cherry Blossom joined the innovative trio of Beach Plum, Black Razzberry and Guava São Paulo launched in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021. Beach Plum excites the imagination and inspires dreams of summer with the delectable coolness of the luscious fruit native to the east coast of the U.S.; the sweet twist of Black Razzberry makes taste buds sing with decadent, smooth and irresistible fruit flavor; and consumers savor the sweet tropical delicacy and vibrant essence of Guava São Paulo.

Other successful LaCroix additions include Hi-Biscus, a unique flavor that adds the delicate essence of the hibiscus flower to sparkling water; the enticing savor of LimonCello, which instantly transports fans to the Italian Riviera; and the refreshing taste of Pastèque, which captures the lusciousness of a sweet picnic watermelon.

These innovative new varieties are part of the LaCroix family of 31 refreshingly innocent flavors.

LaCroix’s dynamic ‘theme’ LaCroix Cúrate® (‘Cure Yourself’) celebrates French sophistication with Spanish zest and bold flavor pairings. Packaged in sleek 12 oz. tall cans, popular flavors include Cerise Limón, which pairs sweet cherry with tangy lime for a tasteful infusion that tickles the senses; Piña Fraise, an aromatic combination of pineapple and ripe strawberries that creates a tropical blend delight; and Múre Pepino, which combines sweet and sour blackberry notes with crisp cucumber to create a sensory and taste sensation.

Additional LaCroix flavors are in development that will continue to feature unique packaging and flavor concepts designed to capitalize on LaCroix brand loyalty and popularity of the sparkling water category.

Everfresh and Mr. Pure

Everfresh and Mr. Pure 100% juice and juice drinks are available in a variety of flavors, from such classics as Orange, Cranberry and flavored lemonades to exotics that include Premium Papaya, Pineapple Mango, Peach Watermelon and Island Punch. The brands’ signature package is a hot-filled, 16 oz. glass bottle designed for single-serve consumption.

Everfresh Premier Varietals, a unique theme from Everfresh, is positioned as a stand-alone brand for display in the produce section of supermarkets. Everfresh Premier Varietals is a premium line of apple juice derived from a variety of apples specific to the taste of the varietal, such as Granny Smith, McIntosh, Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious, Fuji and Pink Lady.

Clear Fruit

Clear Fruit is a crisp, clear, non-carbonated water beverage enhanced with fruit flavors. Clear Fruit is available in 14 delicious flavors, including consumer favorites Cherry Blast, Strawberry Watermelon, and Fruit Punch. Clear Fruit is available in 20-ounce and 16.9-ounce bottles with consumer-favored sports caps.

Rip It

Rip It Energy Fuel is “Real Energy for Real People” with 20 unique flavors and two sugar-free options. In addition to all-time consumer favorites, Tribute, Citrus X, Cherry Lime and Power, Rip It launched three new ‘Re-Energizzed’ flavors in Fiscal 2023 - YOLO, a pineapple flavor that's savory, sweet, and charged with tropical zest; Melon Hi, a naturally flavored watermelon that is louder-than-life and Can’D Man, a sweet and wild cotton candy experience. Building on the flavor tradition of original Rip It, a 2 oz. sugar-free shot version in six flavors is marketed in displayable package configurations. Rip It proudly supports military and first responder heroes at home and abroad.

Carbonated Soft Drinks –

		Shasta has been recognized as a bottling industry pioneer and innovator for more than 130 years. Shasta features multiple flavors and has earned consumer loyalty by delivering value and convenience with unique taste. In Summer 2023, Shasta launched three all-time consumer favorites reformulated with Zero Sugar - Shasta Zero Sugar Tiki Punch, Zero Sugar California Dreamin’, and Zero Sugar Mountain Rush.
		With more than 115 years of brand history, Faygo products include numerous unique flavors such as Red Pop, Moon Mist, Cotton Candy and Rock’n’Rye. Faygo is celebrated in the Midwest as the “The One True Pop.” Many of our carbonated soft drink brands enjoy a regional identification that we believe fosters long-term consumer loyalty and makes them more competitive as a consumer choice. In addition, products produced locally often generate retailer-sponsored promotional activities and receive media exposure through community activities rather than costly national advertising.
In recent years, we reformulated many of our brands to reduce caloric content while still preserving their time-tested flavor profiles. Our brands, optically and ingredient-wise, are continually evolving. We always strive to make all our drinks healthier while maintaining their iconic taste profiles.

PRODUCTION

Our philosophy emphasizes vertical integration; our production model integrates the procurement of raw materials and crafting flavors and concentrates with the production of finished products. Our twelve strategically-located production facilities are near major metropolitan markets across the continental United States. The locations of our facilities enable us to efficiently produce and distribute beverages to substantially all geographic markets in the United States, including the top 25 metropolitan statistical areas. Each facility is generally equipped to produce both canned and bottled beverage products in a variety of package sizes.

We believe the innovative and controlled vertical integration of our production facilities provides an advantage over certain of our competitors that rely on independent third-party bottlers to manufacture and market their products. Since we control all production, distribution and marketing of our brands, we believe we can more effectively manage quality control and consumer appeal while responding quickly to changing market conditions.

We craft a substantial portion of our flavors and concentrates. By controlling our own formulas throughout our bottling network, we are able to produce beverages in accordance with uniform quality standards while innovating flavors to meet changing consumer preferences. We believe the combination of a Company-owned bottling network, together with uniform standards for packaging, formulations and customer service, provides us with a strategic advantage in servicing national retailers and mass-merchandisers. We also maintain research and development laboratories at multiple locations. These laboratories continually test products for compliance with our strict quality control standards as well as conduct research for new products and flavors. DISTRIBUTION To service a diverse customer base that includes numerous national retailers, as well as thousands of smaller “up-and-down-the-street” accounts, we utilize a hybrid distribution system to deliver our products through three primary distribution channels: take-home, convenience and food-service.

The take-home distribution channel consists of national and regional grocery stores, club stores, mass-merchandisers, wholesalers, e-commerce stores, drug stores and dollar stores. We distribute our products to this channel primarily through the warehouse distribution system and, to a lesser extent, the direct-store delivery system.

Warehouse distribution system products are shipped from our production facilities to the retailer’s centralized distribution centers and then distributed by the retailer to each of its store locations with other goods. This method allows our retail partners to further maximize their assets by utilizing their ability to pick-up product at our warehouses, thus lowering their/our product costs. Products sold through the direct-store delivery system are distributed directly to the customer’s retail outlets by our direct-store delivery fleet and by independent distributors.

We distribute our products to the convenience channel through our own direct-store delivery fleet and those of independent distributors. The convenience channel consists of convenience stores, gas stations and other smaller “up-and-down-the-street” accounts. Because of the higher retail prices and margins that typically prevail, we have developed packaging and graphics specifically targeted to this market.

Our food-service division distributes products to independent, specialized distributors who sell to hospitals, schools, military bases, hotels and food-service wholesalers. Also, our Company-owned direct-store delivery fleet distributes products to schools and food-service locations.

Our take-home, convenience and food-service operations use vending machines and glass-door coolers as marketing and promotional tools for our brands. We provide vending machines and coolers on a placement or purchase basis to our customers. We believe vending and cooler equipment expands on-site visual trial, thereby increasing sales and enhancing brand awareness.

SALES AND MARKETING

We sell and market our products through an internal sales force as well as specialized broker networks. Our sales force is organized to serve a specific market, focusing on one or more geographic territories, distribution channels or product lines. We believe this focus allows our sales group to provide high level, responsive service and support to our customers and markets.

Our marketing emphasizes programs designed to reach consumers directly through innovative digital marketing, digital social marketing, social media engagement, sponsorships and creative content. We are focused on increasing our digital presence and capabilities to further enhance the consumer experience across our brands. We periodically retain agencies to assist with social media content creative and platform selection for our brands.

Additionally, we maintain and enhance consumer brand recognition and loyalty through a combination of participation in regional events, special event marketing, endorsements, consumer coupon distribution and product sampling. We also offer numerous promotional programs to retail customers, including cooperative advertising support, ‘BrandED’ ambassadors, in-store promotional activities and other incentives. These elements allow marketing and other consumer programs to be tailored to meet local and regional demographics. Additionally, the Company’s ‘MerchMx’ representatives work to develop a rapport with store managers for the purpose of optimizing shelf space, building displays, placing point-of-sale materials and expanding distribution.

RAW MATERIALS

Our centralized procurement group maintains relationships with numerous suppliers of ingredients and packaging. By consolidating the purchasing function for our production facilities, we believe we procure more competitive arrangements with our suppliers, thereby enhancing our ability to compete as an efficient producer of beverages.

The products we produce and sell are made from various materials including aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles, water, carbon dioxide, juice and flavor concentrates, sweeteners, cartons and closures. We craft a substantial portion of our flavors and concentrates while purchasing the remaining raw materials from multiple suppliers.

Substantially all of the materials and ingredients we purchase are available from several suppliers, although strikes, weather conditions, utility shortages, governmental control or regulations, national emergencies, quality, price or supply fluctuations or other events outside our control could adversely affect the supply of specific materials. A significant portion of our raw material purchases, including aluminum cans, plastic bottles, high fructose corn syrup, corrugated packaging and juice concentrates, are derived from commodities. Therefore, pricing and availability tend to fluctuate based upon worldwide commodity market conditions. In certain cases, we may elect to enter into multi-year agreements for the supply of these materials with one or more suppliers, the terms of which may include variable or fixed pricing, minimum purchase quantities and/or the requirement to purchase all supplies for specified locations. Additionally, we use derivative financial instruments to partially mitigate our exposure to changes in certain raw material costs.

SEASONALITY

Our operating results are affected by numerous factors, including fluctuations in costs of raw materials, holiday and seasonal programming and weather conditions. Beverage sales are seasonal with higher volume realized during summer months when outdoor activities are more prevalent.

COMPETITION

While LaCroix Sparkling Water is the brand of choice as the number one premium domestic sparkling water throughout the United States, the beverage industry is highly competitive and our competitive position may vary by market area. Our products compete with many varieties of liquid refreshment, including water products, soft drinks, juices, fruit drinks, energy drinks and sports drinks, as well as powdered drinks, coffees, teas, dairy-based drinks, functional beverages and various other nonalcoholic beverages. We compete with bottlers and distributors of national, regional and private label products. Several competitors, including those that dominate the beverage industry, such as Nestlé S.A., PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company, have greater financial resources than we have and aggressive promotion of their products may adversely affect sales of our brands.

Competitive factors in the beverage industry include price and promotional activity, advertising and marketing programs, point-of-sale merchandising, retail space management, customer service, product differentiation, packaging innovations and distribution methods. We believe our Company differentiates itself through novel innovation, key brand recognition, focused social media, innovative flavor variety, attractive packaging, efficient distribution methods, and, for some product lines, value pricing.

TRADEMARKS

We own numerous trademarks for our brands that are significant to our business. We intend to continue to maintain all registrations of our significant trademarks and use the trademarks in the operation of our businesses.

GOVERNMENTAL REGULATION

The production, distribution and sale of our products in the United States are subject to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act; the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994; the Occupational Safety and Health Act; various environmental statutes; and various other federal, state and local statutes regulating the production, transportation, sale, safety, advertising, labeling and ingredients of such products. We believe that we are in compliance, in all material respects, with such existing legislation.

Certain states and localities require a deposit or tax on the sale of certain beverages. These requirements vary by each jurisdiction. Similar legislation has been or may be proposed in other states or localities or by Congress. We are unable to predict whether such legislation will be enacted but believe its enactment would not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

All of our facilities in the United States are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations. Compliance with these provisions has not had any material adverse effect on our financial or competitive position. We believe our current practices and procedures for the control and disposition of toxic or hazardous substances comply in all material respects with applicable law.

PART IV

ITEM 15.

EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

(a) 3. Exhibits:

The exhibits listed in the Exhibit Index of the Form 10-K filed with the SEC on June 28, 2023 and this Amendment are filed with, or incorporated by reference in, this report. See additional exhibits below.

Exhibit No.	Description

31.1	Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

31.2	Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

	NATIONAL BEVERAGE CORP.

	By:	/s/ George R. Bracken
		George R. Bracken
		Executive Vice President – Finance
		(Principal Financial Officer)
		Date: July 11, 2023

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National Beverage (FIZZ) 10-K/A2023 FY Annual report (amended)

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