Forward-Looking Statements

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This report includes forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the statements under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” The words “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “projects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “assumes,” “could,” “should,” “estimates,” “potential,” “seek,” “predict,” “may,” “will” or “plans” and similar references to future periods are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance and achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. We believe important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include the following:

PART I

Item 1. Business.

Overview

The terms “B&G Foods,” “our,” “we” and “us,” as used in this report, refer to B&G Foods, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, except where it is clear that the term refers only to the parent company. Throughout this report, we refer to our fiscal years ended January 2, 2016, December 31, 2016, December 30, 2017, December 29, 2018, December 28, 2019, and January 2, 2021, January 1, 2022, December 31, 2022 and December 30, 2023 as “fiscal 2015,” “fiscal 2016,” “fiscal 2017,” “fiscal 2018,” “fiscal 2019”2019,” “fiscal 2020,” “fiscal 2021,” “fiscal 2022” and “fiscal 2020,2023,” respectively. Our fiscal year is the 52 or 53 week reporting period ending on the Saturday closest to December 31. Fiscal 20202023 contains, 53 weeks and fiscal 2022, 2021, 2019 2018, 2017, 2016 and 20152018 each contained, 52 weeks. Fiscal 2020 contained 53 weeks.

B&G Foods manufactures, sells and distributes a diverse portfolio of branded, high quality, shelf-stable and frozen food and household products across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Many of our branded products have leading regional or national market shares. In general, we position our products to appeal to the consumer desiring a high quality and reasonably priced product. We complement our branded product retail sales with institutional and foodservice sales and private label sales.

B&G Foods, including our subsidiaries and predecessors, has been in business for over 125 years. We were incorporated in Delaware on November 25, 1996 under the name B Companies Holdings Corp. On August 11, 1997, we changed our name to B&G Foods Holdings Corp. On October 14, 2004, B&G Foods, Inc., then our wholly owned subsidiary, was merged with and into us and we were renamed B&G Foods, Inc.

Our company has been built upon a successful track record of both organic and acquisition-related growth. Our goal is to continue to increase sales, profitability and cash flows through organic growth, disciplined acquisitions of complementary branded businesses and new product development. Since 1996, we have successfully acquired and integrated more than 50 brands into our company.

The table below includes some of the acquisitions and the divestituredivestitures we have completed in recent years:

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Products and Markets

The following is a brief description of some of our brands and product lines:

The Green Giant and Le Sueur brands trace their roots to Le Sueur, Minnesota in 1903, and the Minnesota Valley Canning Company. For more than 100 years, fresh and great-tasting Green Giant and Le Sueur vegetables have been grown and picked at the peak of perfection in the Valley of the Jolly Green Giant. In the remainder of this report, we generally refer to the Green Giant and Le Sueur brands collectively as the “Green Giant brand.”

The Crisco brand was introduced in 1911 and has revolutionized the way food is prepared and the way it tastes. From being the first shortening product made of plant based oils and oil seeds to creating the first cooking oil that was promoted for its light taste, Crisco has been making life in the kitchen more delicious for years. Today, Crisco is the number one brand of vegetable shortening, the number one brand of vegetable oil and also holds a leadership position in other cooking oils and cooking sprays.

The Ortega brand has been in existence since 1897; its1897. Its products span the shelf-stable Mexican food segment including taco shells, tortillas, seasonings, dinner kits, taco sauces, peppers, refried beans, salsas and related food products.

Clabber Girl, which originated as a wholesale grocery company dating back to the 1850’s, is a leader in baking products, including baking powder, baking soda and corn starch. In addition to Clabber Girl, the number one retail baking powder brand, product offerings also include the Rumford, Davis, Hearth Club and Royal brands of retail baking powder, baking soda and corn starch, and the Royal brand of foodservice dessert mixes.

The Maple Grove Farms of Vermont brand, which originated in 1915, is one of the leading brands of pure maple syrup sold in the United States. Other products under the Maple Grove Farms of Vermont label include a line of gourmet salad dressings, sugar free syrups, marinades, fruit syrups, confections, pancake mixes and organic products.

The Cream of Wheat brand was introduced in 1893 and is among the leading brands and one of the most trusted and widely recognized brands of hot cereals sold in the United States. Cream of Wheat is available in Original, Whole Grain and Maple Brown Sugar stove top, and also in instant packets of Original and other flavors. We also offer Cream of Rice, a gluten-free, rice-based hot cereal.

The Mrs. Dash brand, which was introduced in 1983 as the original brand in salt-free seasonings, is available in more than a dozen blends. In 2005, the leading brand in salt-free seasonings introduced salt-free marinades. Mrs. Dash’s brand essence, “Salt-Free, Flavor-Full,” resonates with consumers and underscores the brand’s commitment to provide healthy products that fulfill consumers’ expectations for taste.

Clabber Girl, which originated Prior to 2020, the brand was known as a wholesale grocery company dating back to the 1850’s, is a leader in baking products, including baking powder, baking soda and corn starch. In addition to Clabber GirlMrs. Dash, the number one retail baking powder brand, product offerings also include the Rumford, Davis, Hearth Club and Royal brands of retail baking powder, baking soda and corn starch, and the Royal brand of foodservice dessert mixes.

Back to Nature has been a pioneer in the better-for-you snack foods category and it is a leading cookie and cracker brand in the category. The Back to Nature brand’s product offerings include Non-GMO Project Verified, organic and gluten free products..

Victoria Fine Foods is a Brooklyn-based business founded in 1929. The Victoria brand offers a variety of premium pasta and specialty sauces, savory condiments and tasty gourmet spreads. Using traditional cooking methods, Victoria sauces are slow kettle-cooked in small batches to ensure rich flavor and a homemade taste. Committed to its values of quality, honesty, authenticity and community, Victoria believes that Ingredients Come First.

The Las Palmas brand originated in 1922 and primarily includes authentic Mexican enchilada sauce, chili sauce and various pepper products.

The Bear Creek Country Kitchens brand is the leading brand of hearty dry soups in the United States. Bear Creek Country Kitchens also offers a line of savory pasta dishes and hearty rice dishes.

The Weber brand of seasonings and other flavor enhancers was introduced in 2006 under a licensing agreement with Weber-Stephen Products LLC, maker of the popular Weber grills. Under the Weber brand, we offer a wide range of grilling seasoning blends, rubs, marinades, sprays and sauces.

The Las Palmas brand originated in 1922 and primarily includes authentic Mexican enchilada sauce, chili sauce and various pepper products.

The New York Style brand was created in 1985 and includes Original Bagel Crisps, Pita Chips and Panetini Italian Toast.

The Spice Islands brand, established in San Francisco in 1941, is a leading premium spices and extracts brand offering a diverse line of high quality products including spices, seasonings, dried herbs, extracts, flavorings and sauce blends. The brand recently expanded intobrand’s offerings include organic products.

The Mama Mary’s brand was introduced in 1986 and is a leading brand of shelf-stable pizza crusts. Mama Mary’s also offers pizza sauces and premium gourmet pepperoni slices.

The Polaner brand was introduced in 1880 and is comprised of a broad array of fruit-based spreads as well as jarred wet spices such as chopped garlic and oregano. Polaner All Fruit is a leading national brand of fruit-juice

sweetened fruit spread. The spreads are available in more than a dozen flavors. Polaner Sugar Free preserves are the second leading brand of sugar free preserves nationally.

The ReginaDurkee brand which has beenwas established in existence since 1949, includes vinegars1850 and, cooking wines.like our ReginaTone’s products are most commonly usedbrand, started as a family business and was an early leader in the preparation of salad dressings as well as in a variety of recipe applications, including sauces, marinades and soups.spice industry.

The Wright’s brand was introduced in 1895 and is a seasoning that reproduces the flavor and aroma of pit smoking in meats, chicken and fish. Wright’s is offered in three flavors: Hickory, Mesquite and Applewood.

The Sugar Twin brand, primarily sold in Canada, was developed in 1968 and is a calorie free sugar substitute.

The Old LondonEmeril’s brand was createdintroduced in 19322000 under a licensing agreement with celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. We offer a line of pasta sauces, seasonings, cooking stocks, mustards and offerscooking sprays under the Emeril’s brand name.

The Joan of Arc brand, which originated in 1895, includes a wide varietyfull range of flavors available in melba toasts, melba roundscanned beans including kidney, chili and other snacks. Old London also markets specialty snacks under the Devonsheer and JJ Flats brand names.varieties.

The Brer Rabbit brand has been in existence since 1907 and currently offers mild and full-flavored molasses as well as blackstrap molasses. Mild molasses is designed for table use and full-flavored molasses is typically used in baking, barbeque sauces and as a breakfast syrup.

The Sa-són brand was introduced in 1947 as a flavor enhancer used primarily for Puerto Rican and Hispanic food preparation. The product is generally used on beef, poultry, fish and vegetables. The brand’s flavor enhancer is offered in four flavors: Original, Coriander and Achiote, Garlic and Onion, and Tomato. We also offer reduced sodium versions of Sa-són.

The New York Flatbreads brand is a line of thin, crispy, flavorful crispbread that is available in several toppings.

The Vermont Maid brand has been in existence since 1919 and offers maple-flavored syrups. Vermont Maid syrup is available in regular, sugar-free and sugar-free butter varieties.

The New York Flatbreads brand is a line of thin, crispy, flavorful crispbread that is available in several toppings.

The Molly McButter brand created the butter-flavored sprinkles category in 1987. Molly McButter is available in butter and cheese flavors.

The Canoleo brand offers an all-purpose margarine used for spreading, cooking and baking.

Food Industry

The food industry is one of the United States’ largest industries. Historically, it has been characterized by relatively stable sales growth, based largely on price and population increases. In recent years, however, excluding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many traditional center of store grocery brands in the industry have often experienced flat to modestly declining sales. Over the past decade or so, the retail side of the food industry has seen a continuing shift of sales to alternate food outlets such as supercenters, warehouse clubs, organic and “natural” food stores, dollar stores, drug stores and e-tailers. Among other things, this shift has caused consolidation of traditional grocery chains into larger entities, often spanning the country under varying banner names. Consolidation has increased the importance of having a number one or two brand within a category, be that position national or regional. At the same time, this shift has also introduced many alternatives to traditional grocery chains. A broad sales and distribution infrastructure has also become critical for food companies, allowing them to reach all outlets selling food to consumers and expanding their growth opportunities.

Sales, Marketing and Distribution

Overview. We sell, market and distribute our products through a multiple-channel sales, marketing and distribution system to all major U.S. food channels, including sales and shipments to supermarkets, mass merchants, warehouse clubs, wholesalers, foodservice distributors and direct accounts, specialty food distributors, military commissaries and non-food outlets such as drug, dollar store chains and e-tailers. Certain of our brands, including Dash,Green Giant, Crisco,Cream of Wheat, Back to Nature, Ac’cent, Crock Pot^® seasoning mixes, Underwood, Polaner, Static Guard, Mrs. Dash, New York Style, Sugar Twin and Victoria are also distributed to similar food channels in Canada. We sell, market and distribute our household brand, Static Guard, through the same sales, marketing and distribution system to many of the same customers who buy our food products as well as to other household product retailers and distributors.

Sales. Our sales organization is aligned by distribution channels and consists of regional sales managers, key account managers and sales persons. Regional sales managers sell our products nationwide through national and regional brokers, with separate organizations focusing on foodservice, grocery chain accounts and special markets. Our sales managers coordinate our broker sales efforts, make key account calls with buyers or distributors and supervise broker retail coverage of the products at the store level.

Our sales strategy is centered on individual brands. We allocate promotional spending for each of our brands and our regional sales managers coordinate promotions with customers. Additionally, our marketing department works in conjunction with the sales department to coordinate special account activities and marketing support, such as couponing, public relations and media advertising.

We have a national sales force that is capable of supporting our current brands and quickly integrating and supporting any newly acquired brands.

Marketing. Our marketing organization is aligned by brand and is responsible for the strategic planning for each of our brands. We focus on deploying promotional dollars where we believe the spending will have the greatest impact on sales. Marketing and trade spending support, on a national basis, typically consists of advertising trade promotions, coupons and cross-promotions with supporting products. Radio, internet, social media and limited television advertising supplement this activity.

Distribution. We distribute our products through a multiple-channel system that covers every class of customer nationwide. Due to the different demands of distribution for frozen and shelf-stable products, we maintain separate distribution systems.

Our shelf-stable distribution network consists of fivesix primary locations,distribution centers in the United States, four of which are leased by us and are operated for us by a third partythird-party logistics provider, one that is located at an owned manufacturing facility and is operated by us, and one that is located at an owned manufacturing facility and is operated by us.a third-party logistics provider. We also ship to certain customers direct from some of our manufacturing facilities. In Canada, Mexico and from time to time in the United States we also use public warehouse and distribution facilities for our shelf-stable products.

Our frozen distribution network consists of seven primary locations,distribution centers in the United States and Canada, which are owned and operated by third partythird-party logistics providers.

We believe that our distribution systems for shelf-stable and frozen products have sufficient capacity to accommodate incremental product volume. See Item 2, “Properties” for a listing of our owned and leased distribution centers and warehouses. During 2019 and 2018,

In recent years, we werehave been negatively impacted by industry-wide increases in the cost of distribution, primarily driven by increased freight costs. Despiterates. We attempt to offset all or a portion of these increases through price increases and cost savings initiatives. For example, despite higher rates for freight in 2019,2021 and 2022, we were able to offset thesea portion of the freight cost increases in part as a result of our 2019through pricing, strategy thatwhich included both list price increases as well as aand trade spend optimization program. Separately,optimization.

Freight rates increased significantly during the fourth quarter of 2020, fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022, and we also benefited in 2019 from our distribution re-alignment efforts which helped to optimize both our shelf-stable and our frozen distribution networks.

We expect freight rates to remain elevated in 2020.2023. To the extent that we are unable to offset present and future cost increases through pricing and cost savings initiatives, our operating results will be negatively impacted.

Customers

Our top ten customers accounted for approximately 59.1%60.5% of our net sales and approximately 62.3%60.3% of our end of the year receivables for fiscal 2019.2022. Other than Walmart, which accounted for approximately 25.6%27.3% of our fiscal 20192022 net sales, no single customer accounted for 10.0% or more of our fiscal 20192022 net sales. Other than Walmart, which accounted for approximately 29.1%30.6% of our receivables as of December 28, 2019,31, 2022, no single customer accounted for more than 10.0% of our receivables as of December 28, 2019.31, 2022. During fiscal 2019, 20182022, 2021 and 2017,2020, our net sales to foreign countries represented approximately 7.7%7.8%, 7.3%8.3% and 6.3%7.8%, respectively, of our total net sales. Our foreign sales are primarily to customers in Canada.

Seasonality

Sales of a number of our products tend to be seasonal and may be influenced by holidays, changes in seasons/weather or certain other annual events. In general, our sales are higher in the first and fourth quarters.

Production

Manufacturing. We operate eleventwelve manufacturing facilities for our products. See Item 2, “Properties” for a listing of our manufacturing facilities.

Our Core Values; Compliance and Ethics. At B&G Foods, we are committed to providing quality products and observing high ethical standards in the conduct of our business. Together with our predecessors, we have been doing so since the 1800s. Our core values: passion; food safety and quality; diversity, equity and inclusion; integrity and accountability; customer and consumer focus; safety and health at work; collaboration; and empowerment, have been critical to our success. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, referred to as our Code, serves as a guide for all directors, officers, employees and representatives of B&G Foods in our daily interactions with our customers, consumers, stockholders, regulatory agencies, supply chain partners and fellow employees. We provide annual and periodic training and educational materials to our employees on our Code, raising and resolving ethical issues, ethical decision making and on various other compliance and ethics topics.

Our Culture. We love food and bringing our family of brands to our consumers and their families. We have fire in our bellies, are energized by new challenges and pursue excellence in everything we do. We believe in teamwork, have a common desire to be part of something big, and share a commitment to stay humble even as we continue to grow.

We believe in the power of teams while respecting individual differences. We believe in timely and open communication. We support each other professionally and personally without being asked. Our open-door policy creates an idea-driven environment where each of us, regardless of level, has a voice. We are approachable, collegial and fiercely loyal.

Communication and Transparency; Employee Feedback; Employee Engagement. We use various communication vehicles to share information with our employees about the business priorities, performance and internal happenings across our company.

We make it a priority to listen to our employees, to understand their diverse viewpoints and respond to their feedback by taking action to improve. We do this in part by monitoring employee engagement and satisfaction through periodic employee engagement surveys. In 2020, we expanded our employee engagement survey to include additional questions regarding diversity, equity and inclusion.

Employee Empowerment, Training and Professional Development. We enable and encourage our employees to grow, excel and realize their full potential. We strive to hire people more talented than we are. We empower our people to make the decisions needed today, and prepare them for even bigger decisions they will make in the future. We support professional development by providing access to internal and external training resources and programs.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). We embrace diversity and value the similarities and differences of our employees. We leverage diverse backgrounds and perspectives to achieve outstanding results. We are committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive work environment where all employees have the opportunity to share their ideas, grow with our company, and realize their full potential.

The agreementtables below provide information regarding the percentages of our employees who are female or from underrepresented groups as compared to our overall employee population and our leadership. The tables also set forth our five-year goals (established in January 2022) to increase the representation of women and members of underrepresented groups in both our general employee population and our leadership.

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manufacturing, composition and ingredients, labeling, packaging and safety of food. We are also subject to the U.S. Bio-Terrorism Act of 2002 which imposes on us import and export regulations. Under the Bio-Terrorism Act we are required, among other things, to provide specific information about the food products we ship into the United States and to register our manufacturing, warehouse and distribution facilities with the FDA.

We believe that we are currently in substantial compliance with all material governmental laws and regulations and maintain all material permits and licenses relating to our operations. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that we are in full compliance with all such laws and regulations or that we will be able to comply with any future laws and regulations in a cost-effective manner. Failure by us to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Environmental Matters

Environmental Sustainability. As part of our commitment to being a good corporate citizen, we consider environmental sustainability to be an important strategic focus area. For instance, our manufacturing operations have a variety of initiatives in place to reduce energy usage, conserve water, improve wastewater management, reduce packaging and where possible use recycled and recyclable packaging. We continue to evaluate and modify our manufacturing and other processes on an ongoing basis to mitigate risk and further reduce our impact on the environment, conserve water and reduce waste.

The full text of the charters for each of the audit, compensation, corporate social responsibility, nominating and governance, and risk committees of our board of directors as well as our Codecode of Business Conductbusiness conduct and Ethicsethics is available at the investor relations section of our website, https://www.bgfoods.com/investor-relations/governance/documents. Our Codecode of Business Conductbusiness conduct and Ethicsethics applies to all of our employees, officers and directors, including our chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief accounting officer. We intend to disclose any amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of the Codecode of Business Conductbusiness conduct and Ethicsethics that applies to our chief executive officer, chief financial officer or chief accounting officer in the investor relations section of our website.

Our supplier code of conduct, environmental, health and safety policy, human rights policy, water stewardship policy and philanthropy principles are available in the responsibility section of our website, https://www.bgfoods.com/about/responsibility.

The information contained on our website is not part of, and is not incorporated in, this or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Any investment in our company will be subject to risks inherent to our business. Before making an investment decision, investors should carefully consider the risks described below together with all of the other information included in this report. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing our company. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are not aware of or focused on or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. This report is qualified in its entirety by these risk factors.

Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. In that case, holders of our securities may lose all or part of their investment.

Risks Specific to Our Company and Industry

The packaged food industry is highly competitive.competitive and we face risks related to the execution of our strategy and our ability to respond to channel shifts and other competitive pressures.

The packaged food industry is highly competitive. Numerous brands and products, including private label products, compete for shelf space and sales, with competition based primarily on product quality, convenience, price, trade promotion, brand recognition and loyalty, customer service, effective consumer advertising and promotional activities and the ability to identify and satisfy emerging consumer preferences. We compete with a significant number of companies of varying sizes, including divisions or subsidiaries of larger companies. Many of these competitors have multiple product lines, substantially greater financial and other resources available to them and may have lower fixed costs and/or are substantially less leveraged than our company. In addition, the rapid growth of some channels, in particular in e-commerce, which has expanded significantly following the outbreak of COVID-19, may impact our current operations or strategies more quickly than we planned for, create consumer price deflation, alter the buying behavior of consumers or disrupt our retail customer relationships. We may need to increase or reallocate spending on existing and new distribution channels and technologies, marketing, advertising and new product innovation to protect or increase revenues, market share and brand significance. These expenditures may not be successful, including those related to our e-commerce and other technology-focused efforts, and might not result in trade and consumer acceptance of our efforts. If we are unable to continue to compete successfully with these companies or if competitive pressures or other factors, such as an inability to effectively respond to channel shifts and new technologies, cause our products to lose market share or result in significant price erosion, our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially and adversely affected.

We may be unable to anticipate changes in consumer preferences and consumer demographics, which may result in decreased demand for our products.

Our success depends in part on our ability to anticipate and offer products that appeal to the changing tastes, dietary habits and product packaging preferences of consumers in the market categories in which we compete. If we are not able to anticipate, identify or develop and market products that respond to these changes in consumer preferences, whether resulting from changing consumer demographics or otherwise, demand for our products may decline and our operating results may be adversely affected. In addition, we may incur significant costs related to developing and marketing new products or expanding our existing product lines in reaction to what we perceive to be increased

consumer preference or demand. Such development or marketing may not result in the volume of sales or profitability anticipated.

We may be unable to maintain our profitability in the face of a consolidating retail environment.

Our largest customer, Walmart, accounted for approximately 25.6%27.3% of our fiscal 20192022 net sales, and our ten largest customers together accounted for approximately 59.1%60.5% of our fiscal 20192022 net sales. As the retail grocery trade continuescustomers, such as supermarkets, discounters, e-commerce merchants, warehouse clubs and food distributors, continue to consolidate and our retail customers grow larger and become more sophisticated, our retail customers may demand lower pricing and increased promotional programs. Further, these customers are reducing their inventories and increasing their emphasis on products that hold either the number one or number two market position and private label products. If we fail to use our sales and marketing expertise to maintain our category leadership positions to respond to these trends, or if we lower our prices or increase promotional support of our products and are unable to increase the volume of our products sold, our profitability and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We are vulnerable to decreases in the supply and increases in the price of raw materials and labor, manufacturing, distribution and other costs, and we may not be able to offset increasing costs by increasing prices to our customers.

We purchase agricultural products, including vegetables, oils and spices and seasonings, meat, poultry, ingredients, packaging materials and other raw materials, ingredients and packaging materials from growers, commodity processors, other food companies and packaging manufacturers. RawCommodities, ingredients, packaging materials ingredients and packagingother raw materials are subject to increases in price attributable to a number of factors, including changes in crop size, federal and state agricultural programs, export demand, currency exchange rates, energy and fuel costs, water supply, weather conditions during the growing and harvesting seasons, insects, plant diseases and fungi, and glass, metal and plastic prices. Fluctuations in commodity prices can lead to retail price volatility and intensive price competition, and can influence consumer and trade buying patterns. The cost of labor, manufacturing, energy, fuel, packaging materials and other costs related to the production and distribution of our products can from time to time increase significantly and unexpectedly. We attempt to manage these risks by entering into short-term supply contracts and advance commodities purchase agreements from time to time, by implementing cost saving measures and by raising sales prices. During the past threeseveral years, our cost saving measures and sales price increases have not been sufficient to fully offset increases to our raw material, ingredient, packaging and distribution costs. Moreover, during fiscal 2023 and possibly beyond, we expect to face continued industry-wide cost inflation for various inputs, including commodities, ingredients, packaging materials, other raw materials, transportation and labor. To the extent we are unable to offset present and future cost increases, our operating results willcould be negatively impacted.materially and adversely affected.

We may be unable to offset any reduction in net sales in our mature food product categories through an increase in trade spending for these categories or an increase in net sales in other categories.

Most of our food product categories are mature and certain categories have experienced declining consumption rates from time to time. If consumption rates and sales in our mature food product categories decline, our revenue and operating income may be adversely affected, and we may not be able to offset this decrease in business with increased trade spending or an increase in sales or profitability of other products and product categories.

We may have difficulties integrating acquisitions or identifying new acquisitions.

A major part of our strategy is to grow through acquisitions. WeFor example, we completed the Clabber Girl Yuma acquisition in May 2019,2022 and we completed the McCann’sCrisco acquisition in July 2018 and the Back to Nature acquisition in October 2017December 2020 and we expect to pursue additional acquisitions of food product lines and businesses. However, we may be unable to identify and consummate additional acquisitions or may be unable to successfully integrate and manage the product lines or businesses that we have recently acquired or may acquire in the future. In addition, we may be unable to achieve a substantial portion of any anticipated cost savings from acquisitions or other anticipated benefits in the timeframe we anticipate, or at all. Moreover, any acquired product lines or businesses may require a greater than anticipated amount of trade, promotional and capital spending. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, including difficulties in the assimilation of the operations, technologies, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, services and products of the acquired companies, personnel turnover and the diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns. Any inability by us to integrate and manage any product lines or businesses that we have recently acquired or may acquire in the future in a timely and efficient manner, any inability to achieve a substantial portion of any anticipated cost savings or other anticipated benefits from these acquisitions in the time frame we anticipate or any unanticipated required increases in trade, promotional or capital spending could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Moreover, future acquisitions by us could result in our incurring substantial additional indebtedness, being exposed to contingent liabilities or incurring the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, all of which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Our credit agreement requires us to maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy financial condition tests, including, without limitation, a maximum leverage ratio and a minimum interest coverage ratio.

Our ability to comply with the ratios or tests may be affected by events beyond our control, including prevailing economic, financial and industry conditions. A breach of any of these covenants, or failure to meet or maintain ratios or tests could result in a default under our credit agreement and/or our senior notes indentures. Certain events of default under our credit agreement and our senior notes indentures would prohibit us from paying dividends on our common stock. In addition, upon the occurrence of an event of default under our credit agreement or our senior notes indentures, the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under the credit agreement and the senior notes, together with accrued interest, to be immediately due and payable. If we were unable to repay those amounts, the credit agreement lenders could proceed against the security granted to them to secure that indebtedness. If the lenders accelerate the payment of the indebtedness, our assets may not be sufficient to repay in full this indebtedness and our other indebtedness.

To service our indebtedness and fund our working capital needs, capital expenditures and any future acquisitions, we require a significant amount of cash. Our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.

Our ability to make interest payments on and to refinance our indebtedness, and to fund working capital needs, planned capital expenditures and potential acquisitions depends on our ability to generate cash flow from operations in the future. This

If we are unable to refinance our indebtedness at or prior to maturity on commercially reasonable terms or at all, we would be forced to seek other alternatives, including:

If we are forced to pursue any of the above options, our business and/or the value of an investment in our securities could be adversely affected.

We rely on co-packers for a significant portion of our manufacturing needs, and the inability to enter into additional or future co-packing agreements may result in our failure to meet customer demand.

We rely upon co-packers for a significant portion of our manufacturing needs. See Item 1, “Business—Production—Co-Packing Arrangements.” The success of our business depends, in part, on maintaining a strong sourcing and manufacturing platform. We believe that there are a limited number of competent, high-quality co-packers in the industry, and if we were required to obtain additional or alternative co-packing agreements or arrangements in the future, we can provide no assurance that we would be able to do so on satisfactory terms or in a timely manner. Our inability to enter into satisfactory co-packing agreements could limit our ability to implement our business plan or meet customer demand.

Our efforts to manage and mitigate these factors may be unsuccessful, and the volumeeffectiveness of salesthese efforts depends on factors beyond our control, including the duration and severity of any pandemic or profitability anticipated.disease outbreak, as well as third-party actions taken to contain its spread and mitigate public health effects.

The ultimate impact of any pandemic or disease outbreak on our business will depend on many factors, including, among others, the duration of social distancing and stay-at-home and work-from-home mandates, policies and recommendations and whether, and the extent to which, additional waves or variants of any such pandemic or disease outbreak affects the United States and the rest of North America, our ability and the ability of our suppliers to continue to operate our and their manufacturing facilities and maintain the supply chain without material disruption and procure ingredients, packaging and other raw materials when needed despite any disruptions in the supply chain or labor shortages, our customers’ ability to adequately staff their distributions centers and stores, and the extent to which macroeconomic conditions resulting from any such pandemic or disease outbreak and the pace of the subsequent recovery may impact consumer eating and shopping habits.

Severe weather conditions, natural disasters and other natural events can affect raw material supplies and reduce our operating results.

Severe weather conditions, natural disasters and other natural events, such as floods, droughts, frosts, earthquakes, pestilence or health pandemics, such as the novel coronavirus that recently originated in China,COVID-19 pandemic, may affect the supply of the raw materials that we use for our products. Our maple syrup products, for instance, are particularly susceptible to severe freezing conditions in Québec, Canada and Vermont during the season in which maple syrup is produced. Our Green Giant frozen vegetable manufacturing facility in Irapuato, Mexico is located in a region affected by water scarcity and restrictions on usage. We source certain spices and other raw materials from China and if the severity and reachThe continuing effects of the coronavirus outbreak increases, thereCOVID-19 pandemic or any future pandemics or disease outbreaks may because significant disruptions to our supply chain and operations, including disruptions in our ability to purchase raw materials, and delays in the manufacture and shipment of our products. Competing manufacturers can be affected differently by weather conditions, natural disasters and other natural events depending on the location of their supplies. If our supplies of raw materials are delayed or reduced, we may not be able to find supplemental supply sources on favorable terms or at all, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Climate change, water scarcity or legal, regulatory, or market measures to address climate change or water scarcity, could negatively affect our business and operations.

In the event that climate change has a negative effect on agricultural productivity, we may be subject to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for certain commodities that are necessary for our products. We may also be subjected to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for water as a result of such change, which could impact our manufacturing and distribution operations. For example, our Green Giant frozen vegetable manufacturing facility in Irapuato, Mexico is already affected by water scarcity in that region of Mexico. Any further restrictions on, or loss of, water rights due to water scarcity, water rights violations or otherwise for our Irapuato manufacturing facility could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

The increasing concern over climate change also may result in more regional, federal, foreign and/or global legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases. In the event that such regulation is enacted and is more aggressive than the sustainability measures that we are currently undertaking to monitor our emissions, and improve our energy and resource efficiency and report such efforts, we may experience significant increases in our manufacturing and distribution and administrative costs. In particular, increasing regulation of fuel emissions could substantially increase

Our operations are subject to numerous laws and governmental regulations, exposing us to potential claims and compliance costs that could adversely affect our business.

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA, the USDA, the FTC, the SEC, the CPSC, the United States Department of Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency and various other federal, state, local and foreign authorities. We are also subject to U.S. laws affecting operations outside of the United States, including anti-bribery laws such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Any changes in these laws and regulations, or any changes in how existing or future laws or regulations will be enforced, administered or interpreted could increase the cost of developing, manufacturing and distributing our products or otherwise increase the cost of conducting our business, or expose us to additional risk of liabilities and claims, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. In addition, failure by us to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including future laws and regulations, could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. See Item 1, “Business—Government Regulation” and “—Environmental Matters.”

Failure by third-party co-packers or suppliers of raw materials to comply with food safety, environmental or other regulations may disrupt our supply of certain products and adversely affect our business.

We rely on co-packers to produce certain of our products and on other suppliers to supply raw materials. Such co-packers and other suppliers, whether in the United States or outside the United States, are subject to a number of regulations, including food safety and environmental regulations. Failure by any of our co-packers or other suppliers to comply with regulations, or allegations of compliance failure, may disrupt their operations. Disruption of the operations of a co-packer or other suppliers could disrupt our supply of product or raw materials, which could have an adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Additionally, actions we may take to mitigate the impact of any such disruption or potential disruption, including increasing inventory in anticipation of a potential production or supply interruption, may adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

A recall of our products could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, we may be subject to significant liability should the consumption of any of our products cause injury, illness or death.

The sale of food products for human consumption involves the risk of injury to consumers. Such injuries may result from mislabeling, tampering by unauthorized third parties or product contamination or spoilage, including the presence of foreign objects, undeclared allergens, substances, chemicals, other agents or residues introduced during the growing, manufacturing, storage, handling or transportation phases of production. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to recall products, leading to a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Even if a situation does not necessitate a recall, product liability claims might be asserted against us. We have from time to time been involved in product liability lawsuits, none of which have been material to our business. While we are subject to governmental inspection and regulations and believe our facilities comply in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, if the consumption of any of our products causes, or is alleged to have caused, a health-related illness in the future we may become subject to claims or lawsuits relating to such matters. Even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding any assertion that our products caused injury, illness or death could adversely affect our reputation with

defending these lawsuits. In addition, we may be required to pay damage awards or settlements or become subject to injunctions or other equitable remedies, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. The outcome of litigation is often difficult to predict, and the outcome of pending or future litigation may have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Consumer concern regarding the safety and quality of food products or health concerns could adversely affect sales of certain of our products.

If consumers in our principal markets lose confidence in the safety and quality of our food products even without a product liability claim or a product recall, our business could be adversely affected. Consumers have been increasingly focused on food safety and health and wellness with respect to the food products they buy. We have been and will continue to be impacted by publicity concerning the health implications of food products generally, which could negatively influence consumer perception and acceptance of our products and marketing programs. Developments in any of these areas could cause our results to differ materially from results that have been or may be projected.

A weakening of the U.S. dollar in relation to the Canadian dollar or the Mexican peso would significantly increase our future costs relating to the production of maple syrup or frozen vegetable products.

We purchase a significant majority of our maple syrup requirements from suppliers in Québec, Canada. A weakening of the U.S. dollar in relation to the Canadian dollar would significantly increase our future costs relating to the production of our maple syrup products to the extent we have not purchased Canadian dollars or otherwise entered into a currency hedging arrangement in advance of any such weakening of the U.S. dollar. These increased costs may not be fully offset by the positive impact the change in the relative strength of the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar would have on our net sales in Canada. In addition, we operate a frozen vegetable manufacturing facility in Irapuato, Mexico. A weakening of the U.S. dollar in relation to the Mexican peso would significantly increase our costs relating to the production of frozen vegetable products to the extent we have not purchased Mexican pesos or otherwise entered into hedging arrangements in advance of the weakening of the U.S. dollar.

Our operations in foreign countries are subject to political, economic and foreign currency risk.

Our relationships with foreign suppliers and co-packers as well as our manufacturing location in Irapuato, Mexico also subject us to the risks of doing business outside the United States. The countries from which we source our raw materials and certain of our finished goods may be subject to political and economic instability, and may periodically enact new or revise existing laws, taxes, duties, quotas, tariffs, currency controls or other restrictions to which we are subject, including restrictions on the transfer of funds to and from foreign countries or the nationalization of operations. Our products are subject to import duties and other restrictions, and the U.S. government may periodically impose new or revise existing duties, quotas, tariffs or other restrictions to which we are subject, including restrictions on the transfer of funds to and from foreign countries.

In particular, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or other regulatory and economic impact of changes in taxation and trade relations among the United States and other countries.

In addition, changes in respective wage rates among the countries from which we and our competitors source product could substantially impact our competitive position. Changes in exchange rates, import/export duties or relative international wage rates applicable to us or our competitors could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. These changes may impact us in a different manner than our competitors.

Litigation regarding our trademarks and any other proprietary rights and intellectual property infringement claims may have a significant negative impact on our business.

We maintain an extensive trademark portfolio that we consider to be of significant importance to our business. If the actions we take to establish and protect our trademarks and other proprietary rights are not adequate to prevent imitation of our products by others or to prevent others from seeking to block sales of our products as an alleged violation of their trademarks and proprietary rights, it may be necessary for us to initiate or enter into litigation in the future to enforce our trademark rights or to defend ourselves against claimed infringement of the rights of others. Any legal proceedings could result in an adverse determination that could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

We face risks associated with our defined benefit pension plans and multi-employer pension plan obligations.plans.

We maintain four company-sponsored defined benefit pension plans that cover approximately 39.7%23.9% of our employees. A deterioration in the value of plan assets resulting from poor market performance, a general financial downturn or otherwise could cause an increase in the amount of contributions we are required to make to these plans. For example, our defined benefit pension plans may from time to time move from an overfunded to underfunded status driven by decreases in plan asset values that may result from changes in long-term interest rates and disruptions in U.S. or global financial markets. Additionally, historically low interest rates coupled with poor market performance would have the effect of decreasing the funded status of these plans which would result in greater required contributions. For a more detailed description of these plans, see Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies; Use of Estimates—Pension Expense” and Note 12, “Pension Benefits,” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

We also participate in a multi-employer pension plan maintained by the labor union representing certain of our employees at our Portland, Maine facility. We make periodic contributions to this plan pursuant to the terms of a collective bargaining agreement. In the event that we withdraw from participation in this plan or substantially reduce our participation in this plan (such as due to a workforce reduction), or if a mass withdrawal were to occur, applicable law could require us to make withdrawal liability payments to the plan, and we would have to reflect that liability on our balance sheet. The amount of our withdrawal liability would depend on the extent of this plan’s funding of vested benefits at the time of our withdrawal. Currently the plan is severely underfunded. Furthermore, our withdrawal liability could increase as the number of employers participating in this plan decreases.

For a more detailed description of this multi-employer plan, which is in critical and declining status, see Note 12, “Pension Benefits,” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

An obligation to make additional, unanticipated contributions to our defined benefit plans or the multi-employer plan described above could reduce the cash available for working capital and other corporate uses, and may have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

Our financial well-being could be jeopardized by unforeseen changes in our employees’ collective bargaining agreements, shifts in union policy or labor disruptions in the food industry.

As of December 28, 2019,31, 2022, approximately 62.5%57.0% of our 2,8993,085 employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements. A prolonged work stoppage or strike at any of our facilities with union employees or a significant work disruption from other labor disputes in the food or related industries could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. ThreeFour of our collective bargaining agreements expire in the next twelve months. The collective bargaining agreement covering our Terre HauteCincinnati facility, which covers approximately 100125 employees, is scheduled to expire on March 27, 2020; the collective bargaining agreement covering

We depend on our information technology infrastructure to communicate internally and externally with employees, customers, suppliers and others. We also use information technology networks and systems to comply with regulatory, legal and tax requirements. These information technology systems, many of which are managed by third parties or used in connection with shared service centers, may be susceptible to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to failures during the process of upgrading or replacing software, databases or components thereof, issues with or errors in systems’ maintenance or security, migration of applications to the cloud, power outages, hardware or software failures, computer viruses, malware, attacks by computer hackers or other cybersecurity risks, telecommunication failures, denial of service, user errors, natural disasters, terrorist attacks or other catastrophic events.

Cyberattacks and other cyber incidents are occurring more frequently in the United States, are constantly evolving in nature, are becoming more sophisticated and are being made by groups and individuals (including criminal hackers, hacktivists, state-sponsored institutions, terrorist organizations and individuals or groups participating in organized crime) with a wide range of expertise and motives (including monetization of corporate, payment or other internal or personal data, theft of trade secrets and intellectual property for competitive advantage and leverage for political, social, economic and environmental reasons). Such cyberattacks and cyber incidents can take many forms including cyber extortion, denial of service, social engineering, such as impersonation attempts to fraudulently induce employees or others to disclose information or unwittingly provide access to systems or data, introduction of viruses or malware, such as ransomware through phishing emails, website defacement or theft of passwords and other credentials. We may incur significant costs in protecting against or remediating cyberattacks or other cyber incidents.

If any of our significant information technology systems suffer severe damage, disruption or shutdown, whether due to natural disaster, cyberattacks or otherwise, and our disaster recovery and business continuity plans, or those of our third partythird-party providers, do not effectively respond to or resolve the issues in a timely manner, our product sales, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected, and we could experience delays in reporting our financial results, loss of intellectual property and damage to our reputation or brands. Cyberattacks, such as ransomware attacks, if successful, could interfere with our ability to access and use systems and records that are necessary to operate our business. Such attacks could materially adversely affect our reputation, relationships with customers, and operations and could require us to expend significant resources to resolve such issues.

We and third-parties with which we have shared personal information have been subject to attempts to breach the security of networks, IT infrastructure, and controls through cyberattack, malware, computer viruses, social engineering attacks, ransomware attacks, and other means of unauthorized access. For example, in February 2023, we experienced a cyberbreach resulting from a global ransomware attack that impacted thousands of network servers around the world and which encrypted certain of our network servers. In this case, our internal IT department together with third-party cybersecurity incidence response teams that we keep on retainer were able to unencrypt and restore most of the affected servers and restore others from backups within a few days and with minimal disruption to our manufacturing operations, sales, order processing, distribution and other business operations, and without paying any ransom. We cannot assure you, however, that we will be able to restore our systems so quickly and with minimal disruption to our business operations in response to a future cyberattack.

In addition, if we are unable to prevent physical and electronic break‑ins, cyberattacks and other information security breaches, we may suffer financial and reputational damage, be subject to litigation or incur remediation costs or penalties because of the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information belonging to us or to our partners, customers, suppliers or employees. The February 2023 ransomware attack described above resulted in the unauthorized release of sensitive personal information of certain of our current and former employees that will require remediation expenditures by our company and could adversely affect our reputation and increase the costs we already incur to protect against these risks. The mishandling or inappropriate disclosure of non‑public sensitive or protected information could also lead to the loss of intellectual property, negatively impact planned corporate transactions or damage our reputation and brand image. Misuse, leakage or falsification of legally protected information could also result in a violation of data privacy laws and regulations and have a negative impact on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may experience difficulties fully implementingFailure to Comply with Data Privacy and integrating our new enterprise resource planning system.Data Breach Laws May Subject Our Company to Fines, Administrative Actions and Reputational Harm.

We are implementing a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, includingsubject to data privacy and data breach laws in the states and countries in which we do business, and as we expand into other states and countries, we may be subject to additional modules in 2020. We also plan to transition our Mexican operations to the new ERP system by the end of 2021. The implementation of thedata privacy laws and regulations. In many

new ERP system has required,states, state data privacy laws (such as the California Consumer Privacy Act), including application and will continueinterpretation, are rapidly evolving. The rapidly evolving nature of state and federal privacy laws, including potential inconsistencies between such laws and uncertainty as to require, the investmenttheir application, adds additional compliance costs and increases our risk of significant financial and human resources. Wenon-compliance. While we attempt to comply with such laws, we may not be ablein compliance at all times in all respects. Failure to complete successfully the full implementationcomply with such laws may subject us to fines, administrative actions, and integration of the ERP system without experiencing difficulties. Any disruptions, delays or deficiencies in the design, implementation and integration of the new ERP system could adversely affect our ability to produce products, process orders, ship products, provide services and customer support, send invoices and track payments, fulfill contractual obligations, integrate acquisitions, or otherwise operate our business. It is also possible that the migration to a new ERP system could adversely affect our internal controls over financial reporting.reputational harm.

If we are unable to hire or retain our key management personnel, and a highly skilled and diverse workforce or effectively manage changes in our workforce or respond to shifts in labor availability, our growth and future success may be impaired and our results of operations could suffer as a result.

We must hire, retain and develop effective leaders and a highly skilled and diverse workforce at our corporate offices, manufacturing facilities and other work locations. We compete to hire new personnel with the variety of skills needed to manufacture, sell and distribute our products. Unplanned or increased turnover of employees with key capabilities, failure to attract and develop personnel with key capabilities, including emerging capabilities such as e-commerce and digital marketing skills, or failure to develop adequate succession plans for leadership positions or to hire and retain a workforce with the skills and in the locations we need to operate and grow our business could deplete our institutional knowledge base and erode our competitiveness. Our success depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of senior management and other highly skilled employees, certain of whom would be difficult to replace. As

The labor market has become increasingly tight and competitive and we may face sudden and unforeseen challenges in the availability of labor, such as we have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was exacerbated as a result departureof the Omicron variant. A sustained labor shortage or increased turnover rates within our workforce caused by membersa public health crisis or related policies and mandates, or as a result of general macroeconomic or other factors, have led and could in the future lead to production or shipping delays, increased costs, including increased wages to attract and retain employees and increased overtime to meet demand. Similarly, we have been negatively impacted and may in the future continue to be negatively impacted by labor shortages or increased labor costs experienced by our third-party business partners, including our external manufacturing partners, third-party logistics providers and customers. Our ability to recruit and retain a highly skilled and diverse workforce at our corporate offices, manufacturing facilities and other work locations could also be materially impacted if we fail to adequately respond to rapidly changing employee expectations regarding fair compensation, an inclusive and diverse workplace, flexible working or other matters.

If we fail to recruit and retain senior management could haveand a material adverse effect onhighly skilled and diverse workforce, our businessgrowth and future success may be impaired and our results of operations. In addition, we do not maintain key-man life insurance on any of our executive officers.operations may be materially and adversely effected.

We are a holding company and we rely on dividends, interest and other payments, advances and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations.

We are a holding company, with all of our assets held by our direct and indirect subsidiaries, and we rely on dividends and other payments or distributions from our subsidiaries to meet our debt service obligations and to enable us to pay dividends. The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments or distributions to us depends on their respective operating results and may be restricted by, among other things, the laws of their jurisdiction of organization (which may limit the amount of funds available for the payment of dividends), agreements of those subsidiaries, our credit agreement, our senior notes indentures and the covenants of any future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur.

Future changes that increase cash taxes payable by us could significantly decrease our future cash flow available to make interest and dividend payments with respect to our securities and have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We are able to amortize goodwill and certain intangible assets in accordance with Section 197 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. We expect to be able to amortize for tax purposes approximately $988.5$1,055.2 million between 20202023 and 2034.2037. The expected annual deductions are approximately $109.9$122.9 million for fiscal 2020, approximately $107.1 million for fiscal 2021, approximately $95.5 million for fiscal 2022, approximately $93.6 million pereach year for fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2024, approximately $93.4$122.6 million for fiscal 2025, approximately $89.4$118.7 million for fiscal 2026, approximately $69.5$98.8 million for fiscal 2027, approximately $67.0$96.3 million for fiscal 2028, approximately $66.4$95.7 million for fiscal 2029, approximately $60.3$89.6 million for fiscal 2030, approximately $27.6$56.9 million for fiscal 2031, approximately $9.5$38.7 million

for fiscal 2032, approximately $4.5$33.8 million for fiscal 2033, and approximately $1.2$30.4 million for fiscal 2034.2034, approximately $26.7 million for fiscal 2035, approximately $1.0 million for fiscal 2036 and approximately $0.3 million for fiscal 2037.

We also take material annual deductions for net interest expense due to our substantial indebtedness. However, the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law on December 22, 2017, limits the deduction for net interest expense (including the treatment of depreciation and other deductions in arriving at adjusted taxable income) incurred by a corporate taxpayer to 30% of the taxpayer’s adjusted taxable income. We were not impacted by this limitation in fiscal 2018 due

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which we refer to as the “U.S. CARES Act,” was signed into law. The U.S. CARES Act, among other things, includes provisions related to net operating loss carryback periods, modifications to the gain on sale frominterest deduction limitation and technical corrections to tax depreciation for qualified improvement property. The U.S. CARES Act increased the Pirate Brands divestiture, which increased our adjusted taxable income. However, in fiscal 2019 our interest expense exceeded 30% of our adjusted taxable income limitation from 30% to 50% for business interest deductions for tax years 2019 and this2020 and the limitation resultedreverted back to 30% beginning in an increase2021. See Note 10, “Income Taxes,” to our taxable incomeconsolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of $30.2 million, and we accordingly established a deferred tax asset of $7.4 million without a valuation allowance. Any interest that is non-deductible may be carried forward indefinitely and we believe we have sufficient deferred tax liabilities to offset any deferred tax assets resulting from currently non-deductible interest expense. However, if our interest expense deduction continues to be limited or ifthis report.

If we are unable to fully utilize our interest expense deductions in future periods, our cash taxes wouldwill increase. We were not subject to an interest expense deduction limitation in fiscal 2020 but were subject to the limitation in fiscal 2021, which increased our taxable income by $6.7 million. Beginning with fiscal 2022, our adjusted taxable income as computed for purposes of the interest expense deduction limitation is computed after any deduction allowable for depreciation and amortization. As a result, our adjusted taxable income (used to compute the limitation) decreased and we are subject to the interest expense deduction limitation in fiscal 2022, resulting in an increase to taxable income of $90.2 million. We may continue to be subject to the interest deduction limitation in future years. We have recorded a deferred tax asset of $22.2 million related to the interest deduction carryover, without a valuation allowance, as the disallowed interest may be carried forward indefinitely. The increase in our cash taxes resulting from the interest expense deduction limitation is approximately $20.6 million for fiscal 2022. There are various factors that may cause tax assumptions to change in the future, and we may have to record a valuation allowance against these deferred tax assets. See Note 10, “Income Taxes,” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

If there is a change in U.S. federal tax law or, in the case of the interest deduction, a change in our net interest expense relative to our adjusted taxable income that eliminates, limits or reduces our ability to amortize and deduct goodwill and certain intangible assets or the interest deduction we receive on our substantial indebtedness, or otherwise results in an increase in our corporate tax rate, our cash taxes payable would increase, which could significantly reduce

indefinite-lived intangible assets. However, an interimin connection with our decision to sell the Back to Nature business, during fiscal 2022 we reclassified $109.9 million of indefinite-lived trademark intangible assets, $29.5 million of goodwill, $11.0 million of finite-lived customer relationship intangible assets and $7.3 million of inventories to assets held for sale. We measured the assets held for sale at the lower of their carrying value or fair value less anticipated costs to sell and recorded pre-tax, non-cash impairment analysischarges of $106.4 million during fiscal 2022 relating to onethose assets. See Note 3, “Acquisitions and Divestitures” and Note 18, “Subsequent Events” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

In addition, our brands performed duringannual impairment tests for fiscal 20142021 resulted in our company recording non-cash impairment charges to finite-lived trademarks and customer relationshipsintangible trademark assets for the brandSnackWell’s, Static Guard, Molly McButter and Farmwise brands of $26.9$23.1 million and $7.3 million, respectively,in the aggregate during fiscal 2014. During the secondfourth quarter of 2016, we discontinued that brand because there was not sufficient demand to warrant continued production. Accordingly, we wrote off the related intangible assets and recorded non-cash impairment charges to finite-lived trademarks and customer relationships of $4.5 million and $0.9 million, respectively,fiscal 2021, which areis recorded in “Impairment of intangible assets” on thein our consolidated statement of operations for fiscal 2016. 2021. We partially impaired the Static Guard and Molly McButter brands, and we fully impaired the SnackWell’s and Farmwise brands, which have been discontinued.

If operating results for the Static Guard and Molly McButter brands continue to deteriorate, or if operating results for any of our other brands, including newly acquired brands, deteriorate, at rates in excess of our current projections, we may be required to record additional non-cash impairment charges to certain intangible assets. In addition, any significant decline in our market capitalization or changes in discount rates, even if due to macroeconomic factors, could put pressure on the carrying value of our goodwill. A determination that all or a portion of our goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets are impaired, although a non-cash charge to operations, could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations. For a further discussion of our annual impairment testing of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets (trademarks), see Note 2(g), “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies—Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

Any future financial market disruptions or tightening of the credit markets could expose us to additional credit risks from customers and supply risks from suppliers and co-packers.

Any future financial market disruptions or tightening of the credit markets could result in some of our customers experiencing a significant decline in profits and/or reduced liquidity. A significant adverse change in the financial and/or credit position of a customer could require us to assume greater credit risk relating to that customer and could limit our ability to collect receivables. A significant adverse change in the financial and/or credit position of a supplier or co-packer could result in an interruption of supply. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Risks RelatingPART II

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Item 5.

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Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

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31

Item 6.

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[Reserved]

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33

Item 7.

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Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

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34

Item 7A.

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Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

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50

Item 8.

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Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

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52

Item 9.

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Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

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92

Item 9A.

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Controls and Procedures

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92

Item 9B.

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Other Information

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93

Item 9C.

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Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

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93

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PART III

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Item 10.

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Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

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94

Item 11.

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Executive Compensation

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94

Item 12.

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Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

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94

Item 13.

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Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

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95

Item 14.

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Principal Accountant Fees and Services

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95

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PART IV

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Item 15.

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Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

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96

Item 16.

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Form 10-K Summary

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99

Signatures

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100

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Forward-Looking Statements

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This report includes forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the statements under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” The words “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “projects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “assumes,” “could,” “should,” “estimates,” “potential,” “seek,” “predict,” “may,” “will” or “plans” and similar references to future periods are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance and achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. We believe important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include the following:

business opportunities, provisions of applicable law (including certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law)

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our ability to protect information systems against, or effectively respond to, a cybersecurity incident, other disruption or data leak;

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our ability to successfully implement our sustainability initiatives and achieve our sustainability goals, and changes to environmental laws and regulations;

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other factors that our boardaffect the food industry generally, including:

Developments in any of these areas could cause our results to differ materially from results that have been or may be projected by us or on our behalf.

All forward-looking statements included in this report are based on information available to us on the date of this report. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained in this report.

We caution that the foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. There may be other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this report, including factors disclosed under the sections of this report titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this report in the context of these risks and uncertainties. We urge investors not to unduly rely on forward-looking statements contained in this report.

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PART I

Item 1. Business.

Overview

The terms “B&G Foods,” “our,” “we” and “us,” as used in this report, refer to B&G Foods, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, except where it is clear that the term refers only to the parent company. Throughout this report, we refer to our fiscal years ended December 29, 2018, December 28, 2019, January 2, 2021, January 1, 2022, December 31, 2022 and December 30, 2023 as “fiscal 2018,” “fiscal 2019,” “fiscal 2020,” “fiscal 2021,” “fiscal 2022” and “fiscal 2023,” respectively. Our fiscal year is the 52 or 53 week reporting period ending on the Saturday closest to December 31. Fiscal 2023 contains, and fiscal 2022, 2021, 2019 and 2018 each contained, 52 weeks. Fiscal 2020 contained 53 weeks.

B&G Foods manufactures, sells and distributes a diverse portfolio of branded, high quality, shelf-stable and frozen food and household products across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Many of our branded products have leading regional or national market shares. In general, we position our products to appeal to the consumer desiring a high quality and reasonably priced product. We complement our branded product retail sales with institutional and foodservice sales and private label sales.

B&G Foods, including our subsidiaries and predecessors, has been in business for over 125 years. We were incorporated in Delaware on November 25, 1996 under the name B Companies Holdings Corp. On August 11, 1997, we changed our name to B&G Foods Holdings Corp. On October 14, 2004, B&G Foods, Inc., then our wholly owned subsidiary, was merged with and into us and we were renamed B&G Foods, Inc.

Our company has been built upon a successful track record of both organic and acquisition-related growth. Our goal is to continue to increase sales, profitability and cash flows through organic growth, disciplined acquisitions of complementary branded businesses and new product development. Since 1996, we have successfully acquired and integrated more than 50 brands into our company.

The table below includes some of the acquisitions and the divestitures we have completed in recent years:

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Products and Markets

The following is a brief description of some of our brands and product lines:

The Green Giant and Le Sueur brands trace their roots to Le Sueur, Minnesota in 1903, and the Minnesota Valley Canning Company. For more than 100 years, Green Giant and Le Sueur vegetables have been grown and picked at the peak of perfection in the Valley of the Jolly Green Giant. In the remainder of this report, we generally refer to the Green Giant and Le Sueur brands collectively as the “Green Giant brand.”

The Crisco brand was introduced in 1911 and has revolutionized the way food is prepared and the way it tastes. From being the first shortening product made of plant based oils and oil seeds to creating the first cooking oil that was promoted for its light taste, Crisco has been making life in the kitchen more delicious for years. Today, Crisco is the number one brand of vegetable shortening, the number one brand of vegetable oil and also holds a leadership position in other cooking oils and cooking sprays.

The Ortega brand has been in existence since 1897. Its products span the shelf-stable Mexican food segment including taco shells, tortillas, seasonings, dinner kits, taco sauces, peppers, refried beans, salsas and related food products.

Clabber Girl, which originated as a wholesale grocery company dating back to the 1850’s, is a leader in baking products, including baking powder, baking soda and corn starch. In addition to Clabber Girl, the number one retail baking powder brand, product offerings also include the Rumford, Davis, Hearth Club and Royal brands of retail baking powder, baking soda and corn starch, and the Royal brand of foodservice dessert mixes.

The Maple Grove Farms of Vermont brand, which originated in 1915, is one of the leading brands of pure maple syrup sold in the United States. Other products under the Maple Grove Farms ofVermont label include a line of gourmet salad dressings, sugar free syrups, marinades, fruit syrups, confections, pancake mixes and organic products.

The Cream of Wheat brand was introduced in 1893 and is among the leading brands and one of the most trusted and widely recognized brands of hot cereals sold in the United States. Cream of Wheat is available in Original, Whole Grain and Maple Brown Sugar stove top, and also in instant packets of Original and other flavors. We also offer Cream of Rice, a gluten-free, rice-based hot cereal.

The Dash brand, which was introduced in 1983 as the original brand in salt-free seasonings, is available in more than a dozen blends. In 2005, the leading brand in salt-free seasonings introduced salt-free marinades. Dash’s brand essence, “Salt-Free, Flavor-Full,” resonates with consumers and underscores the brand’s commitment to provide healthy products that fulfill consumers’ expectations for taste. Prior to 2020, the brand was known as Mrs. Dash.

Victoria Fine Foods is a Brooklyn-based business founded in 1929. The Victoria brand offers a variety of premium pasta and specialty sauces, savory condiments and tasty gourmet spreads. Using traditional cooking methods, Victoria sauces are slow kettle-cooked to ensure rich flavor and a homemade taste. Committed to its values of quality, honesty, authenticity and community, Victoria believes that Ingredients Come First.

The Las Palmas brand originated in 1922 and primarily includes authentic Mexican enchilada sauce, chili sauce and various pepper products.

The Bear Creek Country Kitchens brand is the leading brand of hearty dry soups in the United States. Bear Creek Country Kitchens also offers a line of savory pasta dishes and hearty rice dishes.

The Weber brand of seasonings and other flavor enhancers was introduced in 2006 under a licensing agreement with Weber-Stephen Products LLC, maker of the popular Weber grills. Under the Weber brand, we offer a wide range of grilling seasoning blends, rubs, marinades, sprays and sauces.

The Spice Islands brand, established in San Francisco in 1941, is a leading premium spices and extracts brand offering a diverse line of high quality products including spices, seasonings, dried herbs, extracts, flavorings and sauce blends. The brand’s offerings include organic products.

The Mama Mary’s brand was introduced in 1986 and is a leading brand of shelf-stable pizza crusts. Mama Mary’s also offers pizza sauces and premium gourmet pepperoni slices.

The Polaner brand was introduced in 1880 and is comprised of a broad array of fruit-based spreads as well as jarred wet spices such as chopped garlic and oregano. Polaner All Fruit is a leading national brand of fruit-juice

sweetened fruit spread. The spreads are available in more than a dozen flavors. Polaner Sugar Free preserves are the second leading brand of sugar free preserves nationally.

The Tone’s brand started as a family business in 1873 and was responsible for many of the early advancements in the spice industry. The Tone’s brand sells predominantly in the club channel while also servicing traditional grocery.

The Underwood brand’s “Underwood Devil” logo, which was registered in 1870, is believed to be the oldest registered trademark still in use for a prepackaged food product in the United States. Underwood meat spreads, which were introduced in the late 1860s, include deviled ham, white-meat chicken, roast beef, corned beef and liverwurst.

The Bloch & Guggenheimer (B&G) brand originated in 1889, and its pickle, pepper and relish products are a leading brand in the New York metropolitan area. This line consists of shelf-stable pickles, peppers, relishes, olives and other related specialty items.

The Ac’cent brand was introduced in 1947 as a flavor enhancer for meat preparation and is generally used on beef, poultry, fish and vegetables. We believe that Ac’cent is positioned as a unique flavor enhancer that provides food with the “umami” flavor sensation.

The Grandma’s brand of molasses, which was introduced in 1890, is the leading brand of premium-quality molasses sold in the United States. Grandma’s molasses products are offered in two distinct styles: Grandma’s Original Molasses and Grandma’s Robust Molasses.

The New York Style brand was created in 1985 and includes Original Bagel Crisps, Pita Chips and Panetini Italian Toast.

The Spring Tree brand originated in 1976 in Brattleboro, Vermont, and consists of pure maple syrup and sugar free syrup.

The Don Pepino and Sclafani brands originated in 1955 and 1900, respectively, and primarily include pizza and spaghetti sauces, whole and crushed tomatoes and tomato puree.

The Old London brand was created in 1932 and offers a variety of flavors available in melba toast snacks. Old London also markets specialty snacks under the Devonsheer brand name.

The Trappey’s brand, which was introduced in 1898, has a Louisiana heritage. Trappey’s products fall into two major categories—high quality peppers and hot sauces, including Trappey’s Red Devil.

The B&M brand was introduced in 1927. The B&M line includes a variety of baked beans and brown bread. The B&M brand currently has a leading market share in the New England region.

The McCann’s brand has been in existence since 1800 and offers classic traditional steel cut Irish oatmeal as well as convenience-oriented oatmeal products.

The Baker’s Joy brand was introduced in 1982 and is the original brand of no-stick baking spray with flour. Baker’s Joy’s product proposition has been to “generate a perfect release from the pan every time,” making baking easier, faster and more successful for everyday bakers.

The TrueNorth brand was introduced in 2008. TrueNorth nut cluster snacks combine freshly roasted nuts, a dash of sea salt and just a hint of sweetness. TrueNorth varieties include almond pecan crunch, chocolate nut crunch and cashew crunch.

The Cary’s brand originated in 1904 and is the oldest brand of pure maple syrup in the United States. Cary’s also offers sugar free syrup.

The Regina brand, which has been in existence since 1949, includes vinegars and cooking wines. Regina products are most commonly used in the preparation of salad dressings as well as in a variety of recipe applications, including sauces, marinades and soups.

The Static Guard brand, the number one brand name in static elimination sprays, created the anti-static spray category when it was launched in 1978 to fulfill a previously unmet consumer need. The brand’s ability to consistently deliver on its promise to “instantly eliminate static cling” has resulted in a loyal consumer following.

The Durkee brand was established in 1850 and, like our Tone’s brand, started as a family business and was an early leader in the spice industry.

The Wright’s brand was introduced in 1895 and is a seasoning that reproduces the flavor and aroma of pit smoking in meats, chicken and fish. Wright’s is offered in three flavors: Hickory, Mesquite and Applewood.

The Sugar Twin brand, primarily sold in Canada, was developed in 1968 and is a calorie free sugar substitute.

The Emeril’s brand was introduced in 2000 under a licensing agreement with celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. We offer a line of pasta sauces, seasonings, cooking stocks, mustards and cooking sprays under the Emeril’s brand name.

The Joan of Arc brand, which originated in 1895, includes a full range of canned beans including kidney, chili and other varieties.

The Brer Rabbit brand has been in existence since 1907 and currently offers mild and full-flavored molasses as well as blackstrap molasses. Mild molasses is designed for table use and full-flavored molasses is typically used in baking, barbeque sauces and as a breakfast syrup.

The Sa-són brand was introduced in 1947 as a flavor enhancer used primarily for Puerto Rican and Hispanic food preparation. The product is generally used on beef, poultry, fish and vegetables. The brand’s flavor enhancer is offered in four flavors: Original, Coriander and Achiote, Garlic and Onion, and Tomato. We also offer reduced sodium versions of Sa-són.

The Vermont Maid brand has been in existence since 1919 and offers maple-flavored syrups. Vermont Maid syrup is available in regular, sugar-free and sugar-free butter varieties.

The New York Flatbreads brand is a line of thin, crispy, flavorful crispbread that is available in several toppings.

The Molly McButter brand created the butter-flavored sprinkles category in 1987. Molly McButter is available in butter and cheese flavors.

The Canoleo brand offers an all-purpose margarine used for spreading, cooking and baking.

Food Industry

The food industry is one of the United States’ largest industries. Historically, it has been characterized by relatively stable sales growth, based largely on price and population increases. In recent years, however, excluding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many traditional center of store grocery brands in the industry have often experienced flat to modestly declining sales. Over the past decade or so, the retail side of the food industry has seen a continuing shift of sales to alternate food outlets such as supercenters, warehouse clubs, organic and “natural” food stores, dollar stores, drug stores and e-tailers. Among other things, this shift has caused consolidation of traditional grocery chains into larger entities, often spanning the country under varying banner names. Consolidation has increased the importance of having a number one or two brand within a category, be that position national or regional. At the same time, this shift has also introduced many alternatives to traditional grocery chains. A broad sales and distribution infrastructure has also become critical for food companies, allowing them to reach all outlets selling food to consumers and expanding their growth opportunities.

Sales, Marketing and Distribution

Overview. We sell, market and distribute our products through a multiple-channel sales, marketing and distribution system to all major U.S. food channels, including sales and shipments to supermarkets, mass merchants, warehouse clubs, wholesalers, foodservice distributors and direct accounts, specialty food distributors, military commissaries and non-food outlets such as drug, dollar store chains and e-tailers. Certain of our brands, including Dash,Green Giant, Crisco,Cream of Wheat, Ac’cent, Crock Pot^® seasoning mixes, Underwood, Polaner, Static Guard, New York Style, Sugar Twin and Victoria are also distributed to similar food channels in Canada. We sell, market and distribute our household brand, Static Guard, through the same sales, marketing and distribution system to many of the same customers who buy our food products as well as to other household product retailers and distributors.

We sell our products primarily through broker sales networks to supermarket chains, foodservice outlets, mass merchants, warehouse clubs, non-food outlets and specialty distributors. The broker sales network handles the sale of our products at the retail level.

Sales. Our sales organization is aligned by distribution channels and consists of regional sales managers, key account managers and sales persons. Regional sales managers sell our products nationwide through national and regional brokers, with separate organizations focusing on foodservice, grocery chain accounts and special markets. Our sales managers coordinate our broker sales efforts, make key account calls with buyers or distributors and supervise broker retail coverage of the products at the store level.

Our sales strategy is centered on individual brands. We allocate promotional spending for each of our brands and our regional sales managers coordinate promotions with customers. Additionally, our marketing department works in conjunction with the sales department to coordinate special account activities and marketing support, such as couponing, public relations and media advertising.

We have a national sales force that is capable of supporting our current brands and quickly integrating and supporting any newly acquired brands.

Marketing. Our marketing organization is aligned by brand and is responsible for the strategic planning for each of our brands. We focus on deploying promotional dollars where we believe the spending will have the greatest impact on sales. Marketing and trade spending support, on a national basis, typically consists of advertising trade promotions, coupons and cross-promotions with supporting products. Radio, internet, social media and limited television advertising supplement this activity.

Distribution. We distribute our products through a multiple-channel system that covers every class of customer nationwide. Due to the different demands of distribution for frozen and shelf-stable products, we maintain separate distribution systems.

Our shelf-stable distribution network consists of six primary distribution centers in the United States, four of which are leased by us and are operated for us by a third-party logistics provider, one that is located at an owned manufacturing facility and is operated by us, and one that is located at an owned manufacturing facility and is operated by a third-party logistics provider. We also ship to certain customers direct from some of our manufacturing facilities. In Canada, Mexico and from time to time in the United States we also use public warehouse and distribution facilities for our shelf-stable products.

Our frozen distribution network consists of seven primary distribution centers in the United States and Canada, which are owned and operated by third-party logistics providers.

We believe that our distribution systems for shelf-stable and frozen products have sufficient capacity to accommodate incremental product volume. See Item 2, “Properties” for a listing of our owned and leased distribution centers and warehouses.

In recent years, we have been negatively impacted by industry-wide increases in the cost of distribution, primarily driven by increased freight rates. We attempt to offset all or a portion of these increases through price increases and cost savings initiatives. For example, despite higher rates for freight in 2021 and 2022, we were able to offset a portion of the freight cost increases through pricing, which included both list price increases and trade spend optimization.

Freight rates increased significantly during the fourth quarter of 2020, fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022, and we expect freight rates to remain elevated in 2023. To the extent that we are unable to offset present and future cost increases through pricing and cost savings initiatives, our operating results will be negatively impacted.

Customers

Our top ten customers accounted for approximately 60.5% of our net sales and approximately 60.3% of our end of the year receivables for fiscal 2022. Other than Walmart, which accounted for approximately 27.3% of our fiscal 2022 net sales, no single customer accounted for 10.0% or more of our fiscal 2022 net sales. Other than Walmart, which accounted for approximately 30.6% of our receivables as of December 31, 2022, no single customer accounted for more than 10.0% of our receivables as of December 31, 2022. During fiscal 2022, 2021 and 2020, our net sales to foreign countries represented approximately 7.8%, 8.3% and 7.8%, respectively, of our total net sales. Our foreign sales are primarily to customers in Canada.

Seasonality

Sales of a number of our products tend to be seasonal and may be influenced by holidays, changes in seasons/weather or certain other annual events. In general, our sales are higher in the first and fourth quarters.

We purchase most of the produce used to make our frozen and shelf-stable canned vegetables, pickles, relishes, peppers, tomatoes and other related specialty items during the months of June through October, and we generally purchase the majority of our maple syrup requirements during the months of April through August. Consequently, our liquidity needs are greatest during these periods.

Competition

We face competition in each of our product lines. Numerous brands and products compete for shelf space and sales, with competition based primarily on product quality, convenience, price, trade promotion, consumer promotion, brand recognition and loyalty, customer service, advertising and other activities and the ability to identify and satisfy emerging consumer preferences. We compete with numerous companies of varying sizes, including divisions or subsidiaries of larger companies. Many of these competitors have multiple product lines, substantially greater financial and other resources and may have lower fixed costs and/or be substantially less leveraged than we are. Our ability to grow our business could be impacted by the relative effectiveness of, and competitive response to, our product initiatives, product innovation, advertising and promotional activities. In addition, from time to time, we experience margin pressure in certain markets as a result of competitors’ pricing practices.

Our products compete not only against other brands in their respective product categories, but also against products in similar or related product categories. For example, our shelf-stable pickles compete not only with other brands of shelf-stable pickles, but also with pickle products found in the refrigerated sections of grocery stores, and all our brands compete against private label products to varying degrees.

Raw Materials

We purchase raw materials, including agricultural products, oils, meat, poultry, flour, ingredients and packaging materials from growers, commodity processors, other food companies and packaging suppliers located in U.S. and foreign locations. The principal raw materials for our products include corn, peas, broccoli, oils, beans, pepper, garlic and other spices, maple syrup, wheat, corn, nuts, cheese, fruits, beans, tomatoes, peppers, meat, sugar, concentrates, molasses and corn sweeteners. Vegetables for the Green Giant brand are primarily purchased under dedicated acreage supply contracts from a number of growers prior to each growing season with the remaining demand being sourced directly from third parties. We purchase certain other agricultural raw materials in bulk or pursuant to short-term supply contracts. Most of our agricultural products are purchased between April 1 and October 31. We generally source pepper, garlic and other spices and herbs from locations other than the United States. We purchase the majority of our maple syrup from Canada. We also use packaging materials, particularly glass jars, cans, cardboard and plastic containers. The profitability of our business relies in substantial part on the prices we and our co-packers pay for these raw materials and packaging materials, which can fluctuate due to a number of factors, including changes in crop size, national, state and local government sponsored agricultural programs, export demand, currency exchange rates, natural disasters, weather conditions during the growing and harvesting seasons, water supply, general growing conditions, the effect of insects, plant diseases and fungi, and glass, metal and plastic prices.

Fluctuations in commodity prices can lead to retail price volatility and intensive price competition, and can influence consumer and trade buying patterns.

The cost of labor, manufacturing, energy, fuel, packaging materials and other costs related to the production and distribution of our food products can from time to time increase significantly and unexpectedly. We experienced sudden and high cost inflation in fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022 and expect cost inflation to remain high and possibly continue to increase in fiscal 2023. We attempt to manage these risks by entering into short-term supply contracts and advance commodities purchase agreements, implementing cost saving measures and raising sales prices. During the past several years, our cost saving measures and sales price increases have not been sufficient to fully offset increases to our raw material, ingredient and packaging costs. To the extent we are unable to offset present and future cost increases, our operating results will be negatively impacted.

Production

Manufacturing. We operate twelve manufacturing facilities for our products. See Item 2, “Properties” for a listing of our manufacturing facilities.

Co-Packing Arrangements. In addition to our own manufacturing facilities, we source a significant portion of our products under “co-packing” arrangements, a common industry practice in which manufacturing is outsourced to other companies. We regularly evaluate our co-packing arrangements to ensure the most cost-effective manufacturing of our products and to utilize company-owned manufacturing facilities most effectively. Third parties located in U.S. and foreign locations produce our Baker’s Joy, B&M, Bear Creek Country Kitchens, Canoleo, Cream of Rice, Crock Pot, Joan of Arc, Le Sueur, MacDonald’s, McCann’s, New York Flatbreads, Regina, Spring Tree, Static Guard, Sugar Twin, TrueNorth and Underwood products and a portion of our B&G, Cary’s, Cream of Wheat, Crisco, Emeril’s, Green Giant, Las Palmas, Ortega and Victoria products under co-packing agreements or purchase orders. Each of our co-packers produces products for other companies as well. We believe that there are alternative sources of co-packing production readily available for the majority of our products. However, we may experience short-term or long-term disturbances in our operations and our ability to implement our business plan or meet consumer demand if we are unexpectedly required to change our co-packing arrangements or are unable to enter into additional or alternative arrangements in the future.

Trademarks and Licensing Agreements

Trademarks. We consider our trademarks, in the aggregate, to be material to our business. We protect our trademarks by registration in the United States, Canada and in other countries where we sell our products. We also oppose any infringement in key markets. Trademark protection continues in some countries for as long as the mark is used and in other countries for as long as it is registered. Registrations generally are for renewable, fixed terms. Examples of our trademarks and registered trademarks include Ac’cent, B&G, B&G Sandwich Toppers, B&M, Baker’s Joy, Bear Creek Country Kitchens, Brer Rabbit, Canoleo, Cary’s, Clabber Girl, Cream of Rice, Cream of Wheat, Crisco, Dash, Devonsheer, Don Pepino, Durkee, Emeril’s, Grandma’s, Green Giant, Joan of Arc, Las Palmas, Le Sueur, MacDonald’s, Mama Mary’s, Maple Grove Farms of Vermont, McCann’s, Molly McButter, New York Flatbreads, New York Style, Old London, Ortega, Polaner, Regina, Sa-són, Sclafani, Spice Islands, Spring Tree, Static Guard, Sugar Twin, Tone’s, Trappey’s, TrueNorth, Underwood, Vermont Maid, Victoria, Weber and Wright’s.

Inbound License Agreements. From time to time we enter into inbound licensing agreements. For example, we sell Weber seasonings and other flavor enhancers pursuant to a licensing agreement with Weber-Stephen Products LLC, Emeril’s brand products pursuant to a license agreement with a subsidiary of Marquee Brands, Crockpot seasoning mixes pursuant to a license agreement with Sunbeam Products, Inc., Skinnygirl fat free and sugar freesalad dressings and sugar free cocktail inspired preserves pursuant to a license agreement with Better Bites, LLC, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cinnadust seasoning blend and Cinnamon Toast Crunch creamy cinnamon spread pursuant to a license agreements with a subsidiary of General Mills, Inc., Snickers and Twix shakers seasoning blends pursuant to a license agreement with a subsidiary of Mars, Inc., Einstein Bros. everything bagel seasoning blend pursuant to a license agreement with Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Inc., and Cream of WheatCinnabon^®, a co-branded product, pursuant to a license agreement with a subsidiary of Cinnabon Franchisor SPV LLC.

Outbound License Agreements. We also from time to time enter into outbound license agreements for our trademarks and other intellectual property. For example, the Green Giant trademark is licensed to third parties for use in connection with their sale of fresh produce in the United States and Europe. We also license the Green Giant name and related intellectual property to General Mills for use with its sale of frozen and shelf-stable products in parts of Europe, Asia and in various other locations outside of the United States and Canada.

Human Capital

As of December 31, 2022, our workforce consisted of 3,085 employees. Of that total, 2,661 employees were engaged in manufacturing, 144 were engaged in marketing and sales, 165 were engaged in warehouse and distribution and 115 were engaged in administration. Approximately 57.0% of our employees, located at six manufacturing facilities in the United States and one manufacturing facility in Mexico, are covered by collective bargaining agreements. See “—Labor Relations and Collective Bargaining Agreements” below.

Our Core Values; Compliance and Ethics. At B&G Foods, we are committed to providing quality products and observing high ethical standards in the conduct of our business. Together with our predecessors, we have been doing so since the 1800s. Our core values: passion; food safety and quality; diversity, equity and inclusion; integrity and accountability; customer and consumer focus; safety and health at work; collaboration; and empowerment, have been critical to our success. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, referred to as our Code, serves as a guide for all directors, officers, employees and representatives of B&G Foods in our daily interactions with our customers, consumers, stockholders, regulatory agencies, supply chain partners and fellow employees. We provide annual and periodic training and educational materials to our employees on our Code, raising and resolving ethical issues, ethical decision making and on various other compliance and ethics topics.

Our Culture. We love food and bringing our family of brands to our consumers and their families. We have fire in our bellies, are energized by new challenges and pursue excellence in everything we do. We believe in teamwork, have a common desire to be part of something big, and share a commitment to stay humble even as we continue to grow.

We believe in the power of teams while respecting individual differences. We believe in timely and open communication. We support each other professionally and personally without being asked. Our open-door policy creates an idea-driven environment where each of us, regardless of level, has a voice. We are approachable, collegial and fiercely loyal.

Communication and Transparency; Employee Feedback; Employee Engagement. We use various communication vehicles to share information with our employees about the business priorities, performance and internal happenings across our company.

We make it a priority to listen to our employees, to understand their diverse viewpoints and respond to their feedback by taking action to improve. We do this in part by monitoring employee engagement and satisfaction through periodic employee engagement surveys. In 2020, we expanded our employee engagement survey to include additional questions regarding diversity, equity and inclusion.

Employee Empowerment, Training and Professional Development. We enable and encourage our employees to grow, excel and realize their full potential. We strive to hire people more talented than we are. We empower our people to make the decisions needed today, and prepare them for even bigger decisions they will make in the future. We support professional development by providing access to internal and external training resources and programs.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). We embrace diversity and value the similarities and differences of our employees. We leverage diverse backgrounds and perspectives to achieve outstanding results. We are committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive work environment where all employees have the opportunity to share their ideas, grow with our company, and realize their full potential.

The tables below provide information regarding the percentages of our employees who are female or from underrepresented groups as compared to our overall employee population and our leadership. The tables also set forth our five-year goals (established in January 2022) to increase the representation of women and members of underrepresented groups in both our general employee population and our leadership.

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manufacturing, composition and ingredients, labeling, packaging and safety of food. We are also subject to the U.S. Bio-Terrorism Act of 2002 which imposes on us import and export regulations. Under the Bio-Terrorism Act we are required, among other things, to provide specific information about the food products we ship into the United States and to register our manufacturing, warehouse and distribution facilities with the FDA.

We believe that we are currently in substantial compliance with all material governmental laws and regulations and maintain all material permits and licenses relating to our operations. Nevertheless, there can be no assurance that we are in full compliance with all such laws and regulations or that we will be able to comply with any future laws and regulations in a cost-effective manner. Failure by us to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Environmental Matters

Environmental Sustainability. As part of our commitment to being a good corporate citizen, we consider environmental sustainability to be an important strategic focus area. For instance, our manufacturing operations have a variety of initiatives in place to reduce energy usage, conserve water, improve wastewater management, reduce packaging and where possible use recycled and recyclable packaging. We evaluate and modify our manufacturing and other processes on an ongoing basis to mitigate risk and further reduce our impact on the environment, conserve water and reduce waste.

Environmental Sustainability Goals. In January 2022, we established five-year environmental sustainability goals. By 2027, we are striving to have 100% of our packaging be reusable, recyclable, compostable or biodegradable, and for 50% of our packaging to consist of recycled content. By 2027, we also aim to reduce energy usage at our manufacturing facilities by 25% and water usage by 10% and achieve “zero waste” to landfill.

For more information about some of our key environmental sustainability initiatives, and for copies of our environmental, health and safety policy and our water stewardship policy, please see https://www.bgfoods.com/about/responsibility. The information contained on our website is not part of, and is not incorporated in, this or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC. We are currently collecting baseline data relating to our sustainable packaging, conservation of energy and water, and reduction of waste goals. Over the next year, we plan to enhance our public disclosures regarding the steps we have been taking over the years to minimize our impact on the environment, including the progress we have been making to achieve our environmental sustainability goals.

Environmental Laws and Regulations. We are also subject to environmental laws and regulations in the normal course of business. We have not made any material expenditures during the last three fiscal years in order to comply with environmental laws or regulations. Based on our experience to date, we believe that the future cost of compliance with existing environmental laws and regulations (and liability for known environmental conditions) will not have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. However, we cannot predict what environmental laws or regulations will be enacted in the future or how existing or future laws or regulations will be enforced, administered or interpreted, nor can we predict the amount of future expenditures that may be required in order to comply with such environmental laws or regulations or to respond to such environmental claims.

Available Information

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy and information statements and other information. The SEC maintains an internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. We file electronically with the SEC.

We make available, free of charge, through the investor relations section of our website, our reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, and amendments to those reports, filed with or furnished to the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed or furnished to the SEC. The address for the investor relations section of our website is https://www.bgfoods.com/investor-relations.

The full text of the charters for each of the audit, compensation, corporate social responsibility, nominating and governance, and risk committees of our board of directors as well as our code of business conduct and ethics is available at the investor relations section of our website, https://www.bgfoods.com/investor-relations/governance/documents. Our code of business conduct and ethics applies to all of our employees, officers and directors, including our chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief accounting officer. We intend to disclose any amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of the code of business conduct and ethics that applies to our chief executive officer, chief financial officer or chief accounting officer in the investor relations section of our website.

Our supplier code of conduct, environmental, health and safety policy, human rights policy, water stewardship policy and philanthropy principles are available in the responsibility section of our website, https://www.bgfoods.com/about/responsibility.

The information contained on our website is not part of, and is not incorporated in, this or any other report we file with or furnish to the SEC.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Any investment in our company will be subject to risks inherent to our business. Before making an investment decision, investors should carefully consider the risks described below together with all of the other information included in this report. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing our company. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are not aware of or focused on or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. This report is qualified in its entirety by these risk factors.

Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. In that case, holders of our securities may lose all or part of their investment.

Risks Specific to Our Company and Industry

The packaged food industry is highly competitive and we face risks related to the execution of our strategy and our ability to respond to channel shifts and other competitive pressures.

The packaged food industry is highly competitive. Numerous brands and products, including private label products, compete for shelf space and sales, with competition based primarily on product quality, convenience, price, trade promotion, brand recognition and loyalty, customer service, effective consumer advertising and promotional activities and the ability to identify and satisfy emerging consumer preferences. We compete with a significant number of companies of varying sizes, including divisions or subsidiaries of larger companies. Many of these competitors have multiple product lines, substantially greater financial and other resources available to them and may have lower fixed costs and/or are substantially less leveraged than our company. In addition, the rapid growth of some channels, in particular in e-commerce, which has expanded significantly following the outbreak of COVID-19, may impact our current operations or strategies more quickly than we planned for, create consumer price deflation, alter the buying behavior of consumers or disrupt our retail customer relationships. We may need to increase or reallocate spending on existing and new distribution channels and technologies, marketing, advertising and new product innovation to protect or increase revenues, market share and brand significance. These expenditures may not be successful, including those related to our e-commerce and other technology-focused efforts, and might not result in trade and consumer acceptance of our efforts. If we are unable to continue to compete successfully with these companies or if competitive pressures or other factors, such as an inability to effectively respond to channel shifts and new technologies, cause our products to lose market share or result in significant price erosion, our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially and adversely affected.

We may be unable to anticipate changes in consumer preferences and consumer demographics, which may result in decreased demand for our products.

Our success depends in part on our ability to anticipate and offer products that appeal to the changing tastes, dietary habits and product packaging preferences of consumers in the market categories in which we compete. If we are not able to anticipate, identify or develop and market products that respond to these changes in consumer preferences, whether resulting from changing consumer demographics or otherwise, demand for our products may decline and our operating results may be adversely affected. In addition, we may incur significant costs related to developing and marketing new products or expanding our existing product lines in reaction to what we perceive to be increased

consumer preference or demand. Such development or marketing may not result in the volume of sales or profitability anticipated.

We may be unable to maintain our profitability in the face of a consolidating retail environment.

Our largest customer, Walmart, accounted for approximately 27.3% of our fiscal 2022 net sales, and our ten largest customers together accounted for approximately 60.5% of our fiscal 2022 net sales. As retail customers, such as supermarkets, discounters, e-commerce merchants, warehouse clubs and food distributors, continue to consolidate and our retail customers grow larger and become more sophisticated, our retail customers may demand lower pricing and increased promotional programs. Further, these customers are reducing their inventories and increasing their emphasis on products that hold either the number one or number two market position and private label products. If we fail to use our sales and marketing expertise to maintain our category leadership positions to respond to these trends, or if we lower our prices or increase promotional support of our products and are unable to increase the volume of our products sold, our profitability and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We are vulnerable to decreases in the supply and increases in the price of raw materials and labor, manufacturing, distribution and other costs, and we may not be able to offset increasing costs by increasing prices to our customers.

We purchase agricultural products, including vegetables, oils and spices and seasonings, meat, poultry, ingredients, packaging materials and other raw materials from growers, commodity processors, other food companies and packaging manufacturers. Commodities, ingredients, packaging materials and other raw materials are subject to increases in price attributable to a number of factors, including changes in crop size, federal and state agricultural programs, export demand, currency exchange rates, energy and fuel costs, water supply, weather conditions during the growing and harvesting seasons, insects, plant diseases and fungi, and glass, metal and plastic prices. Fluctuations in commodity prices can lead to retail price volatility and intensive price competition, and can influence consumer and trade buying patterns. The cost of labor, manufacturing, energy, fuel, packaging materials and other costs related to the production and distribution of our products can from time to time increase significantly and unexpectedly. We attempt to manage these risks by entering into short-term supply contracts and advance commodities purchase agreements from time to time, by implementing cost saving measures and by raising sales prices. During the past several years, our cost saving measures and sales price increases have not been sufficient to fully offset increases to our raw material, ingredient, packaging and distribution costs. Moreover, during fiscal 2023 and possibly beyond, we expect to face continued industry-wide cost inflation for various inputs, including commodities, ingredients, packaging materials, other raw materials, transportation and labor. To the extent we are unable to offset present and future cost increases, our operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

We may be unable to offset any reduction in net sales in our mature food product categories through an increase in trade spending for these categories or an increase in net sales in other categories.

Most of our food product categories are mature and certain categories have experienced declining consumption rates from time to time. If consumption rates and sales in our mature food product categories decline, our revenue and operating income may be adversely affected, and we may not be able to offset this decrease in business with increased trade spending or an increase in sales or profitability of other products and product categories.

We may have difficulties integrating acquisitions or identifying new acquisitions.

A major part of our strategy is to grow through acquisitions. For example, we completed the Yuma acquisition in May 2022 and we completed the Crisco acquisition in December 2020 and we expect to pursue additional acquisitions of food product lines and businesses. However, we may be unable to identify and consummate additional acquisitions or may be unable to successfully integrate and manage the product lines or businesses that we have recently acquired or may acquire in the future. In addition, we may be unable to achieve a substantial portion of any anticipated cost savings from acquisitions or other anticipated benefits in the timeframe we anticipate, or at all. Moreover, any acquired product lines or businesses may require a greater than anticipated amount of trade, promotional and capital spending. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, including difficulties in the assimilation of the operations, technologies, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, services and products of the acquired companies, personnel turnover and the diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns. Any inability by us to integrate and manage any product lines or businesses that we have recently acquired or may acquire in the future in a timely and efficient manner, any inability to achieve a substantial portion of any anticipated cost savings or other anticipated benefits from these acquisitions in the time frame we anticipate or any unanticipated required increases in trade, promotional or capital spending could adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Moreover, future acquisitions by us could result in our incurring substantial additional indebtedness, being exposed to contingent liabilities or incurring the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, all of which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We have substantial indebtedness, which could restrict our ability to pay dividends and impact our financing options and liquidity position.

At December 31, 2022, we had total long-term indebtedness of $2,404.1 million (before debt discount/premium), including $954.1 million principal amount of senior secured indebtedness and $1,450.0 million principal amount of senior unsecured indebtedness. Our ability to pay dividends is subject to contractual restrictions contained in the instruments governing our indebtedness. Although our credit agreement and the indentures governing our senior notes (which we refer to as the senior notes indentures) contain covenants that restrict our ability to incur debt, as long as we meet these covenants we will be able to incur additional indebtedness. The degree to which we are leveraged on a consolidated basis could have important consequences to the holders of our securities, including:

We are subject to restrictive debt covenants and other requirements related to our debt that limit our business flexibility by imposing operating and financial restrictions on our operations.

The agreements governing our indebtedness impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us. These restrictions prohibit or limit, among other things:

Our credit agreement requires us to maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy financial condition tests, including, without limitation, a maximum leverage ratio and a minimum interest coverage ratio.

Our ability to comply with the ratios or tests may be affected by events beyond our control, including prevailing economic, financial and industry conditions. A breach of any of these covenants, or failure to meet or maintain ratios or tests could result in a default under our credit agreement and/or our senior notes indentures. Certain events of default under our credit agreement and our senior notes indentures would prohibit us from paying dividends on our common stock. In addition, upon the occurrence of an event of default under our credit agreement or our senior notes indentures, the lenders could elect to declare all amounts outstanding under the credit agreement and the senior notes, together with accrued interest, to be immediately due and payable. If we were unable to repay those amounts, the credit agreement lenders could proceed against the security granted to them to secure that indebtedness. If the lenders accelerate the payment of the indebtedness, our assets may not be sufficient to repay in full this indebtedness and our other indebtedness.

To service our indebtedness and fund our working capital needs, capital expenditures and any future acquisitions, we require a significant amount of cash. Our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.

Our ability to make interest payments on and to refinance our indebtedness, and to fund working capital needs, planned capital expenditures and potential acquisitions depends on our ability to generate cash flow from operations in the future. This ability, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control.

A significant portion of our cash flow from operations is dedicated to servicing our debt requirements. In addition, in accordance with our current dividend policy we intend to continue distributing a significant portion of any remaining cash flow to our stockholders as dividends.

Our ability to continue to fund our working capital needs and capital expenditures and to expand our business is, to a certain extent, dependent upon our ability to borrow funds under our credit agreement and to obtain other third-party financing, including through the issuance and sale of additional debt or equity securities.

Financial market conditions may impede our access to, or increase the cost of, financing for acquisitions.

Any future financial market disruptions or tightening of the credit markets, may make it more difficult for us to obtain financing for acquisitions or increase the cost of obtaining financing. In addition, our borrowing costs can be affected by short and long-term debt ratings assigned by independent rating agencies that are based, in significant part, on our performance as measured by credit metrics such as interest coverage and leverage ratios. A decrease in these ratings could increase our cost of borrowing or make it more difficult for us to obtain financing.

Future disruptions in the credit markets or other factors, could impair our ability to refinance our debt upon terms acceptable to us or at all.

Our $900.0 million of 5.25% senior notes due 2025 mature on April 1, 2025, our $800.0 million revolving credit facility matures on December 16, 2025, our $610.6 million of tranche B term loans mature on October 10, 2026 and our $550.0 million of 5.25% senior notes due 2027 mature on September 15, 2027. Our ability to raise debt or equity capital in the public or private markets in order to effect a refinancing of our debt at or prior to maturity could be impaired by various factors, including factors beyond our control. For example, in recent years U.S. credit markets experienced significant dislocations and liquidity disruptions that caused the spreads on prospective debt financings to widen considerably. These circumstances materially impacted liquidity in the debt markets, making financing terms for borrowers less attractive, and in certain cases resulted in the unavailability of certain types of debt financing. Any future uncertainty in the credit markets could negatively impact our ability to access additional debt financing or to refinance existing indebtedness on favorable terms, or at all. In addition, any future uncertainty in other financial markets in the U.S. could make it more difficult or costly for us to raise capital through the issuance of common stock or other equity securities. Any of these risks could impair our ability to fund our operations or limit our ability to expand our business or increase our interest expense, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

If we are unable to refinance our indebtedness at or prior to maturity on commercially reasonable terms or at all, we would be forced to seek other alternatives, including:

If we are forced to pursue any of the above options, our business and/or the value of an investment in our securities could be adversely affected.

We rely on co-packers for a significant portion of our manufacturing needs, and the inability to enter into additional or future co-packing agreements may result in our failure to meet customer demand.

We rely upon co-packers for a significant portion of our manufacturing needs. See Item 1, “Business—Production—Co-Packing Arrangements.” The success of our business depends, in part, on maintaining a strong sourcing and manufacturing platform. We believe that there are a limited number of competent, high-quality co-packers in the industry, and if we were required to obtain additional or alternative co-packing agreements or arrangements in the future, we can provide no assurance that we would be able to do so on satisfactory terms or in a timely manner. Our inability to enter into satisfactory co-packing agreements could limit our ability to implement our business plan or meet customer demand.

We rely on the performance of major retailers, wholesalers, specialty distributors and mass merchants for the success of our business, and should they perform poorly or give higher priority to other brands or products, our business could be adversely affected.

We sell our products principally to retail outlets and wholesale distributors including, traditional supermarkets, mass merchants, warehouse clubs, wholesalers, foodservice distributors and direct accounts, specialty food distributors, military commissaries and non-food outlets such as drug store chains, dollar stores and e-tailers. The replacement by or poor performance of our major wholesalers, retailers or chains or our inability to collect accounts receivable from our customers could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. In addition, our customers offer branded and private label products that compete directly with our products for retail shelf space and consumer purchases. Accordingly, there is a risk that our customers may give higher priority to their own products or to the products of our competitors. In the future, our customers may not continue to purchase our products or provide our products with adequate levels of promotional support. It is also possible that our customers may replace our branded products with private label products.

Pandemics or disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may disrupt our business, including among other things, our supply chain, our manufacturing operations and customer and consumer demand for our products, and could have a material adverse impact on our business.

The spread of pandemics or disease outbreaks such as COVID-19 may disrupt our third-party business partners’ ability to meet their obligations to us, which may negatively affect our operations. These third parties include those who supply our ingredients, packaging, and other necessary operating materials, contract manufacturers who supply certain finished goods, distributors, and logistics and transportation providers. In addition, we rely on customers to be able to receive shipments and stock store shelves. If a significant percentage of our workforce or the workforce of our third-party business partners or customers is unable to work, including because of illness or travel or government restrictions in connection with a pandemic or disease outbreak, our operations may be negatively impacted. In addition, a significant increase in demand for food and other consumer packaged goods products as a result of pandemics or disease outbreaks may limit the availability of ingredients, packaging and other raw materials necessary to produce our products, and our operations may be negatively impacted. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic we experienced supply chain constraints for certain of our products, which negatively impacted our ability to fully satisfy customer and consumer demand for certain of our products. In addition, certain of our customers faced labor shortages as a result of the COVID-19 Omicron variant that limited their ability to receive shipments of certain of our products, which also negatively impacted our ability to fully satisfy consumer demand. Conversely, pandemics or disease outbreaks could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect economies and financial markets, consumer spending and confidence levels resulting in an economic downturn that could affect customer and consumer demand for our products.

Our efforts to manage and mitigate these factors may be unsuccessful, and the effectiveness of these efforts depends on factors beyond our control, including the duration and severity of any pandemic or disease outbreak, as well as third-party actions taken to contain its spread and mitigate public health effects.

The ultimate impact of any pandemic or disease outbreak on our business will depend on many factors, including, among others, the duration of social distancing and stay-at-home and work-from-home mandates, policies and recommendations and whether, and the extent to which, additional waves or variants of any such pandemic or disease outbreak affects the United States and the rest of North America, our ability and the ability of our suppliers to continue to operate our and their manufacturing facilities and maintain the supply chain without material disruption and procure ingredients, packaging and other raw materials when needed despite any disruptions in the supply chain or labor shortages, our customers’ ability to adequately staff their distributions centers and stores, and the extent to which macroeconomic conditions resulting from any such pandemic or disease outbreak and the pace of the subsequent recovery may impact consumer eating and shopping habits.

Severe weather conditions, natural disasters and other natural events can affect raw material supplies and reduce our operating results.

Severe weather conditions, natural disasters and other natural events, such as floods, droughts, frosts, earthquakes, pestilence or health pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may affect the supply of the raw materials that we use for our products. Our maple syrup products, for instance, are particularly susceptible to severe freezing conditions in Québec, Canada and Vermont during the season in which maple syrup is produced. Our Green Giant frozen vegetable manufacturing facility in Irapuato, Mexico is located in a region affected by water scarcity and restrictions on usage. The continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or any future pandemics or disease outbreaks may cause significant disruptions to our supply chain and operations, including disruptions in our ability to purchase raw materials, and delays in the manufacture and shipment of our products. Competing manufacturers can be affected differently by weather conditions, natural disasters and other natural events depending on the location of their supplies. If our supplies of raw materials are delayed or reduced, we may not be able to find supplemental supply sources on favorable terms or at all, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Climate change, water scarcity or legal, regulatory, or market measures to address climate change or water scarcity, could negatively affect our business and operations.

In the event that climate change has a negative effect on agricultural productivity, we may be subject to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for certain commodities that are necessary for our products. We may also be subjected to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for water as a result of such change, which could impact our manufacturing and distribution operations. For example, our Green Giant frozen vegetable manufacturing facility in Irapuato, Mexico is already affected by water scarcity in that region of Mexico. Any further restrictions on, or loss of, water rights due to water scarcity, water rights violations or otherwise for our Irapuato manufacturing facility could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results.

The increasing concern over climate change also may result in more regional, federal, foreign and/or global legal and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases. In the event that such regulation is enacted and is more aggressive than the sustainability measures that we are currently undertaking to monitor our emissions, improve our energy and resource efficiency and report such efforts, we may experience significant increases in manufacturing and distribution and administrative costs. In particular, increasing regulation of fuel emissions could substantially increase the supply chain and distribution costs associated with our products. As a result, climate change or increased concern over climate change could negatively affect our business and operations.

Most of our products are sourced from single manufacturing sites, which means disruptions in our or our co-packers’ operations for any number of reasons could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our products are manufactured at many different manufacturing facilities, including our twelve manufacturing facilities and manufacturing facilities operated by our co-packers. However, in most cases, individual products are produced only at a single location. If any of these manufacturing locations experiences a disruption for any reason, including a work stoppage, power failure, fire, or weather related condition or natural disaster, etc., this could result in a significant reduction or elimination of the availability of some of our products. If we were not able to obtain alternate production capability in a timely manner or on satisfactory terms, this could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Our operations are subject to numerous laws and governmental regulations, exposing us to potential claims and compliance costs that could adversely affect our business.

Our operations are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA, the USDA, the FTC, the SEC, the CPSC, the United States Department of Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency and various other federal, state, local and foreign authorities. We are also subject to U.S. laws affecting operations outside of the United States, including anti-bribery laws such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Any changes in these laws and regulations, or any changes in how existing or future laws or regulations will be enforced, administered or interpreted could increase the cost of developing, manufacturing and distributing our products or otherwise increase the cost of conducting our business, or expose us to additional risk of liabilities and claims, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. In addition, failure by us to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including future laws and regulations, could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. See Item 1, “Business—Government Regulation” and “—Environmental Matters.”

Failure by third-party co-packers or suppliers of raw materials to comply with food safety, environmental or other regulations may disrupt our supply of certain products and adversely affect our business.

We rely on co-packers to produce certain of our products and on other suppliers to supply raw materials. Such co-packers and other suppliers, whether in the United States or outside the United States, are subject to a number of regulations, including food safety and environmental regulations. Failure by any of our co-packers or other suppliers to comply with regulations, or allegations of compliance failure, may disrupt their operations. Disruption of the operations of a co-packer or other suppliers could disrupt our supply of product or raw materials, which could have an adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Additionally, actions we may take to mitigate the impact of any such disruption or potential disruption, including increasing inventory in anticipation of a potential production or supply interruption, may adversely affect our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

A recall of our products could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, we may be subject to significant liability should the consumption of any of our products cause injury, illness or death.

The sale of food products for human consumption involves the risk of injury to consumers. Such injuries may result from mislabeling, tampering by unauthorized third parties or product contamination or spoilage, including the presence of foreign objects, undeclared allergens, substances, chemicals, other agents or residues introduced during the growing, manufacturing, storage, handling or transportation phases of production. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to recall products, leading to a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Even if a situation does not necessitate a recall, product liability claims might be asserted against us. We have from time to time been involved in product liability lawsuits, none of which have been material to our business. While we are subject to governmental inspection and regulations and believe our facilities comply in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations, if the consumption of any of our products causes, or is alleged to have caused, a health-related illness in the future we may become subject to claims or lawsuits relating to such matters. Even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, the negative publicity surrounding any assertion that our products caused injury, illness or death could adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential customers and our corporate and brand image. Moreover, claims or liabilities of this sort might not be covered by our insurance or by any rights of indemnity or contribution that we may have against others. We maintain product liability insurance and product contamination insurance in amounts we believe to be adequate. However, we cannot assure you that we will not incur claims or liabilities for which we are not insured or that exceed the amount of our insurance coverage. A product liability judgment against us or a product recall or the damage to our reputation resulting therefrom could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Pending and future litigation may lead us to incur significant costs.

We are, or may become, party to various lawsuits and claims arising in the normal course of business, which may include lawsuits or claims relating to contracts, intellectual property, product recalls, product liability, the marketing and labeling of products, employment matters, environmental matters or other aspects of our business. Even when not merited, the defense of these lawsuits may divert our management’s attention, and we may incur significant expenses in

defending these lawsuits. In addition, we may be required to pay damage awards or settlements or become subject to injunctions or other equitable remedies, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. The outcome of litigation is often difficult to predict, and the outcome of pending or future litigation may have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

Consumer concern regarding the safety and quality of food products or health concerns could adversely affect sales of certain of our products.

If consumers in our principal markets lose confidence in the safety and quality of our food products even without a product liability claim or a product recall, our business could be adversely affected. Consumers have been increasingly focused on food safety and health and wellness with respect to the food products they buy. We have been and will continue to be impacted by publicity concerning the health implications of food products generally, which could negatively influence consumer perception and acceptance of our products and marketing programs. Developments in any of these areas could cause our results to differ materially from results that have been or may be projected.

A weakening of the U.S. dollar in relation to the Canadian dollar or the Mexican peso would significantly increase our future costs relating to the production of maple syrup or frozen vegetable products.

We purchase a significant majority of our maple syrup requirements from suppliers in Québec, Canada. A weakening of the U.S. dollar in relation to the Canadian dollar would significantly increase our future costs relating to the production of our maple syrup products to the extent we have not purchased Canadian dollars or otherwise entered into a currency hedging arrangement in advance of any such weakening of the U.S. dollar. These increased costs may not be fully offset by the positive impact the change in the relative strength of the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar would have on our net sales in Canada. In addition, we operate a frozen vegetable manufacturing facility in Irapuato, Mexico. A weakening of the U.S. dollar in relation to the Mexican peso would significantly increase our costs relating to the production of frozen vegetable products to the extent we have not purchased Mexican pesos or otherwise entered into hedging arrangements in advance of the weakening of the U.S. dollar.

Our operations in foreign countries are subject to political, economic and foreign currency risk.

Our relationships with foreign suppliers and co-packers as well as our manufacturing location in Irapuato, Mexico also subject us to the risks of doing business outside the United States. The countries from which we source our raw materials and certain of our finished goods may be subject to political and economic instability, and may periodically enact new or revise existing laws, taxes, duties, quotas, tariffs, currency controls or other restrictions to which we are subject, including restrictions on the transfer of funds to and from foreign countries or the nationalization of operations. Our products are subject to import duties and other restrictions, and the U.S. government may periodically impose new or revise existing duties, quotas, tariffs or other restrictions to which we are subject, including restrictions on the transfer of funds to and from foreign countries.

In particular, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected by the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or other regulatory and economic impact of changes in taxation and trade relations among the United States and other countries.

In addition, changes in respective wage rates among the countries from which we and our competitors source product could substantially impact our competitive position. Changes in exchange rates, import/export duties or relative international wage rates applicable to us or our competitors could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations. These changes may impact us in a different manner than our competitors.

Our financial performance on a U.S. dollar denominated basis is subject to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. These fluctuations could cause material variations in our results of operations. Our principal exposures are to the Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso. For example, our foreign sales are primarily to customers in Canada. Net sales in Canada accounted for approximately 6.4%, 6.5% and 6.4% of our total net sales in fiscal 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Although our sales for export to other countries are generally denominated in U.S. dollars, our sales to Canada are generally denominated in Canadian dollars. As a result, our net sales to Canada are subject to the effect of foreign currency fluctuations, and these fluctuations could have an adverse impact on operating results. From time to time, we may enter into agreements that are intended to reduce the effects of our exposure to currency fluctuations, but these agreements may not be effective in significantly reducing our exposure.

Litigation regarding our trademarks and any other proprietary rights and intellectual property infringement claims may have a significant negative impact on our business.

We maintain an extensive trademark portfolio that we consider to be of significant importance to our business. If the actions we take to establish and protect our trademarks and other proprietary rights are not adequate to prevent imitation of our products by others or to prevent others from seeking to block sales of our products as an alleged violation of their trademarks and proprietary rights, it may be necessary for us to initiate or enter into litigation in the future to enforce our trademark rights or to defend ourselves against claimed infringement of the rights of others. Any legal proceedings could result in an adverse determination that could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

We face risks associated with our defined benefit pension plans.

We maintain four company-sponsored defined benefit pension plans that cover approximately 23.9% of our employees. A deterioration in the value of plan assets resulting from poor market performance, a general financial downturn or otherwise could cause an increase in the amount of contributions we are required to make to these plans. For example, our defined benefit pension plans may from time to time move from an overfunded to underfunded status driven by decreases in plan asset values that may result from changes in long-term interest rates and disruptions in U.S. or global financial markets. Additionally, historically low interest rates coupled with poor market performance would have the effect of decreasing the funded status of these plans which would result in greater required contributions. For a more detailed description of these plans, see Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies; Use of Estimates—Pension Expense” and Note 12, “Pension Benefits,” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

An obligation to make additional, unanticipated contributions to our defined benefit plans could reduce the cash available for working capital and other corporate uses, and may have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial position, results of operations and liquidity.

Our financial well-being could be jeopardized by unforeseen changes in our employees’ collective bargaining agreements, shifts in union policy or labor disruptions in the food industry.

As of December 31, 2022, approximately 57.0% of our 3,085 employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements. A prolonged work stoppage or strike at any of our facilities with union employees or a significant work disruption from other labor disputes in the food or related industries could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. Four of our collective bargaining agreements expire in the next twelve months. The collective bargaining agreement covering our Cincinnati facility, which covers approximately 125 employees, is scheduled to expire on April 30, 2023, and the collective bargaining agreement covering our Brooklyn facility, which covers approximately 53 employees, is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2023. In addition, under the new Mexican labor law, we are required to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement for our Mexico facility to replace the existing collective bargaining agreements, which cover approximately 1,045 employees. The new collective bargaining agreement for our Mexico facility must be subjected to a vote of the union employees by May 1, 2023.

While we believe that our relations with our union employees are in general good, we cannot assure you that we will be able to negotiate new collective bargaining agreements for our Cincinnati, Brooklyn or Mexico facilities on terms satisfactory to us, or at all, and without production interruptions, including labor stoppages. If, prior to the expiration of the collective bargaining agreements for the Cincinnati, Brooklyn or Mexico facilities or prior to the expiration of any of our other existing collective bargaining agreements, we are unable to reach new agreements without union action or any such new agreements are not on terms satisfactory to us, our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could be materially and adversely affected.

We are increasingly dependent on information technology; Disruptions, failures or security breaches of our information technology infrastructure could have a material adverse effect on our operations.

Information technology is critically important to our business operations. We rely on information technology networks and systems, including the Internet, to process, transmit and store electronic and financial information, to manage a variety of business processes and activities, including manufacturing, financial, logistics, sales, marketing and administrative functions.

We depend on our information technology infrastructure to communicate internally and externally with employees, customers, suppliers and others. We also use information technology networks and systems to comply with regulatory, legal and tax requirements. These information technology systems, many of which are managed by third parties or used in connection with shared service centers, may be susceptible to damage, disruptions or shutdowns due to failures during the process of upgrading or replacing software, databases or components thereof, issues with or errors in systems’ maintenance or security, migration of applications to the cloud, power outages, hardware or software failures, computer viruses, malware, attacks by computer hackers or other cybersecurity risks, telecommunication failures, denial of service, user errors, natural disasters, terrorist attacks or other catastrophic events.

Cyberattacks and other cyber incidents are occurring more frequently in the United States, are constantly evolving in nature, are becoming more sophisticated and are being made by groups and individuals (including criminal hackers, hacktivists, state-sponsored institutions, terrorist organizations and individuals or groups participating in organized crime) with a wide range of expertise and motives (including monetization of corporate, payment or other internal or personal data, theft of trade secrets and intellectual property for competitive advantage and leverage for political, social, economic and environmental reasons). Such cyberattacks and cyber incidents can take many forms including cyber extortion, denial of service, social engineering, such as impersonation attempts to fraudulently induce employees or others to disclose information or unwittingly provide access to systems or data, introduction of viruses or malware, such as ransomware through phishing emails, website defacement or theft of passwords and other credentials. We may incur significant costs in protecting against or remediating cyberattacks or other cyber incidents.

If any of our significant information technology systems suffer severe damage, disruption or shutdown, whether due to natural disaster, cyberattacks or otherwise, and our disaster recovery and business continuity plans, or those of our third-party providers, do not effectively respond to or resolve the issues in a timely manner, our product sales, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected, and we could experience delays in reporting our financial results, loss of intellectual property and damage to our reputation or brands. Cyberattacks, such as ransomware attacks, if successful, could interfere with our ability to access and use systems and records that are necessary to operate our business. Such attacks could materially adversely affect our reputation, relationships with customers, and operations and could require us to expend significant resources to resolve such issues.

We and third-parties with which we have shared personal information have been subject to attempts to breach the security of networks, IT infrastructure, and controls through cyberattack, malware, computer viruses, social engineering attacks, ransomware attacks, and other means of unauthorized access. For example, in February 2023, we experienced a cyberbreach resulting from a global ransomware attack that impacted thousands of network servers around the world and which encrypted certain of our network servers. In this case, our internal IT department together with third-party cybersecurity incidence response teams that we keep on retainer were able to unencrypt and restore most of the affected servers and restore others from backups within a few days and with minimal disruption to our manufacturing operations, sales, order processing, distribution and other business operations, and without paying any ransom. We cannot assure you, however, that we will be able to restore our systems so quickly and with minimal disruption to our business operations in response to a future cyberattack.

In addition, if we are unable to prevent physical and electronic break‑ins, cyberattacks and other information security breaches, we may suffer financial and reputational damage, be subject to litigation or incur remediation costs or penalties because of the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information belonging to us or to our partners, customers, suppliers or employees. The February 2023 ransomware attack described above resulted in the unauthorized release of sensitive personal information of certain of our current and former employees that will require remediation expenditures by our company and could adversely affect our reputation and increase the costs we already incur to protect against these risks. The mishandling or inappropriate disclosure of non‑public sensitive or protected information could also lead to the loss of intellectual property, negatively impact planned corporate transactions or damage our reputation and brand image. Misuse, leakage or falsification of legally protected information could also result in a violation of data privacy laws and regulations and have a negative impact on our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations.

Failure to Comply with Data Privacy and Data Breach Laws May Subject Our Company to Fines, Administrative Actions and Reputational Harm.

We are subject to data privacy and data breach laws in the states and countries in which we do business, and as we expand into other states and countries, we may be subject to additional data privacy laws and regulations. In many

states, state data privacy laws (such as the California Consumer Privacy Act), including application and interpretation, are rapidly evolving. The rapidly evolving nature of state and federal privacy laws, including potential inconsistencies between such laws and uncertainty as to their application, adds additional compliance costs and increases our risk of non-compliance. While we attempt to comply with such laws, we may not be in compliance at all times in all respects. Failure to comply with such laws may subject us to fines, administrative actions, and reputational harm.

If we are unable to hire or retain key management personnel, and a highly skilled and diverse workforce or effectively manage changes in our workforce or respond to shifts in labor availability, our growth and future success may be impaired and our results of operations could suffer as a result.

We must hire, retain and develop effective leaders and a highly skilled and diverse workforce at our corporate offices, manufacturing facilities and other work locations. We compete to hire new personnel with the variety of skills needed to manufacture, sell and distribute our products. Unplanned or increased turnover of employees with key capabilities, failure to attract and develop personnel with key capabilities, including emerging capabilities such as e-commerce and digital marketing skills, or failure to develop adequate succession plans for leadership positions or to hire and retain a workforce with the skills and in the locations we need to operate and grow our business could deplete our institutional knowledge base and erode our competitiveness. Our success depends to a significant degree upon the continued contributions of senior management and other highly skilled employees, certain of whom would be difficult to replace.

The labor market has become increasingly tight and competitive and we may face sudden and unforeseen challenges in the availability of labor, such as we have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was exacerbated as a result of the Omicron variant. A sustained labor shortage or increased turnover rates within our workforce caused by a public health crisis or related policies and mandates, or as a result of general macroeconomic or other factors, have led and could in the future lead to production or shipping delays, increased costs, including increased wages to attract and retain employees and increased overtime to meet demand. Similarly, we have been negatively impacted and may in the future continue to be negatively impacted by labor shortages or increased labor costs experienced by our third-party business partners, including our external manufacturing partners, third-party logistics providers and customers. Our ability to recruit and retain a highly skilled and diverse workforce at our corporate offices, manufacturing facilities and other work locations could also be materially impacted if we fail to adequately respond to rapidly changing employee expectations regarding fair compensation, an inclusive and diverse workplace, flexible working or other matters.

If we fail to recruit and retain senior management and a highly skilled and diverse workforce, our growth and future success may be impaired and our results of operations may be materially and adversely effected.

We are a holding company and we rely on dividends, interest and other payments, advances and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations.

We are a holding company, with all of our assets held by our direct and indirect subsidiaries, and we rely on dividends and other payments or distributions from our subsidiaries to meet our debt service obligations and to enable us to pay dividends. The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make other payments or distributions to us depends on their respective operating results and may be restricted by, among other things, the laws of their jurisdiction of organization (which may limit the amount of funds available for the payment of dividends), agreements of those subsidiaries, our credit agreement, our senior notes indentures and the covenants of any future outstanding indebtedness we or our subsidiaries incur.

Future changes that increase cash taxes payable by us could significantly decrease our future cash flow available to make interest and dividend payments with respect to our securities and have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We are able to amortize goodwill and certain intangible assets in accordance with Section 197 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. We expect to be able to amortize for tax purposes approximately $1,055.2 million between 2023 and 2037. The expected annual deductions are approximately $122.9 million for each year fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2024, approximately $122.6 million for fiscal 2025, approximately $118.7 million for fiscal 2026, approximately $98.8 million for fiscal 2027, approximately $96.3 million for fiscal 2028, approximately $95.7 million for fiscal 2029, approximately $89.6 million for fiscal 2030, approximately $56.9 million for fiscal 2031, approximately $38.7 million

for fiscal 2032, approximately $33.8 million for fiscal 2033, approximately $30.4 million for fiscal 2034, approximately $26.7 million for fiscal 2035, approximately $1.0 million for fiscal 2036 and approximately $0.3 million for fiscal 2037.

We also take material annual deductions for net interest expense due to our substantial indebtedness. However, the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law on December 22, 2017, limits the deduction for net interest expense (including the treatment of depreciation and other deductions in arriving at adjusted taxable income) incurred by a corporate taxpayer to 30% of the taxpayer’s adjusted taxable income.

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which we refer to as the “U.S. CARES Act,” was signed into law. The U.S. CARES Act, among other things, includes provisions related to net operating loss carryback periods, modifications to the interest deduction limitation and technical corrections to tax depreciation for qualified improvement property. The U.S. CARES Act increased the adjusted taxable income limitation from 30% to 50% for business interest deductions for tax years 2019 and 2020 and the limitation reverted back to 30% beginning in 2021. See Note 10, “Income Taxes,” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

If we are unable to fully utilize our interest expense deductions in future periods, our cash taxes will increase. We were not subject to an interest expense deduction limitation in fiscal 2020 but were subject to the limitation in fiscal 2021, which increased our taxable income by $6.7 million. Beginning with fiscal 2022, our adjusted taxable income as computed for purposes of the interest expense deduction limitation is computed after any deduction allowable for depreciation and amortization. As a result, our adjusted taxable income (used to compute the limitation) decreased and we are subject to the interest expense deduction limitation in fiscal 2022, resulting in an increase to taxable income of $90.2 million. We may continue to be subject to the interest deduction limitation in future years. We have recorded a deferred tax asset of $22.2 million related to the interest deduction carryover, without a valuation allowance, as the disallowed interest may be carried forward indefinitely. The increase in our cash taxes resulting from the interest expense deduction limitation is approximately $20.6 million for fiscal 2022. There are various factors that may cause tax assumptions to change in the future, and we may have to record a valuation allowance against these deferred tax assets. See Note 10, “Income Taxes,” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

If there is a change in U.S. federal tax law or, in the case of the interest deduction, a change in our net interest expense relative to our adjusted taxable income that eliminates, limits or reduces our ability to amortize and deduct goodwill and certain intangible assets or the interest deduction we receive on our substantial indebtedness, or otherwise results in an increase in our corporate tax rate, our cash taxes payable would increase, which could significantly reduce our future cash and impact our ability to make interest and dividend payments and have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Likewise, the ultimate impact of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the U.S. CARES Act on our reported results in fiscal 2023 and beyond may differ from the estimates provided in this report, possibly materially, due to guidance that may be issued and other actions we may take as a result of the new tax law different from that currently contemplated. See Note 10, “Income Taxes,” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report for information about the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the U.S. CARES Act.

A change in the assumptions used to value our goodwill or our indefinite-lived intangible assets could negatively affect our consolidated results of operations and net worth.

Our total assets include substantial goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets (trademarks). These assets are tested for impairment through qualitative and quantitative assessments at least annually and whenever events or circumstances occur indicating that goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets might be impaired. We test our goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets by comparing the fair values with the carrying values and recognize a loss for the difference. Estimating our fair value for these purposes requires significant estimates and assumptions by management, including future cash flows consistent with management’s expectations, annual sales growth rates, and certain assumptions underlying a discount rate based on available market data. Significant management judgment is necessary to estimate the impact of competitive operating, macroeconomic and other factors to estimate the future levels of sales and cash flows. We completed our annual impairment tests for fiscal 2022, fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2020 with no adjustments to the carrying values of goodwill. As of December 31, 2022, we had $619.2 million of goodwill recorded in our consolidated balance sheet. Our testing indicates that the implied fair value of our company is in excess of the carrying value. However, a change in the cash flow assumptions could result in an impairment of goodwill. We completed our annual impairment tests for fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2020 with no adjustments to the carrying values of

indefinite-lived intangible assets. However, in connection with our decision to sell the Back to Nature business, during fiscal 2022 we reclassified $109.9 million of indefinite-lived trademark intangible assets, $29.5 million of goodwill, $11.0 million of finite-lived customer relationship intangible assets and $7.3 million of inventories to assets held for sale. We measured the assets held for sale at the lower of their carrying value or fair value less anticipated costs to sell and recorded pre-tax, non-cash impairment charges of $106.4 million during fiscal 2022 relating to those assets. See Note 3, “Acquisitions and Divestitures” and Note 18, “Subsequent Events” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

In addition, our annual impairment tests for fiscal 2021 resulted in our company recording non-cash impairment charges to intangible trademark assets for the SnackWell’s, Static Guard, Molly McButter and Farmwise brands of $23.1 million in the aggregate during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, which is recorded in “Impairment of intangible assets” in our consolidated statement of operations for fiscal 2021. We partially impaired the Static Guard and Molly McButter brands, and we fully impaired the SnackWell’s and Farmwise brands, which have been discontinued.

If operating results for the Static Guard and Molly McButter brands continue to deteriorate, or if operating results for any of our other brands, including newly acquired brands, deteriorate, at rates in excess of our current projections, we may be required to record additional non-cash impairment charges to certain intangible assets. In addition, any significant decline in our market capitalization or changes in discount rates, even if due to macroeconomic factors, could put pressure on the carrying value of our goodwill. A determination that all or a portion of our goodwill or indefinite-lived intangible assets are impaired, although a non-cash charge to operations, could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition and results of operations. For a further discussion of our annual impairment testing of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets (trademarks), see Note 2(g), “Summary of Significant Accounting Policies—Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” to our consolidated financial statements in Part II, Item 8 of this report.

Any future financial market disruptions or tightening of the credit markets could expose us to additional credit risks from customers and supply risks from suppliers and co-packers.

Any future financial market disruptions or tightening of the credit markets could result in some of our customers experiencing a significant decline in profits and/or reduced liquidity. A significant adverse change in the financial and/or credit position of a customer could require us to assume greater credit risk relating to that customer and could limit our ability to collect receivables. A significant adverse change in the financial and/or credit position of a supplier or co-packer could result in an interruption of supply. This could have a material adverse effect on our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

PART II

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Item 5.

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Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.Securities

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31

Item 6.

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[Reserved]

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33

Item 7.

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Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

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34

Item 7A.

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Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

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50

Item 8.

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Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

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52

Item 9.

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Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

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92

Item 9A.

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Controls and Procedures

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92

Item 9B.

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Other Information

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93

Item 9C.

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Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

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93

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PART III

Shares​

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Item 10.

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Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

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94

Item 11.

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Executive Compensation

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94

Item 12.

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Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

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94

Item 13.

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Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

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95

Item 14.

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Principal Accountant Fees and Services

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95

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PART IV

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Item 15.

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Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

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96

Item 16.

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Form 10-K Summary

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99

Signatures

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100

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