UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended January 1, December 31, 2022

OR

For the transition period from to to

Commission file number 1-16247

FLOWERS FOODS, INC.INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(229) (229) 226-9110

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

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

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☒ No ☐

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

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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

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

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

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

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

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the closing price of the shares of common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on July 17, 2021,16, 2022, was $4,982,859,803.$5,534,068,959.

The number of shares of the registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of February 17, 202216, 2023 was 211,536,622.211,274,776.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

FORM 10-K REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this filing and certain other written or oral statements made from time to time by Flowers Foods, Inc. (the “company”, “Flowers Foods”, “Flowers”, “us”, “we”, or “our”) and its representatives that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements relate to current expectations regarding our future financial condition and results of operations and the ultimate impact of the novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) on our business, results of operations and financial conditionand are often identified by the use of words and phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “is likely to,” “is expected to” or “will continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions we believe are reasonable.

Forward-looking statements are based on current information and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those projected. Certain factors that may cause actual results, performance, liquidity, and achievements to differ materially from those projected are discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”) and may include, but are not limited to:

The foregoing list of important factors does not include all such factors, nor necessarily present them in order of importance. In addition, you should consult other disclosures made by the company (such as in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or in company press releases) for other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected by the company. Refer to Part I, Item 1A., Risk Factors, of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding factors that could affect the company’s results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

We caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as they speak only as of the date made and are inherently uncertain. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise or update such statements, except as required by law. You are advised, however, to consult any further public disclosures by the company (such as in our filings with the SEC or in company press releases) on related subjects.

We own or have rights to trademarks or trade names that we use in connection with the operation of our business, including our corporate names, logos and website names. In addition, we own or have the rights to copyrights, trade secrets and other proprietary rights that protect the content of our products and the formulations for such products. Solely for convenience, some of the trademarks, trade names and copyrights referred to in this Form 10-K are listed without the ©, ® and ™ symbols, but we will assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights to our trademarks, trade names and copyrights.

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PART I

The Company

Flowers Foods, Inc. (which we reference to herein as “we,” “our,” “us,” the “company,” “Flowers” or “Flowers Foods”), founded in 1919 as a Georgia corporation and headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, is currently the second-largest producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the United States (“U.S.”). Our principal products include breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes, and tortillas and are sold under a variety of brand names, including Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread (“DKB”), Wonder, Canyon Bakehouse, Tastykake, and Mrs. Freshley’s. Our brands are among the best known in the baking industry. Many of our brands have a major presence in the product categories in which they compete.

Flowers’ strategic priorities include developing our team, focusing on our brands, prioritizing our margins, and proactively seeking out smart, disciplined acquisitions and are described further in the following section. We believe executing on our strategic priorities will drive future growth and margin expansion and deliver meaningful shareholder value over time.

Current Inflationary Economic Environment, Other Macroeconomic Factors, and COVID-19

We continue to monitor the impact of the ongoinginflationary economic environment, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the COVID-19 pandemic on our businessbusiness. Our results for Fiscal 2022 continued to benefit from a more optimized sales mix of branded retail products as compared to pre-pandemic periods. Remote and hybrid-work arrangements spurred by the pandemic endured in Fiscal 2022 which resulted in greater at-home food consumption than in pre-pandemic periods. We experienced significant input cost inflation for commodities and transportation, and, to a lesser extent, for labor in the current year which partially offset this benefit. To mitigate the ongoing cost pressures, we implemented price increases in Fiscal 2022 and in early Fiscal 2023.

Additionally, in the latter half of the first quarter and into the second quarter of Fiscal 2022, we experienced heightened supply chain disruptions which impacted our ability to procure adequate quantities of certain raw materials and particularly packaging items, resulting in lower production volumes. Although we were able to mitigate these packaging shortages earlier than originally anticipated, our operating results were negatively impacted. These and other supply chain disruptions could continue to negatively impact production volumes due to uncertainty in the global and U.S. supply chain. While the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has not impacted us directly, we are closely monitoring its effects on the broader economy, including on the availability and price of commodities used in or for the production of our products. Disruptions in our operations, related to factors including, but not limited to, the procurement of raw materials and packaging items, transport of our products, and available workforce, have negatively impacted, and could continue to negatively impact, our operations, results of operations, cash flows, and liquidity.

Labor shortages and turnover at some of our bakeries in Fiscal 2022 and 2021 hampered production levels. These and other factors, including, but not limited to, high employment rates and additional government regulations, may continue to adversely affect labor availability and labor costs. These challenges may negatively affect our ability to operate our production lines efficiently or run at full capacity which could lead to increased labor costs, including additional overtime to meet demand and higher wage rates to attract and retain workers. An overall labor shortage, lack of skilled labor, or increased turnover could have a material adverse impact on the company’s operations, results of operations, liquidity, or cash flows.

Our operations may continue to experience disruption due to the continued uncertainty caused by the pandemic, including, but not limited to, additional variants of the COVID-19 virus, new geographic hotspots, changes in the number of COVID-19 cases, the rate of vaccination within the U.S. population, and the efficacy, or lack thereof, of the vaccines, changes in the global and U.S. economic environment, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, and changes in pandemic safety policies.

In recognition and support of our frontline workers, we paid a total of $5.2 million and $12.3 million in appreciation bonuses to eligible hourly and non-exempt employees, leased labor, and contract workers in Fiscal 2021 and 2020, respectively.  These appreciation bonuses are in addition to the company’s annual performance-based cash incentive plan, in which all Flowers employees participate.  

Our Fiscal 2021 sales declined compared to Fiscal 2020 primarily due to the additional week in the prior year.  Fiscal 2020 benefitted from the significant rise in demand for our branded retail products at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as positive shifts in mix throughout the year and the additional week. Comparatively, Fiscal 2021 benefitted from favorable pricing, a continued positive shift in mix from store branded retail to branded retail products, and a partial recovery in non-retail sales. As steps to mitigate the pandemic have waned, including the easing of mandatory shutdowns and restaurant closures, our non-retail sales have been recovering.  Compared to our historical pre-pandemic sales, our Fiscal 2021 sales were elevated as we continued to benefit from the positive mix shift to branded retail products and favorable pricing, partially offset by volume declines.  The unpredictability of the pandemic makes forecasting this recovery in non-retail sales difficult, but such a recovery or a significant shift in mix from branded retail to store branded retail products could negatively impact our results of operations, including our net sales, earnings, and cash flows.  For additional discussion on the impact of the pandemic on our results of operations, refer to Part II, Item 7., Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, of this Form 10-K.

We believe we have sufficient liquidity to satisfy our cash needs and we continue to take steps to preserve adequate liquidity during the ongoing pandemic as further discussed in Part II, Item 7., Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, of this Form 10-K.  As discussed further in the “Transformation Strategy Initiatives” section below, we are continuing to move forward with the ERP system upgrade and our digital strategy initiatives and do not anticipate the pandemic to materially alter the timing of these initiatives.

Our main focus throughout the pandemic has been and continues to be the health and safety of our team members and independent distributor partners. FromWe continue to follow the start of the pandemic, we have followed theCOVID-19 guidance of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), taking a number.

We believe we have sufficient liquidity to satisfy our cash needs and we continue to execute on our strategic priorities, including our transformation strategy initiatives. The company completed the acquisition of recommended steps to safeguard those inthe Papa Pita Bakery business ("Papa Pita") on February 17, 2023 as further discussed below. We funded the purchase price with cash on-hand and from our facilities. These steps included, but are not limited to, monitoring the symptoms of everyone entering our facilities, requiring face coverings, maintaining (where possible) social distancing of six feet, conducting enhanced cleaningsenior unsecured revolving credit facility (the "credit facility"). The credit facility is variable rate debt and sanitizing of common areas and frequently touched surfaces, performing decontamination of work areas and equipment when there is a confirmed or presumptive case of COVID-19 at a facility, and contact tracing. Company-wide bans on non-essential travel and non-essential visitors at all locations were put into place, corporate offices were closed, and office staff were directed to work remotely. In addition,exposes the company issued regular communications about COVID-19 prevention steps. When COVID-19 vaccinations became available, we shared educational information with our team members and encouraged vaccination for those eligible.  to greater interest rate risk.

We have followed the guidance issued by the CDC and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and modified our face mask and wellness screening policies to align with local, state, and workplace safety regulations. We remain vigilant in reporting COVID-19 cases in our facilities and continue to evaluate our pandemic safety measures as the pandemic evolves. The majority of employees in non-production roles continue to work remotely. We intend to implement a work policy in 2022 addressing guidelines for three distinct work personas: full-time remote, full-time in office, or flex, a combination of the two. These plans may be impacted by, among other things, consideration of pandemic safety measures, the rate of vaccinations and the efficacy of the vaccines, the threat ofFor additional COVID-19 variants, and the ability of office staff to work effectively from remote locations. Althoughdiscussion on the impact of these measures, or any other measures adopted by governmental authorities,macroeconomic factors and the COVID-19 pandemic on our business, refer to Part II, Item 7., Management’s Discussion and workforce is uncertain, these requirements may result in increased costsAnalysis of Financial Condition and could have an adverse effect on our business, resultsResults of operations, and financial condition.Operations, of this Form 10-K.

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Strategic Initiatives

While we have had no temporary production interruptions in Fiscal 2021 due to COVID-19, such interruptions are possible in the future due to the uncertainty of the pandemic. The potential closure of several of our bakeries across the country at the same time – or in close succession – could negatively affect our ability to meet our production requirements, even if the interruption is temporary. Additionally, unforeseen disruptions in other areas of our operations, including but not limited to procurement of raw materials, transport of our products, or recovery by our foodservice customers, could negatively impact our operations, results of operations, cash flows, and liquidity.

During Fiscal 2021, we have experienced labor shortages at some of our bakeries. A number of factors may continue to adversely affect the labor force available to us, including high employment and government regulations. Other factors that may negatively affect our ability to efficiently operate our production lines or run at full capacity might include, but are not limited to, a labor shortage or increased turnover rates within our workforce that could lead to increased labor costs, including additional overtime to meet demand and higher wage rates to attract and retain workers. An overall labor shortage, lack of skilled labor, increased turnover or labor inflation could have a material adverse impact on the company’s operations, results of operations, liquidity, or cash flows.

Strategic Initiatives

We are a brand-focused company dedicated to the consumer and committed to growing our most profitable brands through innovation, market expansion, and prudent mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”). Our strategic priorities and our long-term goals are as follows:

Strategic Priorities:

Long-term Goals:

The key to our success in achieving our goals is our talented and dedicated team. We recognize the importance of investing in our people as further discussed in the “Human Capital Resources” section below, which details how we attract, retain, and develop our team. Additionally, we recognize the importance of realigning people and responsibilities in successfully implementing our long-term strategies. This realignment can take the form of organizational changes or providing crucial tools, including investments in our information systems. During Fiscal 2020, we implemented organizational changes to better align the team to our new strategies, hired new team members with unique expertise and insight, and created the transformation office.  TheOur cross-functional transformation office is a cross-functional team responsible for over-overseeingoverseeing the implementation of our strategic priorities, including our digital and ERP initiatives, which are discussed in more detail under the “Transformation Strategy Initiatives” section below.

A major focus of our long-term strategy is to evolve our sales portfolio to higher margin, value-added branded retail products that we expect will generate top line growth and improve overall profitability. We expect an optimized portfolio will drive share gains by targeting growth segments with new, innovative products. We have established clear roles for the brands and product lines within our portfolio to enable more targeted decision-making on brand investment. Over the past several years, we have completed brand rationalization initiatives resulting in a more streamlined brand and product assortment, and reduced brand portfolio complexity, and increased efficiency.complexity. In Fiscal 2020, our sales mix shifted to more profitable branded retail products due to increases in at-home dining resulting from COVID-19, which led to increased sales and operating income, further illustrating the potential of an optimized portfolio. InRemote and hybrid-work arrangements spurred by the pandemic endured through Fiscal 2021, we have2022 which resulted in continued greater at-home food consumption as compared to benefit from this positive shift inpre-pandemic periods and a more optimized sales mix.

As we implement our targeted sales portfolio strategy, the flexibility of our production and distribution systems allows us to pivot capacity to meet this changing demand. As anFor example, in Fiscal 2020,2022, we repurposed bakery assetsincreased production capacity for our organic products by adding a production line at our Lynchburg, Virginia facility, converting it to an all-organicHenderson, Nevada bakery to meet rising demand for our DKB products and to better serve east coast markets with fresher productthe West Coast market. Additionally, we ceased production at our Phoenix, Arizona bakery, an older, less efficient bakery that produced traditional bread and reduce distribution costs.bun products. Also, we believe our flexible bakery system has been crucial in navigating demand changes caused by the pandemic as we have been ableallows us to quickly shift production to high demand products and adjust distribution where needed. We are continuing to optimize our distribution system by reducing network complexity through depot consolidation and reducing transport miles.

M&A has always been, and we expect will continue to be, an important part of our long-term growth strategy. We employ a disciplined approach to M&A, seeking out candidates primarily in the grain-based foods arena that will enhance our branded portfolio, extend our geographic presence, are a strong cultural fit, and add enhanced capabilities to our company. We believe our strong balance sheet and cash flow generation will enableenables us to execute our M&A strategy.  strategy and on February 17, 2023, we completed the purchase of Papa Pita, a manufacturer and distributor of bagels, tortillas, breads, buns, English muffins, and flat breads. Founded in 1983, Papa Pita operates one production facility in West Jordan, Utah.

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Transformation Strategy Initiatives

In the second half of Fiscal 2020, we launched initiatives to transform how we operate our business.business operations. The primary goals of these new initiatives are: (1) enable a more agile business model, empowering the organization by fundamentally redesigning core business processes and our ways of working; (2) embed digital capabilities and transform the way we engage with our consumers, customers and employees; and (3) modernize and simplify our application and technology infrastructure landscape, inclusive of the upgrade of our ERP system.  We completed the initial planning and road mapping phase of these multi-year transformation initiatives at the end of Fiscal 2020 and transitioned into the design phase in early Fiscal 2021.  

Digital Strategy Initiatives

Our digital strategy initiatives include investments in digital domains of e-commerce, autonomous planning, and bakery of the future.future, digital logistics, and digital sales. In e-commerce, we strive to become a category and market share leader, engage with the consumer through digital platforms and marketplaces, and support our retail partners’ omnichannel strategies. The autonomous planning domain encompasses predictive ordering, cost-to-serve modeling, integrated business planning, and supply and demand forecasting, among other areas. Bakery of the future involves transforming our current manufacturing processes and operational visibility to apply industry-leading digital manufacturing tools, such as real-time performance management and visibility, automation of repetitive processes, standardization of processes and procedures, and sensor-based quality monitoring tools to improve consistency and quality. Digital logistics includes real-time operational visibility, improving our routing efficiency, and automating the freight bill pay audit process. Finally, digital sales focuses on improving our sales execution through new data and insights, improved visibility to in-store activities, streamlined reporting and dashboards, and improved collaboration tools across our sales ecosystem.

Combined, theseThese digital domains are expected to improve data visibility and efficiencies while automating many of our processes. When fully implemented, we expect this work will further our brand efforts, bring us ever closer to the consumer, increase operational efficiencies, and deliver higher-quality, real-time insights, which will in turn enable more predictive business decision-making. We transitioned into the implementation phase for the e-commerce, autonomous planning, and bakery of the future domains and selected two bakeries for the pilot program for bakery of the future and autonomous planning in Fiscal 2021. To date, we have rolled out supply chain-focused domains to more than thirteen bakeries and plan to continue to invest in these new ways of working.

ERP Upgrade

This initiative includes upgrading our information system to a more robust platform and is expected to improve data management and efficiencies while automating many of our processes. We completed the initial planning and road mapping phase of this multi-year initiative at the end of Fiscal 2020, then transitioned into the design phase in early Fiscal 2021 and the build phase at the beginning of Fiscal 2022. During the first quarter of Fiscal 2021, we engaged a leading, global consulting firm to assist us in planning and implementing the upgrade of our ERP platform and serve as the system integrator for the project.  We transitioned into the build phase of the project in the beginning of Fiscal 2022.

We expect this initiative willthe transformation strategy initiatives to require significant capital investment and expense over the next several years. We currently anticipate the upgrade of our ERP system will cost approximately $350 million (of which approximately 32% has been or is anticipated to be capitalized) and anticipate the upgrade to be completed in 2026. Previously, these costs were estimated to be approximately $275 million. The increase in estimated costs resulted from expanding the project scope and anticipation of greater reliance on external resources for bakery deployments due to labor constraints. As of December 31, 2022, we have incurred costs related to the project of approximately $153 million. Costs related to the digital initiatives are more fluid and cannot be estimated. See Item 1A., Risk Factors, “We may experience difficulties in designing and implementing the upgrade of our ERP system.”

Segment

Since the beginning of Fiscal 2019, we have managed our business as one operating segment. The company concluded it has one operating segment based on the nature of the products the company sells, its intertwined production and distribution model, the internal management structure and information that is regularly reviewed by the chief executive officer (“CEO”), who is the chief operating decision maker, for the purpose of assessing performance and allocating resources. Beginning with the first quarter of Fiscal 2019, the comparative periods have been presented on a consolidated basis due to the change to a single operating segment.  See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for detailed financial information about our operating segment.

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Brands & Products

We report our sales as branded retail,Branded Retail and Other. The Other category includes store branded retail, or non-retail and other.  The non-retail and other category includes foodservice, restaurant, institutional, vending, thrift stores, and contract manufacturing. The chart below presentsIn Fiscal 2022, Branded Retail sales represented 65.3% of our Fiscal 2021 sales by sales category (source:  internal sales data warehouse (“SDW”); amounts may not compute due to rounding).total sales.

Our brands are some of the best-known in the U.S. fresh packaged bread industry and many of them hold leading market positions in the categories in which they compete. We believe having a well-diversified portfolio of brands allows us to be more competitive in the marketplace and appeal to a broader range of consumers. Our principal products are breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes,items, and tortillas. The table below presents the major brands within our diversified brand portfolio:

Brand Highlights

You should carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included in this report, in considering our business and prospects. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. These risk factors are not listed in any order of significance. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently deem insignificant, may also impair our business operations. The occurrence of any of the following risks could harm our business, financial condition, liquidity, or results of operations.

Operational Risks

Economic conditions may negatively impact demand for our products, which could adversely impact our sales and operating profit.

The willingness of our customers and consumers to purchase our products may depend in part on economic conditions. Worsening economic conditions or future challenges to economic growth could have a negative impact on consumer demand, which could adversely

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affect our business. Deterioration of national and global economic conditions could cause consumers to shift purchases to more generic, lower-priced, or other value offerings, or consumers may forego certain purchases altogether during economic downturns and could result in decreased demand in the foodservice business. This economic uncertainty may increase pressure to reduce the prices of some of our products, limit our ability to increase or maintain prices, and reduce sales of higher margin products or shift our product mix to low-margin products.

In addition, changes in tax or interest rates, whether due to recession, efforts to combat inflation, financial and credit market disruptions or other reasons, could negatively impact us.

The extent to which the outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus (“COVID-19”) and measures taken in response thereto, including any new and emerging variants of the virus and the efficacy and distribution of vaccines, may impact our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and are difficult to predict.

COVID-19 has spread throughout the world, including the U.S., and has resulted in governmental and other regulatory authorities throughout the U.S. implementing numerous measures to try to contain the virus and any variants of the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders, business limitations, and shutdowns.virus. These measures have impacted and may further impact the consumer, our workforce and operations, as well as the workforce, operations and financial prospects of our customers, vendors and suppliers. There is considerable uncertainty regarding such measures and potential future measures, such as restrictions on our access to our manufacturing facilities or on our support operations or workforce, or similar limitations for our customers, vendors and suppliers.measures. The spread of COVID-19 has caused us to modify our business practices (including temporary bakery closures and restricting production at certain bakeries, restricting employee travel, developing social distancing plans for our employees, and cancelling physical participation in meetings, events and conferences), and we may take further actions as may be required by governmental and other regulatory authorities or as we determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, vendors and suppliers. We can provide no assurance that such measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks posed by the virus or will otherwise be satisfactory to governmental authorities.

COVID-19 has had, and will continue to have, a widespread and broad-reaching effect on the economy and our business. Some of the impacts our business has experienced, is experiencing or may experience as a result of COVID-19 include, but are not limited to, the following:

The extent to which the spread of COVID-19 impacts our business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and are difficult to predict, including, but not limited to, the duration and spread of the outbreak and the emergence of any new or worseningadditional variants, its severity, the actions to contain the virus or treat its impact, including the distribution and efficacy of vaccines, and how quickly and to what extent normal economic and operating conditions can resume. Even after the COVID-19 outbreak has subsided, we may continue to experience materially adverse impacts to our business as a result of COVID-19’s global economic impact, including the availability of credit, adverse impacts on our liquidity and any recession that has occurred or may occur in the future. Any of these events could exacerbate the other risks and uncertainties described herein, or in other reports filed with the SEC from time to time, and could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Economic conditions may negatively impact demand for our products, which could adversely impact our sales and operating profit.13

The willingness of our customers and consumers to purchase our products may depend in part on economic conditions. Worsening economic conditions or future challenges to economic growth could have a negative impact on consumer demand, which could adversely affect our business. Deterioration of national and global economic conditions could cause consumers to shift purchases to more generic, lower-priced, or other value offerings, or consumers may forego certain purchases altogether during economic downturns and could result in decreased demand in the foodservice business. This economic uncertainty may increase pressure to reduce the prices of some of our products, limit our ability to increase or maintain prices, and reduce sales of higher margin products or shift our product mix to low-margin products.

In addition, changes in tax or interest rates, whether due to recession, efforts to combat inflation, financial and credit market disruptions or other reasons, could negatively impact us.

A disruption in the operation of our DSD distribution system could negatively affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

A material negative change in our relationship with the independent distributor partners could negatively affect our business. Such changes could result from litigation or one or more adverse rulings by courts or regulatory or governmental bodies in any of the jurisdictions in which we operate regarding our independent distributorship model, including actions or decisions that could affect the independent contractor classifications of the independent distributor partners, or an adverse judgment against the company for actions taken by the independent distributor partners. In addition, these changes could result from regulatory developments based on the manner in which the U.S. Department of Labor applies the Fair Labor Standards Act. Any of these developments could materially and negatively affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may not be able to attract or retain the highly skilled people we need to support our business.

We depend on the skills and continued service of key personnel, including our experienced management team. In addition, our ability to achieve our strategic and operating goals depends on our ability to attract, recruit, hire, develop, and retain qualified individuals, including individuals with e-commerce, digital marketing, and data analytics capabilities. We compete with other companies both within and outside of our industry for talented personnel, and we may lose key personnel or fail to attract, recruit, hire, develop, and retain other talented personnel. Any such loss, failure or negative perception with respect to these individuals may adversely affect our business or financial results. In addition, activities related to identifying, recruiting, hiring, and integrating qualified individuals may require significant time and expense. We may not be able to locate suitable replacements for any key employees who terminate their employment or offer employment to potential replacements on reasonable terms, each of which may adversely affect our business and financial results.

Labor shortages and increased turnover or increases in employee and employee-related costs could have adverse effects on our profitability.

We have recently experienced labor shortages at some of our bakeries. A number of factors may adversely affect the labor force available to us, including high employment levels, federal unemployment subsidies, including unemployment benefits offered in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other government regulations, which include laws and regulations related to workers’ health and safety, wage and hour practices, and immigration. A labor shortage or increased turnover rates within our employee base could lead to increased costs, such as increased overtime to meet demand and increased wage rates to attract and retain employees, and could negatively affect our ability to efficiently operate our bakeries and bread lines or otherwise operate at full capacity. An overall labor shortage, lack of skilled labor, increased turnover or labor inflation could have a material adverse impact on the company’s operations, results of operations, liquidity or cash flows.

Additionally, health care, workers’ compensation, postretirement welfare, and pension costs are increasing and will likely continue to do so. Any substantial increase in these costs may have an adverse impact on our profitability. The company records the liabilities related to its benefit plans based on actuarial valuations, which include key assumptions determined by management. Material changes in benefit plan liabilities may occur in the future due to changes in these assumptions. Future annual amounts could be impacted by various factors, such as changes in the number of plan participants, changes in the discount rate, changes in the expected long-term rate of return, changes in the level of contributions to the plan, and other factors. In addition, legislation or regulations involving labor and employment and employee benefit plans (including employee health care benefits and costs) may impact our operational results.

The costs of maintaining and enhancing the value and awareness of our brands are increasing, which could have an adverse impact on our revenues and profitability.

We rely on the success of our well-recognized brand names and we intend to maintain our strong brand recognition by continuing to devote resources to advertising, marketing and other brand building efforts. Brand value could diminish significantly due to several factors, including consumer perception that we have acted in an irresponsible manner, adverse publicity about our products (whether or not valid), our failure to maintain the quality of our products, the failure of our products to deliver consistently positive consumer experiences, or the products becoming unavailable to consumers. The growing use of social and digital media platforms by consumers and third parties increases the speed and extent that information or misinformation and opinions can be shared. Brand recognition and loyalty can be impacted by the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns, marketing programs and sponsorships, as well as our use of social media. In addition, failure to comply with local or other laws and regulations could also hurt our reputation. Our marketing investments may not prove successful in maintaining or increasing our market share. If we are not able to successfully maintain our brand recognition or were to suffer damage to our reputation or loss of consumer confidence in our products for any of these reasons, our revenues and profitability could be adversely affected.

We rely on several large customers for a significant portion of sales and the loss of one of our large customers could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We have several large customers that account for a significant portion of sales, and the loss of one of our large customers could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Our top ten customers accounted for 53.7% of sales during Fiscal 2021. Our largest customer, Walmart/Sam’s Club, accounted for 21.2% of sales during this period. These customers do not typically enter long-term sales contracts, and instead make purchase decisions based on a combination of price, product quality, consumer demand, and customer service performance. At any time, they may use more of their shelf space, including space currently used for our products, for store branded products or for products from other suppliers. Additionally, our customers may face financial or other difficulties that may impact their operations and their purchases from us. Disputes with significant suppliers could also adversely affect our ability to supply products to our customers. If our sales to one or more of these customers are reduced, this reduction may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our inability to execute our business strategy could adversely affect our business.

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We employ various operating strategies to maintain our position as one of the nation’s leading producers and marketers of bakery products available to customers through multiple channels of distribution. In particular, we initiated under Project Centennial, among other things, (i) the integration of acquisitions or the acquisition or disposition of assets at presently targeted values, (ii) the deployment of new systems and technology, and (iii) an enhanced organizational structure. Our focus on our long-term goals of being consumer-focused and committed to growing our most profitable brands is dependent on our success in achieving our strategic priorities: (i) develop team; (ii) brands focus; (iii) prioritize margins; and (iv) smart M&A activity. These and related demands on our resources may divert the organization’s attention from other business issues. Our success is partly dependent upon properly executing, and realizing cost savings or other benefits from, these often-complex initiatives. Any delay in, or failure to implement, our strategic initiatives could adversely affect our ability to grow margins. If we are unsuccessful in implementing or executing one or more of our business strategies, our business could be adversely affected.

We may be adversely impacted by the failure to successfully executerealize the expected benefits of acquisitions, and divestitures and integrate acquired operations.or joint ventures.

From time to time, the company undertakeswe undertake acquisitions, or divestitures.divestitures, joint ventures and co-investments. The success of any acquisition, divestiture or divestiturejoint venture depends on the company’s ability to identify opportunities that help the companyus meet itsour strategic objectives, consummate a transaction on favorable contractual terms, and achieve expected returns and other financial benefits.

Acquisitions, including future acquisitions, require us to efficiently integrate the acquired business or businesses, which involves a significant degree of difficulty, including the following:

Divestitures have operational risks that may include impairment charges. Divestitures also present unique financial and operational risks, including diverting management attention from the existing core business, separating personnel and financial data and other systems, and adversely affecting existing business relationships with suppliers and customers.

Co-investments with third parties through partnership, joint ventures, or other entities, may involve non-controlling, illiquid interests and limited decision-making authority. Investments in partnerships, joint ventures, or other entities may, under certain circumstances, involve risks not present were a third-party not involved, including the possibility that our joint venture partners might become bankrupt, fail to fund their share of required capital contributions, make poor business decisions, or block or delay necessary decisions. Disputes between us and our joint venture partners may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses. In addition, we may in certain circumstances be liable for the actions of our joint venture partners.

We have had, and may have in the future, situations where acquisitions, divestitures or divestituresjoint ventures are not successfully implemented or completed, or the expected benefits of such acquisitions or divestitures are not otherwise realized, which has, and may in the future, negatively impacted the company’s business, results of operations or financial results could be negatively impacted.condition.

Disruption in our supply chain or distribution capabilities from political instability, armed hostilities, incidents of terrorism, natural disasters, weather, inferior product or ingredient supply, or labor strikes could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our ability to make, move and sell products is critical to our success. Damage or disruption to our manufacturing or distribution capabilities, or the manufacturing or distribution capabilities of our suppliers, due to weather, natural disaster, fire or explosion, terrorism, pandemics, inferior product or ingredient supply, labor strikes or work stoppages, or adverse outcomes in litigation involving our independent distributor model, could impair our ability to make, move or sell our products. Moreover, terrorist activity, armed conflict or political instability, including any escalation of hostility arising out of the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine, or natural disasters that may occur within or outside the U.S. may disrupt manufacturing, labor, and other business operations. Failure to take adequate steps to mitigate the likelihood or potential impact of such events and disruption to our manufacturing or distribution

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capabilities, or to effectively manage such events if they occur, could adversely affect our business, financial conditions and results of operations.

The third-party vendor management processes may not be appropriately designed to reduce risks related to the delivery of goods, supplies and services.

As part of a concerted effort to achieve cost savings and efficiencies, we have entered into agreements with third-party vendors for the delivery of goods, supplies and services, including IT services. If we do not select quality vendors, appropriately review vendor contracts and monitor these vendors’ performance (including their ability to protect our customer, consumer or other confidential data), or if any of these third-parties do not perform according to the terms of the agreements, we may not be able to achieve the expected cost savings, we may have to incur additional costs to correct errors made by such third-party vendors or our reputation could be harmed by any failure to perform.

Technology Risks

We may be adversely impacted if our IT systems fail to perform adequately, including with respect to cybersecurity issues.

The efficient operation of our business depends on our IT systems. We rely on our IT systems to effectively manage our business data, communications, supply chain, order entry and fulfillment, and other business processes. The failure of our IT systems (including those provided to us by third-parties) to perform as we anticipate could disrupt our business and could result in billing, collecting and ordering errors, processing inefficiencies, and the loss of sales and customers, causing our business and results of operations to suffer.

In addition, our IT systems (including those provided to us by third parties) may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including fire, natural disasters, systems failures, security breaches or intrusions (including theft of customer, consumer or other confidential data), and viruses. Cyber-attacks and other cyber incidents are occurring more frequently in the United States and are becoming more sophisticated with a wide range of expertise and motives. Such cyber-attacks and cyber incidents can take many forms, including extortion, denial of service, or social engineering through phishing or malware emails. In addition, the risk of cyber-attacks has increased in connection with the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the resulting geopolitical conflict. In light of those and other geopolitical events, nation-state actors or their supporters may launch retaliatory cyber-attacks, and may attempt to cause supply chain and other third-party service provider disruptions, or take other geopolitically motivated retaliatory actions that may disrupt our business operations, result in data compromise, or both. These circumstances increase the likelihood of cyber-attacks and/or security breaches.

We may incur significant costs in protecting or remediating cyber-attacks or other cyber incidents. If we are unable to prevent physical and electronic break-ins, cyber-attacks 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.

We may experience difficulties in designing and implementing the upgrade of our ERP system.

We are in the midst of implementing an upgrade to our ERP system to a more robust platform. The upgrade of the ERP system will beis designed to accurately maintain our financial records, enhance our operational functionality and provide timely information to our management team related to the operations of the business. The design and implementation of the upgrade to the ERP system

requires an investment of significant personnel and financial resources, including substantial expenditures for outside consultants, system hardware and software in addition to other expenses in connection with the transformation of our financial and operating processes. We may not be able to implement the ERP system upgrade successfully without experiencing delays, increased costs and other difficulties, including potential design defects, miscalculations, testing requirements, and the diversion of management’s attention from day-to-day business operations. If we are unable to implement the ERP system upgrade as planned, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could be adversely affected, our ability to assess those controls adequately could be delayed, and our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be negatively impacted.

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Industry Risks

Increases in costs and/or shortages of raw materials, fuels and utilities could adversely impact our profitability.

Raw materials, such as flour, sweeteners, shortening, yeast, and water, which are used in our bakery products, are subject to price fluctuations. The cost of these inputs may fluctuate widely due to foreign and domestic government policies and regulations, inflation, weather conditions, domestic and international demand, andavailability due to supply armed conflictchain conditions, or political instability, including any escalation of hostility arising out ofother unforeseen circumstances. The global economy has been negatively impacted by the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is fast-moving and uncertain. Global grain markets have exhibited increased volatility as sanctions have been imposed on Russia by the Ukraine, or other unforeseen circumstances.United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and others in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While we do not expect our operations to be directly impacted by the conflict at this time, changes in global grain and commodity flows could impact the markets in which we operate, which may in turn negatively impact our business, results of operations, supply chain and financial condition. Any substantial change in the prices or availability of raw materials may have an adverse impact on our profitability. We enter into forward purchase agreements and other derivative financial instruments from time to time to manage the impact of such volatility in raw materials prices; however, these strategies may not be adequate to overcome increases in market prices or availability. Our failure to enter into hedging or fixed price arrangements or any decrease in the availability or increase in the cost of these agreements and instruments could increase the price of these raw materials and significantly affect our earnings.

In addition, we are dependent upon natural gas or propane for firing ovens. The independent distributors and third-party transportation companies are dependent upon gasoline and diesel for their vehicles. The cost of fuelthese fuels may fluctuate widely due to economic and political conditions, government policy and regulation, war or other conflicts (including the current situation in Ukraine), or other unforeseen circumstances. Substantial future increases in prices for, or shortages of, these fuels could have a material adverse effect on our profitability, financial condition or results of operations. There can be no assurance that we can cover these potential cost increases through future pricing actions. Also, as a result of these pricing actions, consumers could purchase less or move from purchasing higher-margin products to lower-margin products.

Inflation may adversely affect us by increasing our costs of production, materials, and labor. In an inflationary environment, such as the current economic environment, depending on the market conditions of the baking industry and the expected raising of interest raterates by the United States Federal Reserve, we may be unable to raise the prices of our products enough to keep up with the rate of inflation, which would reduce our profit margins, and continued inflationary pressures could impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Competition could adversely impact revenues and profitability.

The U.S. bakery industry is highly competitive. Our principal competitors in these categories all have substantial financial, marketing, and other resources. In most product categories, we compete not only with other widely advertised branded products, but also with store branded products that are generally sold at lower prices. Competition is based on product availability, product quality, price, effective promotions, and the ability to target changing consumer preferences. Substantial growth in e-commerce has encouraged the entry of new competitors and business models, intensifying competition by simplifying distribution and lowering barriers to entry. The expanding presence of e-commerce retailers has impacted, and may continue to impact, consumer preferences and market dynamics, which in turn may negatively affect our sales or profits. We experience price pressure from time to time due to competitors’ promotional activity and other pricing efforts. This pricing pressure is particularly strong during adverse economic periods and periods of high inflation. Increased competition could result in reduced sales, margins, profits and market share.

Product removals, damaged product or safety concerns could adversely impact our results of operations.

We may be required to recall certain of our products should they be mislabeled, contaminated, spoiled, tampered with or damaged. We may become involved in lawsuits and legal proceedings alleging that the consumption of any of our products causes or caused injury, illness or death. Any such product removal, damaged product or an adverse result in any litigation related to such a product removal or damaged product could have a material adverse effect on our operating and financial results in future periods, depending on the costs of the product removal from the market, the destruction of product inventory, diversion of management time and attention, contractual and other claims made by customers that we supply, loss of key customers, competitive reaction and consumer attitudes. Even if a product liability, consumer fraud or other claim is unsuccessful or without merit, the negative publicity surrounding such assertions regarding our products could adversely affect our reputation and brand image. We also could be adversely affected if our customers or consumers in our principal markets lose confidence in the safety and quality of our products.

During fiscal years 2018 through 2021,2022, we have been required, and may be required in future periods, to remove certain of our products from the market should they be mislabeled, contaminated, spoiled, tampered with or damaged, including as a result of inferior ingredients provided by any of our suppliers.

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Consolidation in the retail and foodservice industries could adversely affect our sales and profitability.

We expect consolidations among our retail and foodservice customers to continue. If this trend continues and our retail and foodservice customers continue to grow larger due to consolidation in their respective industries, they may demand lower pricing and increased promotional programs. In addition, these pressures may restrict our ability to increase prices, including in response to commodity and other cost increases. Our margins and profits could decrease if a reduction in prices or increased costs are not counterbalanced with increased sales volume.

Inability to anticipate or respond to changes in consumer preferences may result in decreased demand for our products, which could have an adverse impact on our future growth and operating results.

Our success depends in part on our ability to respond to current market trends and to anticipate the tastes and dietary habits of consumers, including concerns of consumers regarding health and wellness, obesity, product attributes, ingredients, and packaging. Similarly, demand for our products could be negatively affected by consumer concerns or perceptions regarding the health effects of specific ingredients such as, but not limited to, sodium, trans fats, sugar, processed wheat, or other product ingredients or attributes. Introduction of new products and product extensions requires significant development and marketing investment. If we fail to anticipate, identify, or react to changes in consumer preferences, or if we fail to introduce new and improved products on a timely basis, we could experience reduced demand for our products, which could cause our sales, profitability, and our operating results to suffer.

We rely on several large customers for a significant portion of sales and the loss of one of our large customers or their decision to give higher priority to other brands could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

We have several large customers that account for a significant portion of sales, and the loss of one of our large customers could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Our top ten customers accounted for 54.5% of sales during Fiscal 2022. Our largest customer, Walmart/Sam’s Club, accounted for 21.7% during this period. These customers do not typically enter long-term sales contracts, and instead make purchase decisions based on a combination of price, product quality, consumer demand, and customer service performance. At any time, there is a risk that our customers will give higher priority to their own products or to the products of our competitors, resulting in less shelf space for our products. Additionally, our customers may face financial or other difficulties that may impact their operations and their purchases from us. Disputes with significant suppliers could also adversely affect our ability to supply products to our customers. If our sales to one or more of these customers are reduced, this reduction may adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our large customers may impose requirements on us that may adversely affect our results of operations.

From time to time, our large customers may re-evaluate or refine their business practices and impose new or revised requirements on us, the distributors, and the customers’ other suppliers. The growth of large mass merchandisers, supercenters and dollar stores, together with changes in consumer shopping patterns, have produced large, sophisticated customers with increased buying power and negotiating strength. Current trends among retailers and foodservice customers include fostering high levels of competition among suppliers, demanding new products or increased promotional programs, requiring suppliers to maintain or reduce product prices, reducing shelf space for our products, and requiring product delivery with shorter lead times. These business changes may involve inventory practices, logistics, or other aspects of the customer-supplier relationship. Compliance with requirements imposed by large customers may be costly and may have an adverse effect on our margins and profitability. However, if we fail to meet a large customer’s demands, we could lose that customer’s business, which also could adversely affect our sales and results of operations.

Legal and Regulatory Risks

Government regulation, including labeling or warning requirements, could adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

As a producer and marketer of food items, our production processes, product quality, packaging, labeling, storage, and distribution, and the safety of food products and the health and safety of our employees, are subject to regulation by various federal, state and local government entities and agencies. In addition, the marketing and labeling of food products has come under increased scrutiny in recent years, and the food industry has been subject to an increasing number of legal proceedings and claims relating to alleged false or deceptive marketing and labeling under federal, state or local laws or regulations. Uncertainty regarding labeling standards has led to customer confusions and legal challenges. The imposition or proposed imposition of additional product labeling or warning requirements could reduce overall consumption of our products, lead to negative publicity (whether based in scientific fact or not) or leave consumers with the perception (whether or not valid) that our products do not meet their health and wellness needs. Such factors could adversely affect our sales and results of operations.

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In addition, our operations are subject to extensive and increasingly stringent regulations administered by the Environmental Protection Agency related to the discharge of materials into the environment and the handling and disposition of wastes. Failure to comply with these regulations can have serious consequences, including civil and administrative penalties and negative publicity. Changes in applicable laws or regulations or evolving interpretations thereof, including increased government regulations to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions as a result of concern over climate change, may result in increased compliance costs, capital expenditures, and other financial obligations for us, which could affect our profitability or impede the production or distribution of our products, and affect our sales.

Compliance with federal, state and local laws and regulations is costly and time consuming. Failure to comply with, or violations of, applicable laws and the regulatory requirements of one or more of these entities and agencies could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions, any of which could result in

increased operating costs and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Legal proceedings or claims related to our marketing could damage our reputation and/or adversely affect our business or financial results.

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

There is growing concern that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere may have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather patterns, and the frequency and severity of extreme weather and natural disasters. In the event that such 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, such as corn and wheat. Adverse weather conditions and natural disasters can reduce crop size and crop quality, which in turn could reduce our supplies of raw materials, lower recoveries of usable raw materials, increase the prices of our raw materials, increase our cost of transporting and storing raw materials, or disrupt our production schedules.

We may also be subjected to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for water as a result of climate change, which could impact our production and distribution operations. In addition, natural disasters and extreme weather conditions may disrupt the productivity of our facilities or the operation of our supply chain. The increasing concern over climate change also may result in more regional, federal, 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 efficiency, we may experience significant increases in our costs of operation and delivery. In particular, increasing regulation of fuel emissions could substantially increase the distribution and supply chain costs associated with our products. As a result, climate change could negatively affect our business and operations.

We are subject to increasing legal complexity and could be party to litigation that may adversely affect our business.

Increasing legal complexity may continue to affect our operations and results in material ways. We are or could be subject to legal proceedings that may adversely affect our business, including class actions, administrative proceedings, government investigations, securities laws, employment and personal injury claims, disputes with current or former suppliers, claims by current or former distributors, and intellectual property claims (including claims that we infringed another party’s trademarks, copyrights, or patents). Inconsistent standards imposed by governmental authorities can adversely affect our business and increase our exposure to litigation. Litigation involving our independent distributor model and the independent contractor classification of the independent distributors, as well as litigation related to disclosure made by us in connection therewith, if determined adversely, could increase costs, negatively impact our business prospects and the business prospects of our distributors and subject us to incremental liability for their actions. We are also subject to the legal and compliance risks associated with privacy, data collection, protection and management, in particular as it relates to information we collect when we provide products to customers.

Executive Offices

The address and telephone number of our principal executive offices are 1919 Flowers Circle, Thomasville, Georgia 31757, (229) 226-9110.

Information about our Executive Officers

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the persons who currently serve as the executive officers of Flowers Foods.

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EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

None

Item 2. Properties

Our principal executive offices are company owned and located in Thomasville, Georgia. The company currently operates 46 bakeries, of which 44 are owned and two are leased. We believe our properties are in good condition, well maintained, and sufficient for our present operations. Our production plant locations are:

In Thomasville, Georgia, the companyalso leases properties that houseare used for shared services functions and our IT group and owns several properties for our corporate offices. The company also houseshas an additional shared services center in Phoenix, Arizona.

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We operate 46 bakeries across the continental U.S. Each of the listed bakeries is company owned except for Modesto, California and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We believe that our bakeries have adequate production utilization and can meet the current operational requirements for the operation of the business. Additionally, across the continental U.S. in the markets we serve, we own approximately 140 warehouse/distribution centers and lease approximately 480 warehouse/distribution centers.

The table below sets forth the production and sales operations in our bakeries:

We believe our facilities are well-maintained and adequate, that they are being appropriately utilized and that they have sufficient production utilization for their present intended purposes. Utilization is actual labor time as a percent of available hours of production in a week (based on 120 hours/week for three shifts). On a consolidated basis during Fiscal 2022, our average quarterly production utilization ranged from 92% to 97% across all bakeries. During heightened periods of demand, the company can improve utilization by streamlining production with longer production runs and fewer differentiated products produced. Production utilization is not materially different when a sales facility is also located at its Phoenix, Arizonathe bakery.

For a description of all material pending legal proceedings, See Note 22, Commitments and Contingencies, of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K.

Not Applicable

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PART II

Market Information

Shares of the company’s common stock are quoted on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the symbol “FLO.”

Holders

As of February 17, 2022,16, 2023, there were approximately 3,3073,281 holders of record of the company’s common stock.

Dividends

The payment of dividends is subject to the discretion of the company’s Board. The Board bases its decisions regarding dividends on, among other things, general business conditions, our financial results, contractual, legal and regulatory restrictions regarding dividend payments and any other factors the Board may consider relevant.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer

The company did not purchase any shares of its common stock during the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021.2022.

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Stock Performance Graph

The chart below is a comparison of the cumulative total return (assuming the reinvestment of all dividends paid) of our common stock, Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, Standard & Poor’s 500 Packaged Foods and Meats Index, and Standard & Poor’s MidCap 400 Index for the period December 31, 201630, 2017 through January 1,December 31, 2022 the last day of our 20212022 fiscal year.

Companies in the S&P 500 Index, the S&P 500 Packaged Foods and Meats Index, and the S&P MidCap 400 Index are weighted by market capitalization and indexed to $100 at December 31, 2016.30, 2017. Flowers Foods’ share price is also indexed to $100 at December 31, 2016.30, 2017.

Item 6. [Reserved]

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with Item 1., Business, and the Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K. The following information contains forward-looking statements which involve certain risks and uncertainties. See Forward-Looking Statements at the beginning of this Form 10-K.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (“MD&A”) is segregated into four sections, including:

MATTERS AFFECTING COMPARABILITY

DetailedThe company operates on a 52-53 week fiscal year ending the Saturday nearest December 31. Fiscal 2022 and Fiscal 2021 each consisted of 52 weeks and Fiscal 2023 will also consist of 52 weeks. Furthermore, comparative results from quarter to quarter are impacted by the company's fiscal reporting calendar. Internal financial results and key performance indicators are reported on a weekly basis to ensure the same number of Saturdays and Sundays in comparable months to allow for consistent four-week progression analysis. This results in our first quarter consisting of sixteen weeks while the remaining three quarters have twelve weeks (except in cases where there is an extra week every five or six years in the fourth quarter). Accordingly, interim results may not be indicative of subsequent interim period results, or comparable to prior or subsequent interim period results, due to differences in the lengths of the interim periods.

Additionally, detailed below are expense (recovery) items affecting comparability that will provide additional context while reading this discussion:

Business process improvement consulting costs related to the transformation strategy initiatives. In the second half of Fiscal 2020, we launched initiatives to transform how we operate our business, which includesincluding upgrading our information system to a more robust platform, as well as investments in e-commerce, autonomous planning, and our “bakery of the future” initiative. In the first quarter of Fiscal 2022, we launched the digital logistics and digital sales initiatives. These transformation strategy initiatives are further discussed in Item 1., Business, of this Form 10-K. In Fiscal 2022, we currently expect costs for the upgrade of our ERP system (a portion of which may be expensed as incurred, capitalized, recognized as a cloud computing arrangement, or recognized as a prepaid service contract) to be approximately $85 million to $95 million. Costs related to our digital strategy initiatives are anticipated in Fiscal 2022, but these amounts cannot currently be estimated. The expensed portion of the consultingconsulting costs related to both the ERP upgrade and digital strategy initiatives incurred in Fiscal 2022 and Fiscal 2021 was $33.2 million and $31.3 million, respectively, and is reflected in the selling, distribution, and administrative expenses line item of the Consolidated Statements of Income.Initial road mapping

Plant closure costs and impairment of assets. On July 19, 2022, the company announced the closure of the Holsum Bakery in Phoenix, Arizona. The bakery, which, produced bread and bun products, ceased production on October 31, 2022. This closure is part of our strategy to optimize our sales portfolio and improve supply chain and manufacturing efficiency. The company recognized severance costs of $1.7 million, multi-employer pension plan withdrawal costs of $1.3 million, and asset impairment and equipment

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relocation charges for these initiatives were incurred in Fiscal 2020 and are includedbakery equipment of $3.8 million in the “ERP Road Mapping consulting costs”third quarter of Fiscal 2022. The severance payments were substantially complete as of December 31, 2022. As a result of the manufacturing line closures, the union participants of the IAM National Pension Fund (the "IAM Fund") at the Phoenix, Arizona bakery will withdraw from the IAM Fund. While this is our best estimate of the ultimate cost of the withdrawal from this plan, additional withdrawal liability may be incurred based on the final IAM Fund assessment or in the table above.  event of a mass withdrawal, as defined by statute, occurring anytime within the next three years.

Project Centennial consulting costs.During the first quarter of Fiscal 2022, the company decided to sell two of the twenty-seven warehouses acquired at the end of Fiscal 2021, as further discussed below, and recorded an impairment charge of $1.0 million. The company completed the sale of the impaired warehouse at the end of the first quarter of Fiscal 2022.

 During

Gain on sale, severance costs, and lease termination (gain) loss. In the second quarter of Fiscal 2016, we launched Project Centennial, an enterprise-wide business2022, the company committed to a plan to outsource its aviation services and operational review.  Key initiatives ofrecorded severance and lease termination charges totaling $1.7 million. In the project were to enhance revenue growth, improve efficiencies, streamline operations, and make investments to strengthen our competitive position and improve margins over the long-term.   The project was completed at the endfourth quarter of Fiscal 2020.  Consulting costs associated with2022, the project in Fiscal 2020 were $15.5 millioncompany completed the lease buyouts and primarily related to further refining our organizational structure, portfoliosubsequent sale of two aircrafts and supply chain optimization initiatives, and improving our cake

operations.recorded gains on these sales totaling $6.1 million. These consulting costsamounts are reflected in the selling, distribution, and administrative expenses line item of the Consolidated Statements of Income.

ConsultingLease termination costs for planning the upgrade of our ERP platform and the broader digital strategy initiative.  As discussed above and in Item 1., Business, of this Form 10-K, we began planning for the upgrade of our ERP platform and other system related enhancements (the “ERP road mapping”) during the third quarter of Fiscal 2020.  We incurred consulting costs associated with these activities of $4.4 million and these costs are reflected in the selling, distribution and administrative expenses line item of the Consolidated Statements of Income. We completed the initial road mapping activities in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2020 and transitioned to the design phase of the project.  

Restructuring and related impairment charges associated with Project Centennial.  The following table details charges recorded in Fiscal 2020 (amounts in thousands):

In Fiscal 2020, the company reevaluated its organizational structure in an effort to increase its focus on brand growth and product innovation and to improve underperforming bakeries.  The organizational structure changes resulted in employee termination benefits charges in Fiscal 2020 related to a voluntary employee separation plan (the “VSIP”) of $2.6 million and an involuntary reduction-in-force plan of $5.3 million. The VSIP and reduction-in-force plans together eliminated approximately 250 positions across different departments and job levels and all remaining payments related to the plans were paid in early Fiscal 2021.  

During Fiscal 2020, the company sold three closed bakeries that were included in assets held for sale and certain idle equipment at other bakeries, resulting in the recognition of $5.7 million of impairment charges.  Additionally, the company recognized property, plant, and equipment impairment charges of $0.6 million for manufacturing line and distribution depot closures and an office building the company decided to sell, and $0.7 million for spare parts related to equipment the company no longer intended to use.    

In order to optimize our distribution network, we vacated certain distribution depots during the third quarter of Fiscal 2020, some of which are owned and others that are leased.  These actions resulted in the recognition of lease termination charges and lease impairment charges totaling $13.5 million.    

Additionally, in order to optimize sales and production of our organic products, the company decided to cease using the Alpine Valley brand, a finite-lived trademark, resulting in a $4.6 million impairment charge in the second quarter of Fiscal 2020.  The company decided to cease using one of its regional brands2022 and recognized a $1.3 million impairment chargethe severance payments were completed in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2020.  Ingredient and packaging impairments of $1.2 million were also recognized as a result of brand rationalization initiatives.         

Loss on inferior ingredients. In the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021, the company issued a voluntary recall on certain Tastykake multi-pack cupcakes sold in eight states and certain Tastykake Krimpets distributed to retail customers throughout the U.S. due to the potential presence of tiny fragments of metal mesh wire.  The recall was initiated following notification by a vendor of the possible contamination in a supplied ingredient.  The company incurred costs of $1.8 million related to the recall in Fiscal 2021 and these costs are recorded in our Consolidated Statements of Income.  The company is seeking recovery of these losses.

In Fiscal 2020, we incurred costs of $1.0 million related to receiving inferior ingredients used in the production of certain of our gluten-free products.  In the first quarter of Fiscal 2021, we incurred an additional $0.1 million of costs related to the inferior gluten-free ingredients and in the third quarter of Fiscal 2021, we received reimbursements of approximately $1.0 million for these previously incurred costs.  These costs and reimbursements are recorded in the loss on inferior ingredients line item of the Consolidated Statements of Income.

In Fiscal 2020, in addition to the costs related to inferior gluten-free ingredients, we recognized an adjustment of $0.2 million related to previously recorded inferior yeast costs and received a $1.2 million reimbursement for the direct costs associated with receiving inferior yeast in a prior year. These direct costs and reimbursements of direct costs are included in our Consolidated Income Statements.  We also received a reimbursement of $3.9 million for indirect losses associated with receiving inferior yeast in a prior

year and this amount is included in the selling, distribution, and administrative expenses line item of the Consolidated Statements of Income.January 2023.

Non-restructuring lease termination gain.In Fiscal 2021, the company purchased twenty-seven warehouses that were included in the company’s operating leased assets. Two of the purchased properties were fully impaired in Fiscal 2020, resulting in the recognition of a $2.6 million gain upon completion of the purchase of these assets and this amount is included in the selling, distribution, and administrative expenses line item of the Consolidated Statements of Income.

Food allergen compliance costs and loss on inferior ingredients.In the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2020, due to a change in2022, the contractual terms with a transportation entity that transports a significant portioncompany recognized $2.0 million of our fresh bakery products to allow for substitution of assets, among other changes to the terms, a reassessment of the embedded lease accounting treatment was triggered.  Based our analysis, we determined the contractscompliance costs associated with the transportation entity no longer qualify for embedded lease treatmentFood, Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act (the FASTER Act) signed into law on April 23, 2021 and effective on January 1, 2023. The FASTER Act declared sesame as the ninth major food allergen recognized by the U.S. and requires, among other things, all food products containing sesame (or products produced on the same equipment as products containing sesame) to list it in unwinding these leases,the ingredients statement or in a separate allergen statement on the packaging. The costs were mostly attributable to write-offs of obsolete packaging and are recorded in our Consolidated Statements of Income.

In the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021, the company recognizedissued a noncash gainvoluntary recall on certain Tastykake multi-pack cupcakes sold in eight states and certain Tastykake Krimpets distributed to retail customers throughout the U.S. due to the potential presence of $4.1tiny fragments of metal mesh wire. The recall was initiated following notification by a vendor of the possible contamination in a supplied ingredient. The company incurred costs of $1.8 million related to the recall in Fiscal 2021 and received a full reimbursement for the loss in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2022.

In the first quarter of Fiscal 2021, we incurred an additional $0.1 million of costs related to receiving inferior ingredients used in the production of certain of our gluten-free products in the previous year. In the third quarter of Fiscal 2021, we received reimbursements of approximately $1.0 million for these previously incurred costs. These costs and related reimbursements are recorded in our Consolidated Statements of Income.

Acquisition-related costs. On December 13, 2022, the company announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Papa Pita, a manufacturer and distributor of bagels, tortillas, breads, buns, English muffins, and flat breads. Founded in 1983, Papa Pita operates one facility in West Jordan, Utah. Its primary brands include Papa Pita, Great Grains, Bubba's Bagels, and Maya's Tortillas. Additionally, Papa Pita has a significant co-manufacturing business as well as direct-store-distribution in the western U.S. The acquisition closed on February 17, 2023 and the company funded the transaction with cash on-hand and from existing credit facilities. The company incurred $0.9 million of acquisition-related costs associated with the acquisition in Fiscal 2022 and anticipates additional costs to be incurred in the first quarter of Fiscal 2023.

In the third quarter of Fiscal 2022, we incurred $11.6 million in costs from the pursuit of an acquisition that failed to materialize. In addition to customary acquisition costs, we incurred $8.4 million related to realized foreign currency exchange losses. Although the majority of the target company's sales were made in the U.S., the target company's foreign domicile required us to convert funds from U.S. dollars to complete the transaction. Following that conversion, a significant strengthening of the U.S. dollar relative to the target company's currency resulted in the foreign currency exchange loss upon conversion back into U.S. dollars following the failure of the deal.

Acquisition-related costs are recorded in the selling, distribution, and administrative expenses line item of the Consolidated Statements of Income.

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Pension plan settlement and curtailment loss. In the company-sponsored defined benefit pension plan for union employees (“Plan No. 2”), retired and terminated vested pension plan participants not yet receiving their benefit payments have the option to elect to receive their benefit as a single lump sum payment. In the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021, a settlement charge of $0.4 million was triggered as a result of lump sum distributions paid in Fiscal 2021.

On September 28, 2018, the Board approved a resolution to terminate the Flowers Foods, Inc. Retirement Plan No. 1 (“Plan No. 1”), effective December 31, 2018.  In the first quarter of Fiscal 2020, the company distributed a portion of the pension plan assets to participants as lump sum payments and transferred the remaining obligations and assets to an insurance company in the form of a nonparticipating group annuity contract.  No cash contributions were required in Fiscal 2020 to support this transaction.  In Fiscal 2020, the company recognized $108.8 million of non-cash pension termination charges, comprised of a settlement charge of $104.5 million and a curtailment loss of $4.3 million, and an additional $0.1 million of cash charges for other pension termination charges in our Consolidated Statements of Income.

Acquisition consideration adjustment. In connection with an acquisition completed in Fiscal 2012, the company agreed to make the selling shareholders whole for certain taxes incurred by the stakeholders on the sale. ThereIn Fiscal 2021, there was recently a tax determination that the selling shareholders owed additional taxes.  Unless there is a successful appeal which overturns the determination, the company estimates that it will owe the shareholderstaxes of approximately $3.4 million and the Company has recorded this cost in the selling, distribution, and administrative expenses line item of the Consolidated Statements of Income in Fiscal 2021. During Fiscal 2022, the company reached a settlement and made a partial payment and anticipates making the final payment in Fiscal 2023.

Legal settlements and related costs. During the second and third quarters of Fiscal 2022, we reached agreements to settle certain distributor-related litigation in the aggregate amount of $7.5 million, inclusive of attorney fees. The settlement accrued for in the second quarter of Fiscal 2022 was paid in the third quarter of Fiscal 2022.

In Fiscal 2021, we reached an agreement to settle certain distributor-related litigation for a settlement payment, inclusive of plaintiffs’ attorney fees, of $16.5 million. The payment was made in the second quarter of Fiscal 2022. The settlement also requiresrequired a phased repurchase of approximately 75 distribution rights, andwhich the company estimates thisestimated would cost to be approximately $6.6 million. The termscompany commenced repurchasing the distribution rights during the second quarter of Fiscal 2022 and these repurchases were complete by the settlement require court approval.  In Fiscal 2020, we reached agreements to settle distributor-related litigation in the aggregate amountend of $7.3 million, including plaintiffs’ attorney fees and the company’s FICA obligations.  January 2023.

All amounts related to legal settlements and related costs are recorded in the selling, distribution, and administrative expenses line item of the Consolidated Statements of Income. At January 1,December 31, 2022, $23.1$5.9 million of settlements were accrued (inclusive of obligations for repurchase of distribution rights).

Loss on extinguishment of debt. On April 8, 2021, we completed the early redemption of the Company’s $400.0 million of 4.375% senior notes due 2022 (the “2022 notes”) with proceeds received from the issuance of the Company’s $500.0 million of 2.400% senior notes due 2031 (the “2031 notes”) on March 9, 2021. We recognized a loss on extinguishment of debt of $16.1 million comprised of a make-whole cash payment of $15.4 million and the write-off of unamortized debt discount and debt issuance costs totaling $0.7 million.

Multi-employer pension plan withdrawal costs. On September 22, 2021, the union participants of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Fund (the “Fund”) at our Birmingham, Alabama plant voted to withdraw from the Fund in the most recent collective bargaining agreement. The withdrawal was effective, and the union participants became eligible to participate in the Flowers Foods, Inc. 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan, on December 1, 2021.  This2021, which resulted in the recognition of a pension plan withdrawal liability of $3.3 million (including transition payments) in our Consolidated Statements of Income. The transition payments were paid in December 2021 and the withdrawal liability is anticipated to bewas paid in the first half of FiscalApril 2022.  While this is our best estimate of the ultimate cost of the withdrawal from this Fund, additional withdrawal liability may be incurred based on the final Fund assessment or in the event of a mass withdrawal as defined by statute, occurring any time within the next three years following our complete withdrawal.

Additional Items Impacting Comparability

Reporting Periods.    The company operates on a 52-53 week fiscal year ending the Saturday nearest December 31. Fiscal 2021 consisted of 52 weeks and Fiscal 2020 consisted of 53 weeks.  Fiscal 2022 will consist of 52 weeks.  EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

COVID-19.  On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures worldwide, which led to adverse impacts on the U.S. and global economies. Due to the drastic change in consumer buying patterns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced a favorable shift in sales mix to our branded retail products as consumers increased at-home consumption of food products resulting in significant growth in income from operations in Fiscal 2021 and 2020 as compared to Fiscal 2019.  As shutdowns and capacity restrictions imposed at the onset of the pandemic have eased, our sales volumes have declined in Fiscal 2021 as compared to the prior year, which included the peak period of demand for our branded retail products and an additional week.  Improved price/mix in Fiscal 2021 resulting from favorable pricing we have implemented and the continued favorable shift in mix from store branded retail to branded retail sales partially offset the volume declines.  For additional details on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to our business operations and results of operations, see the “Executive Overview – Impact of COVID-19 on Our Business,” “Results of Operations” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” sections below.

Conversion of our Lynchburg, Virginia bakery to organic production. During Fiscal 2020, we converted our Lynchburg, Virginia bakery to an all-organic production facility.  The converted facility has increased production capacity for our DKB products, allowing the company to better serve east coast markets with fresher product and reduce distribution costs.  We incurred start-up costs related to the conversion of approximately $5.1 million in Fiscal 2020 and these costs are included in materials, supplies, labor and other production costs in our Consolidated Statements of Income.  The bakery resumed production at the end of the third quarter of Fiscal 2020.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

We are the second-largest producer and marketer of packaged bakery foods in the U.S. with Fiscal 20212022 sales of $4.3$4.8 billion. We operate in the highly competitive fresh bakery market. Our product offerings include a wide range of fresh breads, buns, rolls, snack cakesitems and tortillas, as well as frozen breads and rolls, which we produce at 46 plants in 1819 states. Our products are sold under leading brands such as Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Canyon Bakehouse, Tastykake, Mrs. Freshley’s, and Wonder.  See Item 1., Business, of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding our customers and brands, business strategies, strengths and core competencies, and competition and risks.

Impact of the Inflationary Economic Environment, Other Macroeconomic Factors, and COVID-19 on Our Business:

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted our business operations and results of operations during Fiscal 2021 and 2020, as further described under “Results of Operations” and “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below.  The resulting dramatic changes in consumer buying patterns has led to a significant rise in demand for our branded retail products due to increases in at-home dining.  Sales through our non-retail category, which includes foodservice, restaurant, institutional, vending, thrift stores, and contract manufacturing, declined substantially at the onset of the pandemic in March of Fiscal 2020, but as the pandemic has progressed and mandatory shutdowns and restaurant closures across the U.S. have eased, our non-retail sales have been recovering. Fiscal 2021 sales declined 1.3% mostly due to the additional week in the prior year which negatively impacted Fiscal 2021 sales 1.7%.  Although the prior year benefitted from the significant rise in demand for our branded retail products at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as positive shifts in mix throughout the year and the additional week, Fiscal 2021 benefitted from favorable pricing, a continued positive shift in mix from store branded retail to branded retail products, and a partial recovery in non-retail sales. Fiscal 2021 sales remained elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels as we continued to benefit from the positive mix shift to branded retail products during the ongoing pandemic and favorable pricing, partially offset by volume declines.  

In recognition and support of our frontline workers, in Fiscal 2021 and 2020, we paid $5.2 million and $12.3 million, respectively, in appreciation bonuses to eligible hourly and non-exempt employees, leased labor, and contract workers.  These appreciation bonuses are in addition to the company’s annual performance-based cash incentive plan, in which all Flowers employees participate. Although our branded retail sales volumes have moderated as the pandemic has continued, we cannot currently estimate when or if they will return to pre-pandemic levels.

On April 14, 2020, we temporarily ceased production at our Tucker, Georgia bakery and on July 9, 2020, we temporarily ceased production at our Savannah, Georgia bakery.  Both closures were due to an increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases at these bakeries and the related increase in number of workers self-quarantining.  Production resumed at the Tucker bakery on April 27, 2020 and at the Savannah Bakery on July 17, 2020.  Although our other bakeries were able to assist with meeting production needs in these instances, the potential closure of several of our bakeries across the country at the same time – or in close succession – could negatively affect our ability to meet our production requirements, even if the interruption is temporary.  While we have had no

Businesstemporary production interruptions in Fiscal 2021 due to COVID-19, such interruptions are possible due to the uncertainty of the pandemic.  Additionally, unforeseen disruptions in other areas of our operations, including but not limited to procurement of raw materials, transport of our products, or recovery by our foodservice customers, could negatively impact our operations, results of operations, cash flows, and liquidity.

We believe we have sufficient liquidity to satisfy our cash needs and we continue to take steps to preserve adequate liquidity during the ongoing pandemic as further discussed in the “Liquidity and Capital Resources” section below.  As discussed further in Item 1., Business, of this Form 10-K, we are continuing to move forward with the upgrade of our ERP system and other transformation strategy initiatives and do not anticipate the pandemic to materially alter the timing of these initiatives.

We continue to monitor the impact of the ongoinginflationary economic environment, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the COVID-19 pandemic on our business operations, results as further discussed in Item 1., Business, of operations, and liquidity. Our operations may continue to experience disruption due to the continued uncertainty caused by the pandemic, including but not limited to additional variants of the COVID-19 virus, new geographic hotspots, changes in the number of COVID-19 cases, the rate of vaccination within the U.S. population and the efficacy of the vaccines, changes in the global and U.S. economic environment, and changes in pandemic safety policies.  Additionally, if there is a significant shift in mix from branded retail to store branded retail products, we expect that our results of operations, including our net sales, earnings, and cash flows, could be negatively impacted.  this Form 10-K.

Our main focus throughout the pandemic has been and continues to be the health and safety of our team members and independent distributor partners. From the start of the pandemic, we have followed the guidance of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), taking a number of recommended steps to safeguard those in our facilities. These steps included, but are not limited to, monitoring the symptoms of everyone entering our facilities, requiring face coverings, maintaining (where possible) social distancing of six feet, conducting enhanced cleaning and sanitizing of common areas and frequently touched surfaces, performing decontamination of work areas and equipment when there is a confirmed or presumptive case of COVID-19 at a facility, and contact tracing. Company-wide bans on non-essential travel and non-essential visitors at all locations were put into place, corporate offices were closed, and office staff were directed to work remotely. In addition, the company issued regular communications about COVID-19 prevention steps. When COVID-19 vaccinations became available, we shared educational information with our team members and encouraged vaccination for those eligible.  27

We have followed the guidance issued by the CDC and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and modified our face mask and wellness screening policies to align with local, state, and workplace safety regulations. We remain vigilant in reporting COVID-19 cases in our facilities and continue to evaluate our pandemic safety measures as the pandemic evolves. The majority of employees in non-production roles continue to work remotely. We intend to implement a work policy in 2022 addressing guidelines for three distinct work personas: full-time remote, full-time in office, or flex, a combination of the two. These plans may be impacted by, among other things, consideration of pandemic safety measures, the rate of vaccinations and the efficacy of the vaccines, the threat of additional COVID-19 variants, and the ability of office staff to work effectively from remote locations. Although the impact of these measures, or any other measures adopted by governmental authorities, on our business and workforce is uncertain, these requirements may result in increased costs and could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

During Fiscal 2021, we experienced labor shortages at some of our bakeries. A number of factors may continue to adversely affect the labor force available to us, including high employment and government regulations. In addition, there also are factors that may negatively affect our ability to efficiently operate our production lines or run at full capacity. These might include, but are not limited to, a labor shortage or increased turnover rates within our workforce that could lead to increased labor costs, including additional overtime to meet demand and higher wage rates to attract and retain workers. An overall labor shortage, lack of skilled labor, increased turnover or labor inflation could have a material adverse impact on the company’s operations, results of operations, liquidity, or cash flows.

Summary of Operating Results, Cash Flows and Financial Condition:

Sales decreased 1.3%Our results in Fiscal 20212022 continued to benefit from a more optimized sales mix of branded retail products as compared to pre-pandemic periods. Remote and hybrid-work arrangements spurred by the pandemic endured in Fiscal 2022 which resulted in greater at-home food consumption than in pre-pandemic periods. We experienced significant input cost inflation for commodities and transportation, and, to a lesser extent, for labor in Fiscal 2022 which partially offset this benefit. We expect these inflationary pressures to continue in Fiscal 2023. To mitigate the ongoing cost pressures, we implemented price increases in Fiscal 2022 and in early Fiscal 2023.

Sales increased 11.0% in Fiscal 2022 compared to Fiscal 2020 mostly2021 primarily due to inflation-driven pricing actions that contributed to positive price/mix of 15.4%. This increase was partially offset by volume declines of 4.4%. Targeted sales rationalization and production constraints from supply chain disruptions contributed to the additional week in the prior year.  Although the prior year benefitted from the significant rise in demand for our branded retail products at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic lower volumes. Our leading brands, Nature's Own, DKB, and the additional week, Fiscal 2021 benefittedCanyon Bakehouse, continued to perform well as these brands all experienced double-digit sales growth from positive pricing and a continued positive shift in mix from store branded retail to branded retail products and a partial recovery in non-retail sales.  price/mix.

Income from operations for Fiscal 20212022 was $294.9$303.2 million, an increase of 2.8% as compared to $321.5 million in the prior year. The decreaseincrease resulted from sales declines, inputincreases from positive pricing actions, lower workforce-related incentive compensation expense year over year, and decreased legal settlement charges. These items were mostly offset by significant cost inflation higher consultingfor input and transportation costs, lower production volumes year over year, and legal settlements,the acquisition and greater investments in marketingplant closure costs incurred in the current year, partially offset by prior year restructuring and related impairment charges, and higher short-term incentive compensation paid for appreciation bonuses and workforce-related performance-based cash incentive plans in the prior year.

Net income was $206.2$228.4 million for Fiscal 2021,2022, an increase of 35.4%10.8% as compared to the prior year. The improvement in the current year resulted primarily from the $108.8 million non-cash pension plan settlement and curtailment loss ($81.6 million net of tax) in the prior year in connection with the termination of Plan No. 1, partially offset by the $16.1 million loss on extinguishment of debt ($12.1 million net of tax) recognized in the currentprior year and decreasedincreased income from operations year over year.

In Fiscal 2022, we generated net cash flows from operations of $360.9 million and invested $169.1 million in capital expenditures (inclusive of $61.3 million for the ongoing ERP upgrade) and $9.0 million in a cost-method investment as further discussed below. Additionally, we made stock repurchases of $34.6 million and paid $186.5 million in dividends to our shareholders. Our cash and cash equivalents balance as of December 31, 2022 was $165.1 million. In Fiscal 2022, we amended our accounts receivable securitization facility (the “AR facility”) to, among other things, extend the maturity date to September 27, 2024. At December 31, 2022, all of our outstanding debt obligations were fixed rate debt. Additionally, on May 26, 2022, the Board of Directors increased the company's share repurchase authorization by 20.0 million shares.

In Fiscal 2021, we generated net cash flows from operations of $344.6 million, invested $136.0 million in capital expenditures and purchased a portfolio of leased warehouses for $64.7 million. Additionally, we reduced our total indebtedness by $81.9 million and paid $175.9 million in dividends to our shareholders and decreased our total indebtedness by $81.9 million.in Fiscal 2021. On March 9, 2021, we issued the 2031 notes and used the net proceeds from the offering to complete the early redemption of our outstanding 2022 notes and for other debt repayments. Throughout Fiscal 2021, we continued to maintain higher levels of cash on hand compared to pre-pandemic levels in order to ensure future liquidity, although we do not have any presently anticipated need for this additional liquidity. Our cashCash and cash equivalents balance as ofat January 1, 2022 was $185.9 million.  In Fiscal 2021, we amended senior unsecured revolving credit facility (the “credit facility”) and our accounts receivable securitization facility (the “AR facility”) to, among other things, extend the maturity dates to July 30, 2026 and September 27, 2023, respectively.

In Fiscal 2020, we generated net cash flows from operations of $454.5 million and invested $97.9 million in capital expenditures.  We increased our total indebtedness by $92.5 million and paid $167.3 million in dividends to our shareholders in Fiscal 2020.  During the firstsecond quarter of Fiscal 2020,2022, we borrowed an additional amount underinvested $9.0 million in Base Culture, a Clearwater, Florida-based company with one manufacturing facility. Base Culture's product offerings include better-for-you, gluten-free, and grain-free sliced breads and baked goods and are all-natural, 100% Paleo-certified, kosher-certified, dairy-free, soy-free, and non-GMO verified.

On February 17, 2023, subsequent to the end of Fiscal 2022, the company completed the acquisition of Papa Pita and funded the purchase with cash on-hand and a drawdown on our credit facility. The credit facility in orderis variable rate debt and exposes the company to ensure future liquidity in response to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic and cash and cash equivalents at January 2, 2021 were $307.5 million.greater interest rate risk.

Critical Accounting Estimates

The company’s discussion and analysis of its results of operations and financial condition are based upon the Consolidated Financial Statements of the company, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. (“GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires the company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of the revenues, expenses, and cash flows during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, the company evaluates its estimates, including those related to customer programs and incentives, bad debts, raw materials, inventories, long-lived assets, leased assets, intangible assets, income taxes, restructuring, pensions and other post-retirement benefits, and contingencies and litigation. The company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

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The selection and disclosure of the company’s critical accounting estimates have been discussed with the company’s audit committee. Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K includes a summary of the significant accounting policies and methods used in the preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements. The following table lists, in no particular order of importance, areas of critical assumptions and estimates used in the preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements. Additional detail can be found in the following notes:

Revenue Recognition. Revenue is recognized when obligations under the terms of a contract with our customers are satisfied. Revenue is measured as the amount of consideration we expect to receive in exchange for transferring goods or providing services. The company records both direct and estimated reductions to gross revenue for customer programs and incentive offerings at the time the incentive is offered or at the time of revenue recognition for the underlying transaction that results in progress by the customer towards earning the incentive. These allowances include price promotion discounts, coupons, customer rebates, cooperative advertising, and product returns. Consideration payable to a customer is recognized at the time control transfers and is a reduction to revenue. The recognition of costs for promotion programs involves the use of judgment related to performance and redemption

estimates. Estimates are made based on historical experience and other factors. Price promotion discount expense is recorded as a reduction to gross sales when the discounted product is sold to the customer.

Derivative Financial Instruments. The company’s cost of primary raw materials is highly correlated to certain commodities markets. Raw materials, such as our baking ingredients, experience price fluctuations. If actual market conditions become significantly different than those anticipated, raw material prices could increase significantly, adversely affecting our results of operations. We enter into forward purchase agreements and other derivative financial instruments qualifying for hedge accounting to manage the impact of volatility in raw material prices. The company measures the fair value of its derivative portfolio using fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal market for that asset or liability. When quoted market prices for identical assets or liabilities are not available, the company bases fair value on internally developed models that use current market observable inputs, such as exchange-quoted futures prices and yield curves. Refer to Item 7A., Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk, of this Form 10-K for additional information about our derivative financial instruments, including a sensitivity analysis of the company’s potential exposure to commodity price risk.

Valuation of Long-Lived Assets, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. The company records an impairment charge to property, plant and equipment, goodwill and intangible assets in accordance with applicable accounting standards when, based on certain indicators of impairment, it believes such assets have experienced a decline in value that is other than temporary. Future adverse changes in market conditions or poor operating results of these underlying assets could result in losses or an inability to recover the carrying value of the asset that may not be reflected in the asset’s current carrying value, thereby possibly requiring impairment charges in the future. Impairment charges recorded in Fiscal 20202022 are discussed above in the “Matters Affecting Comparability” section.

Flowers has concluded it has one operating segment based on the nature of products that Flowers sells, an intertwined production and distribution model, the internal management structure and information that is regularly reviewed by the CEO, who is the chief operating decision maker, for the purpose of assessing performance and allocating resources. The company also determined we have one reporting unit.

The company evaluates the recoverability of the carrying value of its goodwill on an annual basis or at a time when events occur that indicate the carrying value of the goodwill may be impaired. We have elected not to perform the qualitative approach, but instead perform a quantitative analysis by comparing the fair value of the reporting unit with which the goodwill is associated to the carrying amount of the reporting unit. If the fair value is less than the carrying value, the goodwill is written down to the extent the carrying amount exceeds the fair value.

Our annual evaluation of goodwill impairment requires management judgment and the use of estimates and assumptions to determine the fair value of our reporting unit. Fair value is estimated using standard valuation methodologies incorporating market participant considerations and management’s assumptions on revenue, revenue growth rates, operating margins, discount rates, and EBITDA (defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). Our estimates can significantly affect the outcome of the test. We perform the fair value assessment using the income and market approach. Changes in our forecasted operating results and other assumptions could materially affect these estimates. This test is performed in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year unless

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circumstances require this analysis to be completed sooner. The income approach is tested using a sensitivity analysis to changes in the discount rate and yield a sufficient buffer to significant variances in our estimates. The estimated fair value of our reporting unit exceeded its carrying value in excess of $4.0$4.6 billion in Fiscal 2021.2022. A 1% decrease in the discount rate would increase the fair value of the reporting unit by $1.1 billion and a 1% increase in the discount rate would decrease the fair value by $0.8$0.9 billion. Based on management’s evaluation, no impairment charges relating to goodwill were recorded for Fiscal 20212022 or 2020.2021.

In connection with acquisitions, the company has acquired trademarks, customer lists, and non-compete agreements, a portion of which are amortizable. The company evaluates these assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. The undiscounted future cash flows of each intangible asset are compared to the carrying amount, and if less than the carrying value, the intangible asset is written down to the extent the carrying amount exceeds the fair value. The fair value is computed using the same approach described above for goodwill and includes the same risks and estimates. The fair value of the trademarks could be less than our carrying value if any of our four material assumptions in our fair value analysis: (a) weighted average cost of capital; (b) long-term sales growth rates; (c) forecasted operating margins; and (d) market multiples do not meet our expectations, thereby requiring us to record an asset impairment. We use the multi-period excess earnings and relief from royalty methods to value these intangibles. The method used for impairment testing purposes is consistent with the valuation method employed at acquisition of the intangible asset. No impairment charges related to amortizing intangible assets were recorded in Fiscal 2022 or 2021.  Impairment charges recorded in Fiscal 2020 related to amortizable intangible assets totaled $5.9 million and are discussed above in the “Matters Affecting Comparability” section.  

As of January 1,December 31, 2022, the company also owns a trademarktrademarks acquired through an acquisitionacquisitions with a total carrying value of $127.1 million that is anare indefinite-lived intangible assetassets not subject to amortization. The company evaluates the recoverability of intangible assets not subject to amortization by comparing the fair value to the carrying value on an annual basis or at a time when events occur that indicate the carrying value may be impaired. In addition, the assets are evaluated to determine whether events and circumstances continue to support an indefinite life. The fair value is compared to the carrying value of the intangible asset, and if less than the carrying value, the intangible asset is written down to fair value. There are certain inherent risks included in our expectations about the

performance of acquired trademarks and brands. If we are unable to implement our growth strategies for these acquired intangible assets as expected, it could adversely impact the carrying value of the brands. The fair value of the trademarks could be less than our carrying value if any of our four material assumptions in our fair value analysis: (a) weighted average cost of capital; (b) long-term sales growth rates; (c) forecasted operating margins; and (d) market multiples do not meet our expectations, thereby requiring us to record an asset impairment.

Leases. The company’s leases consist of the following types of assets: two bakeries, corporate office space, warehouses, bakery equipment, transportation, and IT equipment. The company uses the applicable incremental borrowing rate at lease commencement to perform the lease classification tests on lease components and to measure the lease liabilities and right-of-use assets in situations when discount rates implicit in leases cannot be readily determined.

Self-Insurance Reserves. We are self-insured for various levels of general liability, auto liability, workers’ compensation, and employee medical and dental coverage. Insurance reserves are calculated on a combination of an undiscounted basis based on actual claims data and estimates of incurred but not reported claims developed utilizing historical claims trends. Projected settlements of incurred but not reported claims are estimated based on pending claims, historical trends, industry trends related to expected losses and actual reported losses, and key assumptions, including loss development factors and expected loss rates. Though the company does not expect them to do so, actual settlements and claims could differ materially from those estimated. Material differences in actual settlements and claims could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

A sensitivity analysis has been prepared to quantify the impact of changes in claim severity and frequency on the estimated unpaid losses on the company’s workers’ compensation liabilities. We estimate a 1% change in the claim severity and frequency would result in immaterial changes in the workers’ compensation liability.

Income Tax Expense and Accruals. The annual tax rate is based on our income, statutory tax rates, and tax planning opportunities available to us in the various jurisdictions in which we operate. Changes in statutory rates and tax laws in jurisdictions in which we operate may have a material effect on the annual tax rate. The effect of these changes, if any, would be recognized as a discrete item upon enactment.

Deferred income taxes arise from temporary differences between the tax and financial statement recognition of revenues and expenses. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured based on the enacted tax rates that will apply in the years in which the temporary differences are expected to be recovered or paid.

Our income tax expense, deferred tax assets and liabilities, and reserve for uncertain tax benefits reflect our best assessment of future taxes to be paid in the jurisdictions in which we operate. The company records a valuation allowance to reduce its deferred tax assets if we believe it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred assets will not be realized. While the company considers future taxable income and ongoing prudent and feasible tax strategies in assessing the need for a valuation allowance, if these estimates and assumptions change in the future, the company may be required to adjust its valuation allowance, which could result in a charge to, or an increase in, income in the period such determination is made.

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Periodically, we face audits from federal and state tax authorities, which can result in challenges regarding the timing and amount of income or deductions. We provide reserves for potential exposures when we consider it more likely than not that a taxing authority may take a sustainable position on a matter contrary to our position. We evaluate these reserves on a quarterly basis to ensure that they have been appropriately adjusted for events, including audit settlements that may impact the ultimate payment of such potential exposures. While the ultimate outcome of audits cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not currently believe that current or future audits will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations. The company is no longer subject to federal examination for years prior to Fiscal 2018.  2019, and with limited exceptions, for years prior to 2018 in state jurisdictions.

Postretirement Plans. The company records pension costs and benefit obligations related to its defined benefit plans based on actuarial valuations. These valuations reflect key assumptions determined by management, including the discount rate, expected long-term rate of return on plan assets and mortality. Material changes in pension costs and in benefit obligations may occur in the future due to experience that is different than assumed and changes in these assumptions. A sensitivity analysis of pension costs has been prepared to quantify the impact of changes in the discount rate. We estimate a 0.25% change in the discount rate would result in approximately $0.1 million change in pension costs on a pre-tax basis.

The company sponsors a defined benefit pension plan for union employees, Plan No. 2, and a frozen nonqualified plan covering former Tasty executives.

We use a spot rate approach (“granular method”) to estimate the service cost and interest cost components of benefit cost by applying the specific spot rates along the yield curve to the relevant projected cash flows, as we believe this provides the best estimate of service and interest costs.

The pension plan’s investment committee, which consists of certain members of management, establishes investment guidelines and regularly monitors the performance of the plan’s assets. The investment committee is responsible for executing these strategies and investing the pension assets in accordance with ERISA and fiduciary standards. The investment objective of the pension plan is to preserve the plan’s capital and maximize investment earnings within acceptable levels of risk and volatility. The investment committee meets on a regular basis with its investment advisors to review the performance of the plan’s assets. Based upon performance and other measures and recommendations from its investment advisors, the investment committee rebalances the plan’s assets to the targeted allocation when considered appropriate. The asset allocation for Plan No. 2 as of December 31, 20212022 is equal to 0-80%0-70% equity securities, 20-100%30-100% fixed-income securities, and 0-10% short-term investments and cash. For the details of our pension plan assets, see Note 20, Postretirement Plans, of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K.

In developing the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets at each measurement date, the company considers the plan assets’ historical actual returns, targeted asset allocations, and the anticipated future economic environment and long-term performance of the individual asset classes, based on the company’s investment strategy. While appropriate consideration is given to recent and historical investment performance, the assumption represents management’s best estimate of the long-term prospective return. Further, pension costs do not include an explicit expense assumption, and therefore the return on assets rate reflects the long-term expected return, net of expenses. Based on these factors, the long-term rate of return assumption for Plan No. 2 was set at 5.7% for Fiscal 2021 and 5.9% for Fiscal 2022.  2022 and is unchanged for Fiscal 2023.

The company utilizes the Society of Actuaries’ (“SOA”) published mortality tables and improvement scales in developing their best estimates of mortality. In October 2019, the SOA published its final report on their “standard” mortality table (“Pri-2012”). For purposes of measuring pension benefit obligations of Plan No. 2, the company used a blue color adjustment to the Pri-2012 base table and a projection scale of MP-2020.MP-2021. No other collar adjustments are applied for any other plans. In addition, contingent annuitant mortality rates are applied for surviving spouses after the death of the original retiree.

The company determines the fair value of substantially all of its plans’ assets utilizing market quotes rather than developing “smoothed” values, “market related” values, or other modeling techniques. Plan asset gains or losses in a given year are included with other actuarial gains and losses due to remeasurement of the plans’ projected benefit obligations (“PBO”). If the total unrecognized gain or loss exceeds 10% of the larger of (i) the PBO or (ii) the market value of plan assets, the excess of the total unrecognized gain or loss is amortized over the expected average remaining service period of active covered employees (or average future lifetime of participants if the plan is inactive or frozen). Prior service cost or credit, which represents the effect on plan liabilities due to plan amendments, is amortized over the average remaining service period of active covered employees (or average future lifetime if the plan is inactive or frozen).

In Fiscal 2022,2023, the company expectsdoes not expect to make a $1.0 million voluntaryany cash contributioncontributions to Plan No. 2 and expects to pay $0.3 million in nonqualified pension benefits from corporate assets.

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Stock-based compensation. Stock-based compensation expense for all share-based payment awards granted is determined based on the grant date fair value. The company recognizes these compensation costs net of an estimated forfeiture rate, and recognizes compensation cost only for those shares expected to vest on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award, which is generally the vesting term of the share-based payment award.

We grant performance stock awards that separately have a market and performance condition. The expense computed for the total shareholder return shares (“TSR”) is fixed and recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period. The expense computed for the return on invested capital (“ROIC”) shares can change depending on the expected attainment of performance condition goals. The expense for the ROIC shares can be within a range of 0% to 125% of the target. There is a possibility that this expense component will change in subsequent quarters depending on how the company performs relative to the ROIC target. Additionally, there are time-based stock awards that vest over a period of three years. See Note 18, Stock-Based Compensation, of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements of this Form 10-K for additional information. In early Fiscal 2022,2023, the company granted stock awards to certain employees andemployees. The company expects stock-based compensation expense for Fiscal 2023 to be relatively consistent with Fiscal 2022. This estimate is expected to increase approximately $2 million to $3 million as compared to Fiscal 2021. In addition, the payout for the Fiscal 2020 grant is currently trending at 125%inclusive of target and as a result, we anticipate an additional $1.7$1.5 million of expense willanticipated to be recognized in the first quarter of Fiscal 2022.2023 due to the payout for the Fiscal 2021 grant currently trending at 125% of target.

Commitments and contingencies. The company and its subsidiaries from time to time are parties to, or targets of, lawsuits, claims, investigations and proceedings, including personal injury, commercial, contract, environmental, antitrust, product liability, health and safety and employment matters, including lawsuits related to the independent distributors, which are being handled and defended in the ordinary course of business. Loss contingencies are recorded at the time it is probable an asset is impaired or a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. For litigation claims, the company considers the degree of probability of an unfavorable outcome and the ability to make a reasonable estimate of the loss. Losses are recorded in the selling, distribution, and administrative expenses line item of the Consolidated Statements of Income.

Results of Operations

Consolidated Results - Fiscal 20212022 compared to Fiscal 20202021

The company’s results of operations, expressed as a percentage of sales, are set forth below for Fiscal 20212022 and Fiscal 2020:2021: