BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 30, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barfresh Food Group, Inc. (OTCQB:BRFH), a manufacturer of frozen, ready-to-blend beverages, is providing an update on recent business developments. In addition, the Company is filing its form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, with the Securities and Exchange Commission today.
Riccardo Delle Coste, the Company's CEO stated, "We achieved many important milestones in 2016 that have transformed the foundation of our company and we believe we are very well positioned to achieve significant growth in many areas including national accounts in 2017 and beyond. We established a national distribution footprint through our exclusive partnership with the largest distributor in North America and were recognized with their Emerging Supplier of the Year award. We expanded our manufacturing base with a second site in Arkansas that provides the necessary capacity to reach $100 million in annual revenues. We repositioned our sales platform to better leverage an established network of brokers to increase the scale of clients we are pursuing while benefiting from a reduction in $1.5 million of related expenditures. We successfully activated our partnership with PepsiCo North America Beverage which has been instrumental in navigating large regional and multi-regional customers. We also realized our first successes penetrating alternate foodservice channels and high-traffic venues through our efforts with some of the largest third-party foodservice contractors in North America. Finally, we secured a committed strategic long-term investor in Unibel that will help us accelerate our development in retail, marketing, manufacturing and supply chain management.
Mr. Delle Coste continued, “These achievements provide the foundation for a breakout year in 2017 and we expect to generate a significant acceleration in revenues as we conclude in-market tests with several national accounts that we expect to move into roll-out. Additionally, we are seeing growing opportunities to develop the Barfresh brand in high traffic venues, similar to our recent placements in the Pepsi Center in Denver, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Los Angeles, and the Statue of Liberty in New York City. The visibility we are achieving with the support of some of the large third-party foodservice operators that control these venues is extremely exciting and we look forward to further demonstrating our team’s execution as 2017 unfolds.”
Business Highlights
- Progress within national account pipeline – The in-market tests with major national accounts that were initiated in 2016 continued their progression through the end of the year with expansions in geography and units. This is a complex and patient process, but one that’s systematically improving as the customers complete their due diligence and execute on their roll-out plans. Management is forecasting a significant development in 2017 as these processes come to conclusion.
- Partnerships yielding high-value opportunities – The Company is benefiting from the collaboration afforded by its wide-ranging partnerships. Examples of these successes include the placement of a Barfresh branded kiosk in the main concourse at the Pepsi Center in Denver, the Company’s opening of a Barfresh “Hut” at the Aquarium of the Pacific, and planned placement of the Barfresh brand at three outlets at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island monuments. All are prominent, high-traffic locations that were made possible by Barfresh’s partnership network and management anticipates announcing several similar placements soon.
- Cutting Edge Solution Initiative – Barfresh was named to our exclusive distribution partner’s Cutting Edge Solution platform again for 2017, which optimizes the Company’s product placement among their foodservice offerings and is driving awareness among their sales representatives and the broker networks that work with them.
- Unibel Strategic Investment – On November 28th, 2016, Barfresh announced a strategic investment of $10 million by Unibel, the parent company of Fromageries Bel, known as Bel Group. The Bel Group is headquartered in Paris, France, with global operations in 33 countries, 30 production sites on 4 continents and nearly 12,000 employees. Its many branded products, including The Laughing Cow®, Mini Babybel® and Boursin®, are sold in over 130 countries around the world. Unibel was granted a seat on Barfresh’s Board of Directors, which was filled by Unibel’s Chief Investment Officer, Isabelle Ortiz-Cochet.
Mr. Delle Coste concluded, “We have been actively developing relationships in the third-party contracted foodservice space and these efforts are beginning to yield significant opportunities for the Company. Our products are addressing customer demands for better-for-you beverage options, while our simple solution solves labor, waste, and operational challenges that are critical in these fast-paced, high-volume locations. We are currently experiencing a ground swell of interest from new and existing partners for placement in managed venues of all kinds across America. We look forward to announcing additional developments to the investment community soon.”
Balance Sheet, Manufacturing and Distribution
As of December 31, 2016, the Company had $9.2 million of cash on our balance sheet, no debt and ample capital to pursue growth opportunities. Barfresh is manufacturing product in both of its contract manufacturing locations, which represent 114 million units of potential capacity. It has continued to expand its national distribution network with a focus on network optimization as the Company prepares for an acceleration in 2017 revenues so that it can realize the resultant margin expansion commensurate with larger scale quantities of raw materials.
Conference Call
The conference call to discuss these results is scheduled for today, March 30, 2017, at 1:30 pm Pacific Time (4:30 pm Eastern Time). Listeners can dial (877) 407-4018 in North America, and international listeners can dial (201) 689-8471. Participants from the Company will be Riccardo Delle Coste, Founder and CEO, Joseph Cugine, President, and Joseph Tesoriero, CFO.
A telephonic playback will be available approximately two hours after the call concludes and will be available through Thursday, April 13, 2017. Listeners in North America can dial (844) 512-2921, and international listeners can dial (412) 317-6671. Passcode is 13658156.
Interested parties may also listen to a simultaneous webcast of the conference call by logging onto the company's website at www.barfresh.com in the Investors-Presentations section. A replay of the webcast will also be available for approximately 30 days following the call.
About Barfresh Food Group
Barfresh Food Group, Inc. (OTCQB:BRFH) is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of ready-to-blend beverages, including smoothies, shakes and frappes, primarily for restaurant chains and the foodservice industry. The company's proprietary, patented system uses portion-controlled pre-packaged beverage ingredients that deliver freshly made frozen beverages that are quick, cost efficient, better for you and without waste. PepsiCo North America Beverages, a division of PepsiCo, Inc., is the exclusive sales representative in North America within the food service channel for Barfresh's full line of beverages. Barfresh has an exclusive distribution partnership with the leading food distributor in North America. For more information, please visit www.barfresh.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Except for historical information herein, matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about the Company's commercial progress and future financial performance. These forward-looking statements are identified by the use of words such as "grow", "expand", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "should", "hypothetical", "potential", "forecast" and "project", among others. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in the press release that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions made based on experience, expected future developments and other factors the Company believes are appropriate under the circumstances. Such statements are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company and may not materialize. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance. The contents of this release should be considered in conjunction with the warnings, risk factors and cautionary statements contained in the Company's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10K and Quarterly Report on Form 10Q. Furthermore, the Company does not intend, and is not obligated, to update publicly any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Contact John Mills ICR 646-277-1254 John.Mills@icrinc.com Jeff Sonnek ICR 646-277-1263 Jeff.Sonnek@icrinc.com