discussion on our recent success and priorities going forward, and we will have Paul Fitzhenry moderate that discussion. Before moving forward, we've got some disclaimers that we need to bring your attention to. Please take note. Folks, some of you are probably wondering why the change was needed. I'm going to try to summarize that question very simply. Sadly, the former management team was not at the direction of the board, contrary to what the board was asking, was dramatically increasing the marketing spend on one of our brands, the PureKana brand in particular. And actually, that activity put the company in a position of financial distress. So we needed to make some changes, and as you see here in front of you, the first 60 days was very busy. We shut down 10 of 17 operating units within Simply Better Brands world. We reduced our operating overhead by 36%, reduced headcount by almost two-thirds, and moved forward with some activities that resulted in total stabilizing of the balance sheet of the company and allowing us to reposition all our resources behind TRUBAR and carry on with a couple of our other brands that you see here in front of you. The current portfolio is, as you see in front of you, our wonderful lineup of TRUBAR product and our next gen beauty line and plant-based wellness portfolio. The two small portfolio packages other than TRUBAR will deliver less than 10% of our revenue this year, and as such, we're not gonna spend much time on it today. Instead, we're gonna talk here about SBBC's hero brand, TRUBAR. As you can see here, it's been incredible what Erica has been able to accomplish with literally no resources, and actually, resources being taken out of her world to be focused on some of the other brands in the portfolio. You see almost 150% year-over-year growth, again, with limited access, if not no access, to capital. It is our plan to maintain an accelerated growth rate over the next 12-18 months, as indicated here. Plan simple, we will be expanding distribution, accelerating marketing, and develop our pipeline of products. On item number one, you see in front of you the distribution expansion from. Well, actually, our old projection was 5,000 new retail locations this year. We're upping that to 9,500, as you see, and this brings our total to over 12,000 stores that we will be in by the end of the year. You see the stroke, the lines indicating our former forecasts of 4,000, up to 6,500, 400-650 stores, 130 stores to 400. These are some of the incredible positive signals that are coming inbound about the retailers wanting to get our products on their shelves. We'll note a particular 1,000 stores, we actually announced the actual name of that brand recently, and that's GNC. Now, let's go to next slide. Part two of our strategy, marketing acceleration. You see some of the key initiatives here in front of you. We've got lots of in-store activity, as well as online activity, that again, really wasn't very active until earlier this year. Section three, the innovation pipeline, is extremely strong. We've had some fabulous input from our world-class board of advisors and board of directors. We've developed these new flavors, bar sizes, and also responded to some inbounds from retailers for specific innovation or activity in their stores. At this point, I'd like to bring your attention really to the master strategy that we are implementing at SBBC. In front of you here are some historic snack bar sector M&A activity that's happened over the last five years. You see some of the brands that I think are pretty well known were bought by major conglomerates at significant, significant deal multiple valuations. So our plan here at SBBC is really quite simple. It's to build our brand and look to monetize the asset over the next 18-24 months, while we continue to look for the next TRUBAR opportunity.... I I want to bring our attention now to the board of directors. Briefly, a little bit about me and my background. For 30-some years, I've been guiding our investment activity at our family office here, and we fly under the flag VRG Capital, in conjunction with some other family offices here in Toronto. Bring your attention to three restructurings that we led over the last 10 years or so. HEALWELL AI is very recent, last year. A lot of success in that business today. DCM, incredible turnaround story, led by one of my board members. Talk about him in a minute. Dominion Lending, we had to restructure a company called Founders Advantage to turn it into Dominion Lending. VRG Capital has actually been in our family for over 40 years, a portfolio of smaller brands in the OTC category. So lots of knowledge about this sector in our world. I'm gonna now move to our directors. Paul Norman, former president of Kellogg's North America. He actually led the acquisition of our RXBAR for Kellogg's. So lots and lots of institutional knowledge around the product category. Richard Kellam, who I mentioned earlier, runs DCM, CEO over there, and had a 20-year spectacular career at Mars before entering our world, and was in charge of sales and marketing activities for some of the most iconic bar brands in the world. You see them here. Along his travels, he met Mr. Walsh and recently asked him to help us out, and we're thrilled to have Mr. Walsh joined our board and provided some fabulous advice in regards to our marketing activity going forward. Of course, we have Erica. You'll meet her in a moment. Rob's been with us for 25 years, VRG, and before that, World Bank. And Michael, his accounting background, started at KPMG. There you have the team. And, let's go to the next slide. Talked a little bit about our current market cap. So today we're about 119 million shares out, and I wanna highlight that the ownership structure involves management and directors owning 20+% of this business. This was all bought with real dollars. My family, Erica's family, invested alongside our VRG partners and contributed 40% of the capital, in the equity capital that we raised over the last year, the $11 million you see in front of you. And, one of the key pieces of the puzzle here that came with the restructuring was we were able to extinguish approximately $13 million of bank debt and accounts payable debt by way of the Chapter 7 bankruptcy that we put PureKana into. Along the travels of recent time, we've also secured a $10 million in new credit facilities with much more favorable rates than we've been able to access in the past. You see the stock performance here, been great, and thank you very much for all the support. We're looking forward to continuing to meet with success in the market. And, I think without further ado, we'll move to our Q&A session and turn it over to you, Paul. Great. Thanks for those opening remarks and for setting the stage for this Q&A conversation. Over the next 20 minutes or so, I'll be asking Erica and King additional questions that dig into the TRUBAR story in a little bit more detail. We've received a number of questions submitted already in advance of the call, which I'll work from, but the lines are also open for those who wish to submit any questions, and we'll try to get to as many of those as we can over the next 20 minutes. I'm gonna start with you, Erica. Welcome. It's great to have you here in front of a large investor audience. I know you've been meeting with a lot of investors in small groups, but to have you and King here together in front of this larger group is really a great way to sort of dig more into the, into the story. And so I wanna go back. We've talked a lot about current state and future for TRUBAR, but I want to step back a little bit to sort of the founding of this business for you as one of the co-founders, and specifically, sort of, what was your inspiration to get into this business in the first place? Yeah, of course. My mother was just a maven of bad diet, so I learned very early on about health and nutrition and how you wanna feel good and what you're putting in your body. You know, we wanna make sure it tastes good, but then after you eat it, you wanna make sure that your body feels good. So when I had my own family, I also wanted to give my children on-the-go snacks and healthy things, but I just couldn't find it. There was nothing that tasted good and good for you. So TRUBAR was started, and they're vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, there's no sugar alcohols, and they taste amazing. They're the bar that you throw in your bag, and you can't wait to enjoy. You know, it doesn't get to the bottom like the other one. Great. So let's talk about the nutrition bar category and what's going on in that space. It's an exciting space. Anywhere you go today, whether you're in a grocery store, you're at a big box chain, whether you're on the go in an airport, convenience stores, you see nutrition brands out there. What can you tell us about sort of where that category is today and where it's going? Yeah, we are super lucky. TRUBAR is part of a $6 billion market, and our category, being plant-based, has a 14% CAGR. So just the mixture of our bars being clean and delicious with the sexy packaging, I mean, they're just exploding. It's just- Yeah. We're winning. Well, I saw a stat the other day that, I thought was really interesting, which is about half of Americans today are having 2-3 snacks per day. And so think about that category and that kind of growth that's happening. And if you look back 20, 30 years, three-quarters of Americans were having 1 or no snack at all during the day. So this sort of between mealtime, if you will, to snack time, snacking has become a- I'm a snacker. Right. And, there's many others with you. Yeah. So this looks like a market that's, that's here to stay, and we're in this plant-based sort of category, right? Yeah. Because there's a lot of other snack options out there, but this, this is a specific category. We wanna talk a little bit more about that. Yeah, just the plant-based, as a whole, it has a 14% CAGR, so we're just very lucky to be in that. But there are many people who are snacking, you know, we are more on the go than ever. I'm always on the go, you know, if you're a mom, you know, just running around, you work, whatever it is, everybody's kinda just, like, running around with snacks. So, you know, we're very lucky to be in this sector and especially being in the plant-based. Protein as well, which is something that a lot of people are looking for. Yes, of course. Great. King, next question for you. You invested in SBBC about 18 months ago. Maybe thinking back to sort of getting into that investment, what, what sort of attracted you to the business, and sort of, what are the sort of those early challenges you saw when you looked at it? I know you mentioned a few things early on, maybe a little more detail about that. Yeah, sure, Paul. We did invest about 18 months ago, and actually, the business was on a real great growth trajectory path, heading for about $100 million of revenue. And we thought that the former management team was doing a fabulous job. And, sadly, you know, as time went on and a few quarters into us being a significant shareholder, it just became apparent that the spend on the, on, in particular, the PureKana brand, was excessive. And, over time, without getting into too much detail, literally put the company in a very, very difficult financial position. And so we had to make the changes early in the year. And, as I said, we moved really quickly. We always saw the opportunity with TRUBAR, and we were trying to, in board discussion, trying to bring more attention to it. But sadly, that former management just was not taking our lead there. And you know, here we are today, lots and lots of great activity over the last 5 months. We're completely stable now, have been since really the start of the second quarter. And you know, balance sheet's in great shape, and we just look forward to continuing to support Erica. Actually, not only continuing, 'cause she wasn't supported all last year. So it's, I guess, continuing to support Erica and TRUBAR, you know in a much more significant way than in last year. Erica, you must have felt that on the inside in those early days. Any reflections on that? Yeah, it was, it was definitely a struggle. I mean, we didn't have money to get inventory. There was no marketing dollars. I mean, when I say no money for marketing dollars, we would spend, you know, minimal on, like, Facebook, Instagram ads. And when I say minimal, it's like $50 a month. Like, it, it was, it was nonexistent. We were definitely starved. There was no oxygen. So it's really nice to have, you know, the board that recognizes that this is an amazing brand, and it just needs some cash and some capital and, and to be able to grow and blossom. Have attention as well. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Let's talk a little bit about the distribution expansion, because the numbers we've announced this morning in our press release and that you mentioned, King, are really impressive. You know, it was just a few months ago that we talked about 5,000 additional doors between now and the end of Q3. Today, we're out with an updated forecast of 9,500 additional doors this year, over the course of this year. Can you give us a sort of a flavor for some of those new partners are? Because it's pretty exciting to really almost double- Yeah. -our capacity. Super excited. Super excited to share that we are going into 6,500 CVSs, that's a pharmacy across the United States, as well as about 600 Walmarts nationwide, more to come, and over 500 Whole Foods. So we are going nationwide with Whole Foods, and that should be in your local store in, like, the next couple of weeks. We're super excited about all of those growth. May want to mention a little bit about Whole Foods being a category sort of gate, you know, that you got to get through before other retailers. Yeah. Whole Foods is definitely a gatekeeper. A lot of people follow them, and it's just, it's just amazing. I'm just really excited to be able to give everybody what they want, right? Like, a lot of people are having problems trying to find the bar, and now we're exploding into the market, so it's easier and more accessible for them to get it and, and new people to try it. Yeah. As long as they do, they fall in love. Yeah. I was recently in Denver, where we've had a really nice trial with Whole Foods, right? Yeah. And to now see it available across the U.S., across the whole platform, Whole Foods Market, is gonna be really- No, it's- Really exciting. It's so exciting. Yeah. Hey, listen, we've talked a lot about retail, but maybe there's another channel that might be a little more under the radar that excites you. You got an example of one of any other channels where you see good things for TRUBAR? Yeah. I mean, we're blossoming in all avenues, but one thing that sticks out is our e-com. We recently launched into Walmart.com as well as Amazon, and we are just doing phenomenal. We're really. We learned how to win on Amazon, and we've had tremendous growth, about 700%, and it just, it just keeps going up. We're really, really dialed in and getting a lot of exposure there, and a lot of people are very excited, so. Great. I guess getting tapped into that algorithm within Amazon that allows you to win, I guess, has been a key to that as well. Absolutely. Yeah. Great. So let's talk about the team. Obviously, we've talked a little bit about sort of how things have come together for the TRUBAR brand, but there's a team behind that. Maybe you could talk about sort of what that team looks like. Yeah. So, we've got a couple guys who've been in CPG, and they're our sales team. They're amazing. I'm so lucky to have them. They have been in CPG for years and have a lot of experience. We're a tight-knit group who, you know, actually likes each other and communicates, and, you know, we have little chat conversations all the time, and it's great. They're amazing. And so my internal team is phenomenal. Beyond that, I've got this board that King mentioned, and they have not only so much experience and knowledge behind them, they are actually active. Like, I can call them, I can text them, they are there. Anytime I wanna bounce an idea off, anything, they're there, which is just, I mean, priceless. Great. There's nothing. And then we also have a great group of brokers and distribution that we partnered with that are just phenomenal. They're helping us grow and get to where we need to be and get it to, into everyone's hands. Great. I wanna add to that. I wanna thank our finance team, which has done a great job going through a very, very hectic period of time with restructuring and then supporting you with all this growth. And, of course, there's a few other administration and operations people that deserve a lot of credit to keep the wheels in motion. And we're, we're, looking at adding folks in all those categories, actually. So wanna make sure that we have the right people to support the growth. Yeah. Definitely expanding and need to- Yeah to expand with that. Yeah. I'm gonna dig into that a little bit more. Yeah. This morning's announcement, we talked about $5 million in additional credit facilities that we're bringing to the table. That's in addition to a $5 million facility we announced, I think, just three weeks ago. So combined, $10 million to bring to support this business. Mm-hmm. Give us a sort of a sense of where those dollars will be invested, sort of at a high level? Yeah, sure. You know, I think if you go back to the slide 3, the three-part slide about, you know, expanding the distribution network, expanding our marketing activity, and, the third point was, marketing activity, and the third issue, the innovation pipeline, of course. So all that requires, capital and, with the help of our... some relationships, some banks have brought to the table, yes, we have, new, sources of capital available at a significant discount to what the company had to pay during prior years when the balance sheet was nowhere near as strong as it is today. A vote of confidence, really, from the financial community as well here. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. And the equity, of course, has helped as well. Obviously, contributions that have come in over the last year or two. Yeah. So just sticking with the financial aspect, we did get a question in from Noel Atkinson at Clarus. Noel is asking if we're expecting TRUBAR to contribute to SBBC being EBITDA positive in 2024. Tell us sort of what the expectation is. The answer is absolutely yes. We, we are. The whole plan is around profitable growth. So 100%, without a doubt, the SBBC division will be making a significant positive contribution on the EBITDA front to the mothership, if you will. And we are not, we are not, really spending much capital outside of the, the TRUBAR world right now. So, you know, 100%, we will be positive EBITDA this year. Great. Speaking of investment, Erica, with the scaling up of the brand, how are you feeling about the manufacturing capacity that we have on TRUBAR? Yeah, we have, we have two state-of-the-art facilities that we have no problem scaling up to $150 million at, with our, what we have currently put in place. There's, there's zero issue there at all. Significant room for capacity expansion at the current state? Yeah. World-class contract manufacturers that are completely, completely dialed into all the back-end operations of this business. And we're thrilled, lucky to have them, and we're thrilled about the great work that you and the team are doing. You can go to bed, put your head on the pillow at night now- Absolutely. know that your manufacturing is doing well. Okay, let's talk about international expansion, because part of the announcement today, we talked about this new financing being put in place to support not only the North American growth, but also internationally. What can you tell us about our aspirations, if you will, internationally for TRUBAR? We are... Well, you know, we have this amazing partner, Costco, that we've just had such amazing success throughout the years, and they have 14 regions, you know, outside of the United States. And so we are in discussions talking to them about doing just what we did in the US there. And so we'll see. More to come, but we're definitely excited to, to see where that goes. Certainly having Costco U.S. here, and all the programs we have, and this national rollout going on now… Right. is about confidence in the brand. Absolutely. Right. With the success that it's had, right? Yeah. Like, you can do one, but the fact that we've been very successful and, and have multiple, which when- Just to add to that, it's not only, you know, are we keen to get moving to the international arena, but they are actually contacting you, right? And wanting to light up programs in a few jurisdictions, literally as we speak. So exciting. Very exciting. Obviously, Costco is incredibly well-run organization, so. And they're the reason for our existence, right? They gave us the shot here in Canada first to get us going, and then really supported the growth in the US for us. Great stuff. I'm gonna put the final question to you, King, and that is about sort of the future, if you will. Mm-hmm. You alluded to it a little in your opening, but I just wanted to come back to the question around value creation for SBBC going forward and what investors can expect. Yeah, sure, Paul. Look, the plan is really simple. We want to continue to invest to accelerate the growth of the TRUBAR brand. We're gonna look to initiate a monetization sometime, probably 18-24 months from now, is what we've been talking about. And according to our esteemed board members, who've got deep, deep sector expertise, when you hit around $100 million sales, you get on, you get on the big boys' radars. So we'll probably be approached, or we have lots of bankers that we know that could help us with lighting up a process. And it's really simple. You know, you do the math, you saw that, you know, I think we could look to 3-4 times revenue, you know, a year or more out, multiply, do that math, and, you know, you're talking about possibly a blue sky scenario on the stock of $3-$4. I want to stress, we will be distributing the majority of that cash, reinvesting some of it in our search for the next TRUBAR, which has, you know, we've had lots of conversations around, and we'll continue to, to explore that. But that's the simple plan here, Paul. And, I don't think we'll be deviating far from it, so. Great. Well, leaving us with some really interesting prospects looking going forward, King. I wanna thank everyone for joining us this morning. We'll look forward to presenting our mid-year results in about a month's time in August. And stay tuned for further developments, and I hope we can have another conversation like this with you, Erica, and you, King, going forward. And with that, we'll go ahead wrap up the call. We have a couple of dialing calls if you- Sure. Okay. Yeah. All right. We have one call from 5417. You're still on the line. I will unmute your mic. You are unmuted. Go ahead with your question. He just dropped off, so he might have not. Okay. And then we have one other caller with a question, Trevor, I will unmute your mic. Hey, good morning, guys. Congratulations, Kingsley, on your appointment to the permanent CEO role, and congratulations, Erica, on your continued success. I know you're wrapping up. I just wanted to comment, noting on your 18- to 24-month exit timeline, where does the innovation pipeline play into that? Will you have a chance to release those different products that you've featured on this slideshow? Yeah, I think absolutely would be the simple answer. You know, these initiatives are teed up over the next 6-12 months. Right. Yeah. So you'll see those products come into the market and certainly help us with the significant growth trajectory that we're on. So, you know, obviously, this is going to be something that the board will have to assess, is the ultimate timing for looking for an exit. But, you know, our, our—we have complete consensus that we think that will be the timetable for us to look to sell the brand. And as I say, between now and then, look for the next TRUBAR, and maybe we could be lucky and find a couple. So, thank you for your question. I hope that answers it. It does. Thank you. Okay. Have we got any other- No, no further questions. No further questions. Okay. Great, we'll go ahead and wrap up. And again, thank you, Erica and King, for this conversation. Thanks for being here, Paul.