Earnings Labs

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY)

Q1 2020 Earnings Call· Mon, Apr 13, 2020

$28.02

+0.88%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good afternoon. Welcome to Lifeway Foods' Business Update Call. On the call with me today is Julie Smolyansky, Chief Executive Officer. By now, everyone should have access to the press release that went out this evening. If you have not received this release, it is available on the Investor Relations portion of Lifeway's website at www.lifewaykefir.com. A recording of this call will be available on the company's website. Before we begin, we would like to remind everyone that the prepared remarks contain forward-looking statements and management may make additional forward-looking statements in response. These -- the words believe, expect, anticipate and other similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements do not guarantee future performance and therefore, undue reliance should not be placed on them. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements. Lifeway assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking projections that may be made in today's release or call. All of the forward-looking statements contained herein speak only of as the date of this call. And with that, I would like to turn the call over to Lifeway's Chief Executive Officer, Julie Smolyansky.

Julie Smolyansky

Management

Thank you, Madeline, and good afternoon to everyone joining us. Thank you as always for your interest in Lifeway Foods. On behalf of everyone at Lifeway, I'd like to first express our deepest sympathies to all that were affected and have been affected by COVID-19, and thank you to all those in supply chain as well as those working to keep people safe through this crisis. The health, safety and well-being of our employees as well as local and national communities remains our steadfast priority during this time of unprecedented uncertainty and crisis, and we have taken all necessary precautions to safely meet our consumers' needs. Today, I'll review how we are responding to COVID-19 and its impact on consumer behavior. Spending on groceries has increased significantly during COVID-19, with restaurants and away-from-home food sales accounting for 50% of all food consumption closing and shifting primarily to retail grocery and at-home consumption. During the week ending March 15, 2020, grocery store sales were up 79% year-over-year. Within grocery, e-commerce, where Lifeway products are also sold, continues to grow rapidly as both a convenient and safe option in the time of social distancing. According to Earnest Research, Instacart, Amazon and Walmart grocery delivery sales all jumped by at least 2/3 versus a year ago in the week of March 2. As more states implemented shelter-in-place orders, Instacart saw their orders surge 150% in March. The major consumer shift to online grocery is likely to continue throughout recovery and afterwards as it gains more traction among consumers. To meet these accelerated supply/demand and changing shopping behaviors, we have been in constant communication with our retailers and have made the appropriate adjustments to our supply chain. Our customers remain our top priority, and we want to make sure they always have access to…